Tyce Westland — Quietly — Continues to Carve Out His Path

LARAMIE -- Wyoming's staff loved his length, movement and skill.

Once ingrained into the program's strength and conditioning program, that group said the ceiling could become even higher for Tyce Westland, who already possessed a number of intangibles.

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Now, five years later, he checks all of those boxes.

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 241, the senior edge rusher certainly looks the part, even featuring six-pack abs.

"I figure if I'm going to have my jersey pulled up I have to have something," Westland joked.

A quiet kid from tiny Pleasanton, Neb. (pop. 341), the farm boy is finally finding his voice. While it's not always easy to hear, he excels in another form of communication -- making plays.

"He's come a long way," defensive ends coach Brian Hendricks said. "He was kind of a head-shy young man and you could tell it was brand-spanking new to him, considering he came from 8-man (football) in Nebraska. There was a lot coming his way that I don't know if he was quite ready for, including the style of coaching.

"When Tyce was a young buck, he had a lot of mental strength. We'll put it that way."

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Westland said he simply watched, observed and tried to keep up during his rookie season. He never saw the field in 2021. The same happened the following fall. Still, he quietly -- literally -- kept plugging away, focusing on the fundamentals, techniques and carving out his role.

"I was just trying to do what I was supposed to do," he said. "All that background of doing what I was supposed to do, now I can be a vocal leader because I've been there and done that."

Landon Sims said he hasn't necessarily heard that audible instruction, but he's seen it.

"Tyce really sticks out to you," Wyoming's back-up quarterback said with a nervous smile and a slight head shake, adding thankfully the signal callers are not allowed to be hit during practice. "He's just so fast. He's really good. You don't have many opportunities to pull the ball, per se, but every now and then you catch him lurking. It's good to go against guys like that."

Esaia Bogar spent the previous two seasons at Riverside City College, a JuCo in southern California. The 6-foot-2, 251-pound defensive end led his team to a state and national championship in 2023. In his years at RCC, Bogar recorded 23 sacks, 40 tackles for loss and was a two-time All-State selection.

Seasoned, right?

He thought so, too, until he watched Westland operate.

"He's very sound in everything he does on the field," Bogar added. "He rarely makes mistakes. He's kind of like that figure for us to look at and, maybe not play like him, but take a look at what he does and just try to mimic it, in certain aspects."

Bogar said Westland still rarely talks to the group, but when he does, you listen.

Hendricks has seen that transformation, too.

"He doesn't bark a whole lot, but when he does, people know, 'Hey, Tyce means business,'" he added. "So, I think just to see the maturity part of it has been impressive and his pass rush has really improved."

Westland didn't finish with the most sacks on this team a season ago, but that didn't stop head coach Jay Sawvel from calling him the best edge rusher in the program.

Westland tallied three of those. He also tacked on a career-high 41 tackles and forced and recovered a fumble. His best outing came against Utah State, where he registered eight stops. He also forced a late fumble against New Mexico and scooped up the loose change to secure the 49-45 comeback victory in Albuquerque.

Last Thursday night in Akron, Westland made his presence felt early, hammering quarterback Ben Finley to the rain-soaked turf on the Zips' first possession. That was one of his two official hits on the senior signal caller, who was on the field for all 66 defensive snaps. He also racked up two hurries to go along with four tackles in the Cowboys' first shutout since 2017.

He looked different. Fast, smooth and, at times, unblockable.

He felt that way, too.

"My body feels the best it's felt," Westland said. "My takeoff from the end stance, I mean, I think it's the best it's ever been. So, hopefully my pass rush proves greater this year."

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Aaron Bohl said he thinks that has already happened.

"He has great effort," Wyoming's second-year defensive coordinator added. "He's going to work to tail off every single snap. He's a very tough kid and, you know, it's been fun to see him grow in so many aspects, not just being able to rush faster, his hands got better in the run game."

Self-improvement. Leading. Taking his body to the limit.

Those were just a few goals Westland set out for himself, heading into his final season on the high plains.

He's one of two returners on a defense that didn't live up to the standard in 2024, allowing nearly 200 yards a game on the ground and more than four touchdowns. He takes that personal.

Akron, as a team, didn't reach the century mark on the ground in the season opener. That high-flying spread attack never once crossed the white stripe.

It's a start.

"I really was expecting our defense to be a lot better, but pitching a shutout like that was incredible," Westland said. "They drive on us, they get all the way to the goal line and we force a turnover. We've been saying all offseason, 'Don't flinch.' No matter what happens, don't flinch.

"We didn't flinch, kept points off the board and it's just a great feeling."

Wyoming hosts Northern Iowa Saturday in its home opener inside War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.

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