Welcome to Wyoming Football: Jarell Gary

LARAMIE -- Wyoming, once again, has welcomed nearly 50 new faces to the roster this offseason.

Transfer portal era, am I right?

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Jay Sawvel again made a list of 10 "keepers" last December, heading into free agency. Running back Samuel "Tote" Harris was, no doubt, high on that list. So were defensive tackles Dante Drake and Jayden Williams. The Cowboys' third-year head coach also wanted to hang on to players like tight end Jake Wilson, wideout Deion DeBlanc, nickel corner Desman Hearns and offensive tackles Rex Johnsen and Braylon Jenkins, among others.

Mission accomplished. All are back for another round on the high plains.

The team did lose its top-four outside targets, including leading receiver Chris Durr Jr., who is now at Maryland. Two impact cornerbacks also hit the open market. Tyrese Boss is at Arizona. Markie Grant headed west to former conference rival Utah State.

Wyoming will also have a new quarterback under center, snagging William and Mary graduate transfer Tyler Hughes, who has one season of eligibility remaining. The hope is he'll right the ship at that spot, keeping the seat warm for Gillette's Mason Drube.

The Cowboys also reloaded in the offensive backfield and at the line of scrimmage, adding 1,000-yard rusher Markell Holman and interior linemen Chandler Donaway, Jason Maciejcak and Jeremiah Katt.

You'll read all about those guys, along with 20-plus freshmen, in this summer series: Welcome to Wyoming football.

NAME | Jarell Gary

YEAR | Freshman

HT/WT | 5' 11", 195

HOMETOWN | Round Rock, Texas

POSITION | Wide receiver

JERSEY NUMBER | N/A

PREVIOUS SCHOOL | McNeil High School

YEARS OF ELIGIBILITY | Four

NOTABLE | Jarell Gary did a little bit of everything for McNeil's offense last fall. He snagged 38 passes for 760 yards and hauled in eight touchdowns. He added 10 more scores on the ground while racking up 677 rushing yards on 73 attempts. He even threw a touchdown toss. Gary's decorated prep career wrapped up like this: 2,041 receiving yards, 1,237 rushing yards, 3,626 total yards and an eye-popping 40 scores. Keep in mind, this all took place in the highest division of Texas High School football. Gary parlayed that success into eight college offers. He chose Wyoming over the likes of Texas Tech, North Texas, UTSA, Florida Atlantic and others.

QUOTABLE | "Jarell Gary, in particular, it's interesting because when I would watch him on video, I would see a bigger (sophomore cornerback) Tyson Deen. That's all I saw. He did so many different things for his school. And it's like, this is kind of what Tyson Deen was: he would be playing on defense, playing wildcat quarterback, catching balls on the perimeter, blocking people, doing all this other stuff," -- Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel discussing what he liked about Jarell Gary during the recruiting process.

WELCOME TO WYOMING SUMMER SERIES:

* LB - Anthony Beavers Jr.

* S - Jett Vincent

* WR - Justin Popovich

* QB - Tyler Hughes

* CB - Junus McGraw

* RB - Markell Holman

* CB - Logan Mackey

* S - Travis Franklin Jr.

* WR - Jayden Williams

* LB - Karson Butts

* S - Da'Marion Brownlee