Harrison Waylee Suffers Knee Injury in Practice, Will Miss Time

LARAMIE -- The news could have been much worse.

Wyoming's senior running back Harrison Waylee went down early in last Saturday's scrimmage inside War Memorial Stadium with what appeared to be a serious knee injury.

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One feared to be far worse than the actual diagnosis, according to Jay Sawvel.

Waylee, who missed the Cowboys first two games of the 2023 season while recovering from offseason surgery on his right knee, will again be in street clothes to begin the year, Wyoming's head coach confirmed.

"Harrison Waylee is going to get a scope on his knee (Wednesday)," Sawvel said Tuesday, adding it's the opposite knee this time that will go under the knife. "That’s not going to be a season-long type thing, and he’ll recover well and do that. It’s just something that happens in the course of football."

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Sawvel said there wasn't any ligament damage and Waylee is "genetically wired differently" and could make a speedy recovery.

When will he be back in the lineup?

"I think once the surgery gets done, then I'd have a clearer idea on it," Sawvel continued. "We're still two-plus weeks out from our first game, which, obviously, you know, I would say, it's going to be early in the season when he would be able to be returning. It's just going to depend on, you know, what we find out tomorrow and how it all goes tomorrow."

Sawvel also announced Tuesday that defensive tackle Lucas Samsula also suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the scrimmage. The redshirt freshman will also undergo surgery Wednesday.

That's not all.

True freshman cornerback Tyrese Boss will also be in a hospital gown in less than 24 hours to have a finger surgically repaired. He's likely to miss up to eight weeks, per Sawvel.

"Other than that, we're marching on in pretty good shape, physically," he added.

In just parts of 10 games last fall, Waylee rushed for 947 yards on just 164 carries. He found the end zone five times while helping lead the Cowboys to a nine-win season and a victory over Toledo in the Arizona Bowl.

The Johnston, Iowa product, who transferred to Laramie after three seasons at Northern Illinois, eclipsed the 100-yard mark in his first three games in a Wyoming uniform, including a season-high 191 yards in a win over New Mexico.

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Waylee was recently named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List, an honor given to the top running back in college football. He is just 124 yards shy of reaching 3,000 for his career.

DJ Jones, an offseason acquisition from North Carolina, is expected to handle a majority of the carries in Waylee's absence. Dawaiian McNeely, according to Savwel, will not play until he is "100% healthy" after coming off a torn ACL that cost him the '23 season. Sam Scott, along with last year's starter, Jamari Ferrell, will also be in the mix at running back with the season opener just 18 days away.

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