How Will Wyoming’s Wide Receiver Room Shake Out This Fall?

LARAMIE -- The theme of the offseason for Wyoming's coaching staff was physicality.

The defense had that in spades in 2025. The offense, not so much.

Jay Sawvel's plan was to get bigger in the trenches. He sought out an aggressive, blocking tight end. He wanted more size on the perimeter, too.

Why the urgency?

Maybe it's the whole eight total drives all season that took more than five minutes off the game clock? Or it could be the fact the Cowboys averaged just 16 points per game, the sixth worst mark in the nation?

"That's insane, right?" Sawvel said in December. "That's not a recipe to win any football game."

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The Cowboys added three offensive linemen via the NCAA Transfer Portal. That trio -- Jason Maciejczak (Nebraska), Chandler Donaway (East Texas A&M) and Jeremiah Katt (Northern Arizona) -- averages 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds. Four more bigs were picked up from the high school ranks.

Wyoming's head coach said don't expect big numbers from Tyler Siddons. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end from Northwestern State (La.), though, will be relied upon to seal edges and keep plenty of defenders occupied in the run game.

What about at wideout?

Sawvel said in December he wanted to land "two to three" receivers in free agency. Only one with experience, Justin Popvich, signed on the dotted line. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior is coming off a career season at Lock Haven (Pa.), catching 55 passes for 709 yards and six touchdowns.

"No. 1 was a big level of production. No. 2, I think he's just hitting his stride," Sawvel said, referring to his faith in the Louisville native. "He developed a little bit late, you know? It's kind of the reason that he ended up at Division II. But when you watched him last year, there were a lot of things that he did that translated to where, OK, you're going to be able to do those things here.

"He's not only a guy that can run routes and catch the ball, he'll put his face on people. He can run with it after he catches it. Then, there's size."

Popovich will join a group that includes Jackson Holman (13 catches, 139 yards), Eric Richardson (10 catches, 112 yards, TD), Charlie Coenen (5 catches, 99 yards, TD), Deion DeBlanc (17 catches, 90 yards) and Bricen Brantley (5 catches, 33 yards).

None of the above finished in the Top 5 in production at that position.

Chris Durr Jr., who snagged a team-high 45 balls for 469 yards and four touchdowns, is now at Maryland. Jaylen Sargent, Michael Fitzgerald and tight end John Michael Gyllenborg all exhausted their eligibility.

Samuel Harris, Wyoming's leading rusher, racked up 184 yards on 16 catches out of the backfield.

The staff is also high on 6-foot-2, 210-pound redshirt freshman Ke'Lyn Washom, who reportedly was making plenty of plays on the scout team in 2025. He will be "infused" in the offense this season, Sawvel added.

Wyoming also picked up a mid-year freshman, Jayden Williams, a three-star recruit from Las Vegas. Tyler Nystrom and Pierre "PJ" Jackson are also in the mix.

Two rookies, Sawvel added, could also make a push for playing time this fall -- Jarell Gary Jr. and Jordan Styles.

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The latter turned down offers from FBS programs Air Force and Navy. Defending FCS National Champion Montana State, along with a number of other schools at that level, also wanted the three-star receiver from The Woodlands, Texas.

Styles, who stands at 6 feet and already tips the scales at 200 pounds, caught 110 passes for nearly 1,700 yards and 17 touchdowns during his playing days at College Park High School. He added 160 yards on the ground during his senior campaign. That damage came on only 18 carries. He earned All-District honors and was invited to the Navy All-American Combine.

"He's a really good receiver," Sawvel said on signing day. "... He fits a size, body type and skill set that we have lacked here for a period of time. That's just the physicality to go across the middle and do things, but also the physicality to block with physicality and to run after the catch."

"He's a very talented athlete," said Austin Maus, Wyoming's Director of Player Personnel. "He's a smooth route runner and has great hands. He has really big hands. He has good speed, too. He tracks the ball at a very high level."

Sawvel said Gary reminds him of a player from Texas who is already on the roster -- Tyson Shamsid-Deen.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Round Rock product was a Swiss Army knife in the McNeil High School offense, accounting for more than 2,000 receiving yards and 1,200 yards on the ground during his prep career. He found the end zone 33 times, 23 of which came through the air.

Gary received seven scholarship offers, including one from defending Big XII Champion Texas Tech. North Texas, Florida Atlantic and UTSA were also in the mix after he hauled in 39 balls for 800 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior.

"He is really tough -- extremely tough," Maus said. "He's physical, willing to block on the perimeter and does a lot for his team. He plays wide receiver, he plays wildcat quarterback, he will even blitz on defense as a linebacker. I mean, he does a little bit of everything. He's a very talented player. We're very excited to have him in this class."

Sawvel said, simply, little guys get tired, but big guys never shrink.

Shamsid-Deen is expected to battle for a starting cornerback role during his sophomore season in Laramie. In 2025, in an attempt to open up a stagnant passing attack, the staff even lined the true freshman up in the slot 13 times. He snagged three short passes.

"When I would watch him on video, I would see a bigger Tyson," Sawvel added. "That's all I saw. He did so many different things for his school. And it's like, this is kind of what Tyson was, you know, where he would be playing on defense, wildcat, catching balls on the perimeter, blocking people and doing all this other stuff."

Now, the question is: how will these guys be utilized?

Wyoming landed its coveted signal caller in Tyler Hughes. The William & Mary transfer is reuniting with his former playcaller at Wyoming, Christian Taylor, who will take over the offensive coordinator role this fall.

Hughes completed better than 66% of his passes last season while throwing for 2,330 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Taylor didn't quite show his hand, but "simplification," he added, will be key to a turnaround this fall. Getting the right guys in space will also be a feature.

"Being really good at your core concepts and your base fundamentals," he added. "Dress it up a million different ways and stay unpredictable ... You can classify it as a position-less offense. You're not going to know how we're going to line up based on who's on the field."

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