Wyoming’s Isaac Sell Makes Impact Play in Biggest Game of Year

LARAMIE -- Unlike so many of his teammates, a torn ACL didn't cost Isaac Sell a scholarship to his dream school.

Power-4 programs stopped calling running back Samuel Harris after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in high school. Same can be said for quarterback Kaden Anderson. His back-up, Landon Sims, is in the same boat. Only difference is his surgeries came at the junior-college level.

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Despite leading all of 4A, the largest classification in Wyoming, in rushing with 1,602 yards and 13 touchdowns in just nine games as a senior at Laramie High School, Sell didn't have a single offer to begin with.

Not Chadron State. Not Black Hills State. Nada.

"I was definitely thinking that the road was over," Sell said. "So, I enrolled (at the University of Wyoming) in 2021, that fall, and I was just a student."

A simple text message that spring changed all of that: "We have an opening at wide receiver."

Shannon Moore, who leads the recruiting efforts in the state, along with being the team's tight ends and special teams coach, fired that one off. Sell didn't hesitate.

Though he'd never played the position, Sell said he was in decent shape still and was medically cleared. He would learn on the fly, he told himself.

That train of thought would come in handy, turns out.

The local product has switched positions four times since arriving on campus. He's currently listed as a cornerback, but he has practice experience at both safety spots and at nickel, not to mention nearly all of the Cowboys' special team's units.

With injuries to Isaac White and Wyett Ekeler last fall, he was asked to make the transition to the secondary. Again, he was all in, though, admittedly, he enjoyed his role at wideout.

You might remember Sell's breakout performance.

As a sophomore, he hauled in a team-high eight passes for 79 yards on a sunny afternoon inside War Memorial Stadium. The 5-foot-9, then 194-pound pass catcher made a mid-air adjustment on a 30-yard heave from Evan Svoboda late in the second half.

That was in the annual Brown and Gold Spring Game back in 2023.

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His for-real shining moment happened on that very same field, in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 25,000,  just four days ago.

Punter Bart Edmiston lofted a 36-yard punt, following Wyoming's first offensive possession of the night in a 28-0 blanking of Border War rival Colorado State. The ball slammed into the turf at the opposing 5-yard line, taking a high hop toward the end zone. Sell, standing near the goal line, watched that floater come toward him. He timed his jump perfectly, and with his left hand, batted the ball away from the white stripe and into the arms of teammate Max White.

The Rams promptly responded with a three-and-out. Because of that field position, the Cowboys' ensuing drive started at their own 33. A dozen plays later, Sims was waltzing in for six from a yard out, giving Wyoming an early 7-0 lead.

"I went up to him before we went on the field and said, 'Run right there. I mean, you're either gonna catch it or just kind of bounce right to you,'" Edmiston said, referring to a pre-snap conversation with Sell. "For him to trust me, that's real big and I'm grateful for him.

"It looked good, too."

That's not all.

"That was awesome," Sell said. "That couldn't have been a better game to do that. I grew up -- I'm sure like Andrew Johnson and a lot of the Wyoming guys on this roster -- having a strong dislike for that team. That being the team that I get to make a play against, that was super special."

Sell finally showed the world what his teammates and coaches have been witnessing in practice for five years.

Jay Sawvel called the senior a "trusted player" in this program.

"We appreciate the efforts that he gives," said Wyoming's second-year head coach, a smile plastered across his face the moment Sell's name is mentioned. "... With Isaac, you always know what you're going to get. I think that's always a big piece anytime you put somebody out on the field. You know what you're going to get out of him. And look, we all appreciate Isaac for what he does."

He could've given up. He could've mailed it in while not seeing the field for three straight seasons. He could've waved the white flag when he was asked to switch positions that many times.

Not Sell.

"I never really thought about quitting," he said, bluntly. "It's not really something that, even growing up, was really an option for me. When you start something, you finish it. I started this, and I'm not quitting just because I don't play. It's hard, but there's 11 guys on the field at one time. You know, you got guys coming in and everyone was the best kid at their high school.

"... It's about just having a firm belief in yourself."