When starting place-kicker John Hoyland’s number was called with just four seconds left in the Arizona Bowl against Toledo last year, he hardly even broke a sweat. The Cowboys were down 15-13 in Craig Bohl’s final game of his ten-year tenure and Hoyland’s sole mission was to strike in a 24-yard chip shot to send his coach off on one final win.
Though Hoyland had only made two of his last nine field goal attempts heading into the Arizona Bowl, likely the worst stretch of misses in the fifth-year senior’s relatively accurate career, he still calmly struck the ball through the uprights like it was simply a routine drill in practice.
“Obviously, it was a season with some ups and then some downs,” Hoyland said of last year. “So just being able to finish off on a positive note… it’s awesome.”
It hasn’t been unusual for him to be called upon to make high-stakes kicks. In his career, Hoyland has made seven field goals from 50-plus yards out.
However, Hoyland wasn’t always the deadeye kicker that UW fans have come to rely on for the past years. Hoyland was initially a soccer player in high school, a sport he says most kickers start with before making the transition to football.
“I played as a goalkeeper all the way through high school, and then my sophomore year of high school, I just decided to go on the [football] team and give it a shot,” Hoyland said.
“There was a lot of strength stuff I needed to learn, a lot of technical stuff because it’s very different from soccer.”
With how accurate and proficient Hoyland has been through his time with the Cowboys, it may come as a surprise to many that Hoyland wasn’t necessarily sought after once he graduated high school. Becoming the Cowboys’ preferred walk-on was his only D-I opportunity after graduating.
“Ultimately, it came down to just the proximity to home,” Hoyland said. He is originally from Broomfield, Colorado, which is only two hours away from Laramie.
“I remember coming up for a camp up here before my senior year,” Hoyland reminisced. “I just remember saying I would be very happy spending the next four years of my life here.”
Hoyland was swiftly forced into a starting role during his freshman campaign after the then-starting kicker suffered an injury. Bohl mentioned that he didn’t even know Hoyland’s name heading into his first career start against Nevada, where he’d knock down four field goals, including one that would propel the Cowboys into overtime. Hoyland’s efforts would unfortunately end in a loss, but the young kicker had proved himself nonetheless.
“I knew I’d get my opportunity, I just didn’t think it would be that soon,” Hoyland remarked. “I was thankful that I was able to deliver.”
Hoyland proceeded to only miss one of his 14 field goal attempts in his freshman campaign, which would land him a spot on the 2020 FWAA (Football Writers Association of America) Freshman All-American Team.
Those types of accolades would pile up throughout Hoyland’s career, as he’s also etched his name with a pair of records in the Wyoming football record books.
In 2022, Hoyland managed to make an impressive 22 field goals, which would easily slide him into the record for most field goals made in a single season at Wyoming.
Recently, Hoyland was able to surpass Cooper Rothe in all-time field goals made in a career as well.
“It’s cool coming in as a walk-on, not really expecting to be in this position,” Hoyland said.
Despite Hoyland achieving two school records and the notoriety of being one of the best college-level kickers, he remains humble and attributes much of his success to his teammates and coaches. One of his favorite memories throughout his career is celebrating with his team and fans after their double overtime thriller against Texas Tech last season.
With the season still young, Hoyland has time to solidify himself atop the record books. But with or without his name in the record books, Hoyland will remain a Cowboy legend for a long time.
