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LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The University of Wyoming Football Program is building on the success it enjoyed in the 2004 season with an outstanding 2005 recruiting class.

After finishing the '04 campaign with a 7-5 record and a 24-21 victory over UCLA in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl, the Cowboy coaching staff went out and attracted a recruiting class that features several accomplished student-athletes.

Included among the 2005 recruiting class are: the 2004 Oklahoma Player of the Year; the quarterback who led the state of California in passing; a two-time Super 25 All-State selection from the state of Wyoming; and one of the top five offensive linemen in the state of Colorado.

"This group has fantastic numbers, fantastic stats, excellent toughness, and includes a lot of winners," said Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn. "We hit our position quotas on the head, and are really excited about what these kids can do.

"I'm equally excited about the current players on our team that have already proven they can be successful in Division IA football.

"We are really happy with our two in-state signees -- Joe Evers and Erick Pauley -- and feel like they will make a huge impact on our program down the road.

"Colorado continues to be a rich recruiting area for us, and we're excited about our three quality recruits from the state of Oklahoma.

"Karsten Sween and J.R. Moore have perhaps the most eye-popping statistics of any two athletes I've ever been involved in recruiting. I'm anxious to see what they can do."

J.R. Moore of Midwest City, Okla., comes to Wyoming as perhaps the most decorated high school football player in the state of Oklahoma this past season. He was named the 2004 Oklahoma Offensive Player of the Year by The Oklahoman newspaper. He was also named First Team All-State at free safety by the Oklahoma Coaches' Association. The 5-10, 194-pound quarterback/running back/free safety led Carl Albert High School of Midwest City to the Oklahoma 5A State Championship this past season. He is projected as a running back for the Cowboys.

Karsten Sween, a 6-2, 205-pound quarterback from Inyokern, Calif., led the entire state of California in passing yards in 2004, with 4,345 yards. He also threw 46 touchdown passes on the season to rank No. 2 in the state. The Los Angeles Times named Sween the All-Desert/Mountain Region First Team quarterback, and selected him the Desert/Mountain Region Back of the Year.

Erick Pauley was a two-time Casper Star-Tribune Super 25 selection, and was a two-time All-State selection as a defensive lineman. Pauley, led Green River High School of Green River, Wyo., to a perfect 11-0 season and the 2004 Class 5A State Championship. At 6-3, 310 pounds, he played both ways as an offensive lineman and defensive lineman, and helped Green River lead the state in both total offense and total defense.

Russell Arnold of Westminster, Colo., was the first student-athlete to commit to the Wyoming Cowboys in this year's recruiting class. The 6-4, 240-pound offensive lineman was one of only five o-linemen named to the All-Colorado team for all classifications by The Denver Post. He was also named First Team All-Class 5A by the Rocky Mountain News. He led Northglenn High School into the Class 5A state playoffs as the No. 5 seed.

"Not only do we feel like we've attracted excellent athletes," said Glenn. "But we really have put together a quality group of young people. I believe their character is every bit as important as their talent.

"I want to extend a special thanks to our coaching staff, student-athletes, faculty and staff here at Wyoming for a great team effort in putting this class together.

"The Best is Yet to Come," concluded Glenn.

Each Division I-A football program is allowed to sign 25 student-athletes to national letters of intent each year. Grayshirts, student-athletes who don't go on scholarship for a year, don't count in that 25 maximum.

The national letter-of-intent signing period began today, Feb. 2 and ends April 1, 2005.

This year's class will join a 2005 Cowboy Football team that returns nine of 11 starters on offense, eight of 11 on defense, both its place-kicker and punter, as well as a total of 48 returning lettermen.

University of Wyoming Cowboys 2005 Football Signings
(Alphabetical, As of Feb. 2, 2005)

Breakdown:
Junior-College Signees Already Enrolled at UW ( 2)
Junior-College Signees Who Will Enroll at UW in the Fall of 2005 ( 1)
High-School Signees (22)
Current Cowboy Walkons Awarded Scholarships ( 3)
Totals (28)

Junior-College Signees Already Enrolled at UW (2)

Junior-College Signees Who Will Enroll at UW in the Fall of 2004 (1)

High-School Signees (22)

Current Cowboy Walkons Awarded Scholarships (3)

Broken Down By State (As of Feb. 2, 2005)

Broken Down By Position (As of Feb. 2, 2005)

* Enrolled at the University of Wyoming and on scholarship starting January of 2005.

# Grayshirts, will go on scholarship in January of 2006. Grayshirts don't count against this year's recruiting class total

^ Current Wyoming walkons who were awarded scholarships starting in January of 2005 and that count toward this year's recruiting class.