Tegen Seeds Jumps on Grenade for Razor-Thin Defensive Front

LARAMIE -- In the dying seconds of last Tuesday's practice, the south sideline, practically in unison, began to clap and shout words of encouragement.

That praise was heaped on one single player: Tegen Seeds.

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What did the sophomore walk-on do to receive such acclaim? He didn't complain.

With the defensive tackle spot decimated by injuries -- ranging from recovering knee surgeries to head "dings" to joint pain -- there have been plenty of instances where the Douglas product has been the last man standing in the trenches.

On this day, with rookie Tanielu Maafala-Barbasa sidelined with a concussion and Jayden Williams dealing with persistent back spasms, Seeds -- all 6-foot, 303 pounds of him -- never left the field during an inside-run drill.

Over and over, he was forced to take on double teams and cause any disruption he could as Wyoming running backs slammed through the line of scrimmage.

"Yes, I think I have," Seeds said when asked if he has earned the respect of his teammates with this recent herculean effort on the inside. "Putting in this work has really proved to me that I can do a lot for this team."

He's not alone.

"He's valuable to us," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said, following last Saturday's 85-play scrimmage inside the team's indoor practice facility. "He's got chance to help us in certain ways."

That position is thin for a number of reasons, including limiting a pair of veterans who should have a big impact this fall. Dante Drake and Caleb Robinson were both sidelined throughout the entirety of the 2025 campaign. That duo, which has a combined weight of 607 pounds and has appeared in 47 career games, suffered Achilles' tears in summer workouts.

"We're keeping them out of team sets," Sawvel said. "They could play right now. If we played a game this week against Colorado State, they would play, but we don't, so we're not going to play them."

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Henry Rehberg (ACL), Ja'Quan Redfern (tendonitis) and Alex Haswell (knee sprain), on the other hand, are still on the shelf. Casper native Cody Crawford will also miss the season after tearing his ACL early in spring camp.

"We're taking it in the teeth," Sawvel would say last week. "It's just like one bomb after another goes off at that position ... We got all these bombs happening at one time."

Help could be on the way in the form of health, true freshmen and even a late transfer, Sawel added.

The Cowboys will welcome true freshmen MacGregor Byers (Houston, Texas) and Xavier Jackson (O'Fallon, Mo.) in June. Haswell, Redfern and Rehberg should be fully cleared ahead of summer conditioning.

"We will be well-stocked, but right now we're thin," he said last week.

Seeds has jumped on the metaphorical grenade for his team this April.

His curly hair dripping with sweat and a heavily-bandaged right arm serve as proof of that hard work. His gold pants are almost orange in color after a two-plus hour exhibition.

It's all in a day's work, he said with a smile.

"I went through a lot of ice," Seeds said. "I mean, we went down low on D-tackles on Tuesday. It was just me. So, I've been in there every day, getting ice on my shoulders, elbows and knees. I've been (in the training room) every day.

"I use a lot of ice right now."

His effort hasn't gone unnoticed.

"Probably not," Sawvel grinned when asked if there is another player on this roster more exhausted day in and day out than Seeds. "I think Tegan sees God every day, and white lights and everything else."

Seeds and the Cowboys this Saturday will take part in the annual spring game inside War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.