Wyoming’s Staff Thinks it Found Wide Receiver Prototype in Rookie

LARAMIE -- "Little guys get tired, but big guys never shrink."

That was the mentality of the Wyoming football staff in the offseason at a number of positions, but maybe none more so than at wide receiver.

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Jay Sawvel didn't sugarcoat it: that unit needed a shot of toughness.

"What we have lacked here, really for a period of time, is just the physicality to go across the middle, but also the physicality to block and physicality to run after the catch," the third-year head coach said last December.

Enter Jarell Gary.

His near 6-foot, 195-pound stature might not look too impressive on paper, but Sawvel said that all changes when you flip on the rookie's film. The Round Rock, Texas native literally did it all during his days at McNeil High School, capping a decorated career that included more than 3,600 yards of total offense and 40 total touchdowns.

"I would see a bigger Tyson Shamsid-Deen," Sawvel added, referring to his current sophomore cornerback and deep threat who tips the scales at just over 180. "He did so many different things for his school, kind of like what Tyson was doing (at Southwest High School in San Antonio) where he would be playing on defense, playing 'Wildcat' quarterback, catching balls on the perimeter, blocking people and doing all this other stuff."

As a senior, Gary snagged 39 passes for nearly 800 yards and eight scores. He found the end zone with his legs 10 more times and rolled up 676 rushing yards.

The Cowboys finished 111th out of 134 FBS programs last fall in the passing-game department, averaging just 183 yards per game. Again hovering near the bottom of the Mountain West standings, the team's leader in receptions was slot receiver Chris Durr Jr. who showed up on campus in 2024 weighing in around 150 pounds.

The Chicago product, who entered the NCAA Transfer Portal at season's end and is now on the roster at Maryland, finished his brief stint in Laramie with 817 receiving yards and five touchdowns, four of which came last fall.

That production, especially for a unit that managed just 16 points and outing, wasn't the issue, Sawvel said, it was all the other reasons Wyoming went out and courted an athlete like Gary.

The hope is him, along with fellow true freshman Jordan Styles, can match the aggressive style of current wideouts like Deion DeBlanc, Charlie Coenen, Justin Popovich and Jackson Holman, among others.

"We simply needed to get bigger," Sawvel reiterated.

Wyoming is set to begin fall camp on Aug. 5 in preperation for its season opener one month later in Fort Collins against Border War rival Colorado State.

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