After surviving the initial wave of portal entrants with little surprises in the winter, the dust seemed to settle for head coach Jay Sawvel and the roster he thoughtfully constructed with new additions, as well as retention of some crucial pieces from his team a year ago–that, despite finishing with a 3-9 overall record by season’s end–showed much promise, particularly down the stretch of the season.
However, three of those crucial retentions from last year have decided to ultimately part ways with the Cowboys and look for other opportunities, for varying reasons.
The possibly biggest loss of the bunch is the loss of Harrison Waylee, who announced on March 13 that he would be entering the transfer portal in search of a new home in his final collegiate season this fall.
Waylee impressed in his first season with the Cowboys in 2023 after transferring from Northern Illinois. That season, Waylee rushed for 947 yards, averaging nearly six yards per carry. However, Waylee was unfortunately sidelined for much of the 2024 season after suffering an injury. He, alongside Sawvel, decided he would play in the final four games of the 2024 season to retain a redshirt status so he could play a full senior season.
“He was forthright and completely into it, in the fact that a six-game senior season wasn’t what he was looking for. He wants a full year and I’m standing behind that because I couldn’t sign off on that being in his best interest either,” Sawvel had said when it was announced Waylee would redshirt the 2024 season.
That final season was presumably to be as a Cowboy, as both Waylee and Sawvel maintained throughout the 2024 season that he would likely make a return in the Brown and Gold. Unfortunately, that has not come to fruition.
“After careful consideration and discussions with my family, I have decided to enter the transfer portal as a graduation transfer,” Waylee wrote in a post announcing his decision on the social media platform X.
Sabastian Harsh, a five-year defensive end with the Cowboys, also announced his departure to the transfer portal on March 13.
His best year came during the 2023 season, where he totaled 50 tackles including three sacks. Harsh, like many defensive players for the Cowboys last year, was limited at times due to injury and only totaled 40 tackles.
“Thank you, Wyoming, for the past five years of memories. Thanks to everyone who supported me through ups and downs. With that being said, I will be entering the transfer portal as a graduate with one year left,” Harsh also wrote on X.
The real question at the time was: had Sawvel been caught by surprise when these two suddenly decided to try their luck in the transfer portal? Not necessarily.
“I kind of got smoke signals in January about Harsh,” Sawvel said, “and we ended up taking three transfer defensive ends because I had a concern there.”
Those three transfers include senior Brayden Wilson, a two-time all-Big Sky performer at Weber State, junior Esaia Bogar, the National Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Riverside College at the NAIA level, and Dawan Martin, a standout at Youngstown State.
“Waylee, at the start of the spring, wasn’t something that was on my radar,” Sawvel added. “It became on my radar throughout the course of the spring.”
Sawvel also bolstered his running back room via the transfer portal with the addition of Terron Kellman, who previously spent two years at Charlotte where he rushed for 570 yards over those two years. Sawvel says he isn’t done recruiting the position out of the portal, either.
“We already had the goal of obtaining another running back in the spring portal,” Sawvel said.
The Cowboys’ final portal loss was a unique situation, coming in the form of senior nickelback Wrook Brown. Brown first reported his decision to Cody Tucker of 7220sports, in which he delved into family matters that led him to his decision. Sawvel was also aware of the situation, to which he alluded a few days before Brown made his decision public.
“There is one other in there that I think could happen, but that is more of a family situation with illness type of thing going on. So, if that does happen, I’m completely aware of all the scenarios to it,” Sawvel said in reference to Brown’s situation.
Brown can be most remembered by a pair of timely interceptions against Texas Tech and Appalachian State during the 2023 season, which helped lead the Cowboys to a 9-4 record that season.
As of March 26, Cowboy football has not lost any other players to the transfer portal and began spring practices on March 25.
