Sawvel and Co. Receive Verbal From Second In-State Product

LARAMIE -- Seeing Chase Garber sport a Colorado State jersey will likely be a regrettable, forgettable memory.

For everyone.

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Wyoming's Border War rivals offered the 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive tackle. The Big Horn High School standout made the five-plus hour trek to Fort Collins earlier this month, took all the glitzy social-media photos, saw the bells and whistles firsthand and left with a scholarship opportunity in hand.

Fast forward two weeks.

Garber has decided to ditch the horned helmet for good, instead giving his verbal commitment to Jay Sawvel's Cowboys.

Another local is staying in the 307.

"After much thought and consideration I am blessed and excited to announce my commitment to the University of Wyoming," Garber penned on X Tuesday. "Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this journey."

Garber, the 12th commit of the 2027 recruiting class, is the second Wyoming native to pledge to the program over the last 24 hours, joining Cody High School star Cache McFadden. The latter will transition from quarterback to fulltime safety in Laramie.

Both of Montana's FCS programs extended an offer to Garber. So did the Cowboys' former conference rival, San Diego State. Nevada and Army were also in the mix.

He instead became the second lineman on Tuesday to announce his decision to continue his playing career to the high plains. Noah Reid, a 6-foot-5, 295-pound Mission, Kan., product, was the other.

Wyoming has landed a pair of quarterbacks -- Tucker Ingersoll (Arvada, Colo.) and Michael Vander Luitgaren (Batavia, Ill.) -- along with a pair of deep threats in Alijah Landrum-Hamilton (Englewood, Colo.) and Levi Rillos (Arvada, Colo.). Karson McKenzie (Arvada, Colo.) will slide into the Cowboys' secondary alongside McFadden. Tight end Thomas Prescott, one of Vander Luitgaren's top targets during their prep careers in the Chicagoland area, also intends to call Laramie home.

So does a trio of interior defenders.

California Edge rusher Garrison Manzanarez (Cypress) will join linebacker Drew Benassi (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and tackle Kingston Beyer (Fort Worth, Texas) on Aaron Bohl's unit.

Garber, who played on both lines of scrimmage at Big Horn and served as the team's long snapper, is a two-time All-State and All-Conference selection. He was also named to the Casper Star-Tribune's coveted Super 25 Team.

Last fall, while helping lead the Rams to an appearance in the state title game, Garber was named the league's 2A Lineman of the Year.

Sawvel and Co. are typically in the single digits when it comes to verbal commitments this early in the recruiting cycle during his three years on the sidelines in Laramie. Craig Bohl's decade-long tenure was no different.

Sawvel has said numerous times in the past he likes to put prospects on the sidelines for games in the fall inside War Memorial Stadium. Garber did attend a game in 2025.

The ultimate number before summer closes could reach 15, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Wyoming's known commits have bumped the 2027 class, so far, up to 96th nationally out of 138 FBS programs. UNLV (59), North Dakota State (89) and New Mexico (90) are rated higher. The rest of the Mountain West ranks like this: Hawaii (97), San Jose State (100), Nevada (103), Northern Illinois (118) and Air Force (N/A).

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