LARAMIE – DeVonne Harris made his debut in the 2019 Arizona Bowl and John Hoyland made his surprising first start in the 2020 opener at Nevada.
The sixth-year defensive end affectionately known as "Speed Googles" for wearing his prescription specs in games and the fifth-year placekicker who made a fashion statement by wearing one red shoe will play their final home game at Wyoming against No. 13 Boise State on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.
Harris, who has returned to the starting lineup after suffering a fractured forearm early in the season, recovered a fumble in last week's loss at Colorado State.
Even though he's not completely healthy, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior from Big Lake, Minn., will be logging most of the snaps against the Broncos with defensive ends Sabastian Harsh and Braden Siders expected to miss the game due to injuries.
Harris started all 26 games for the Cowboys over the previous two seasons. He redshirted in 2019 as a true freshman, played in five games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and rotated behind some outstanding veteran defensive ends in 2021.
Former UW head coach Craig Bohl used to mimic Harris' deep voice and give the edge rusher grief for wearing pajamas to the High Altitude Performance Center.
"A guy who just showed up every day with a smile on his face, came to work and didn't really care what other people thought about him and helped those young guys get better," Harris said of his legacy. "And I want to be remembered for my pajama pants."
Hoyland walked on and was thrust into the spotlight when projected starter Luke Glassock was injured before the trip to Reno in 2020.
The true freshman calmly made field goals of 27, 36, 42 and 38 yards during the Cowboys' 37-34 overtime loss to Wally Pipp Glassock.
"He has been Mr. Automatic," co-special teams coordinator Shannon Moore said of Hoyland. "Two days before that Nevada game was when all of those guys got out of the dorms from COVID quarantine. The next thing you know, he's the starting kicker. It's really an unbelievable story.
"Once you get a taste of some of that success then suddenly it just keeps rolling and you kind of feed off that."
With two games remaining in his career, Hoyland has made 68 of 86 (79.1%) field goal attempts and 146 of 147 (99.3%) extra points. He is UW's all-time leading scorer with 350 points.
"It's weird. You've been here so many years and every year you're like, I'll be back another year," Hoyland said of his emotions going into his final home game. "Not being able to say that anymore is going to be different."
Harris said his favorite moment at UW was blocking the field goal that Jakorey Hawkins returned for a 62-yard touchdown to deliver a stunning 22-19 victory over Appalachian State last season.
The dramatic win, which came on the heels of the overtime thriller over Texas Tech in the opener, propelled the Cowboys to nine wins in Bohl's final season.
Even though his final campaign has not gone according to plan, Harris didn't think twice about gutting out the stretch run with other injured seniors, including safeties Wyett Ekeler and Isaac White.
"It has just been one of those seasons. Everybody seems to be going down. I think this is the most people we've had injured in my six years here," Harris said. "When you know you don't have any more games left after this season you want to be out there. I don't want to pack it up. I want to be out there and to finish strong.
"When Wyett came back with two clubs (protecting his broken thumbs) against San Jose, I turned around on his pick and I could not stop laughing. I was like, 'Just go down, you can't hold the ball.' I think all of us want to finish out strong whether we're limping off the field or walking off the field."
Hoyland said his favorite game was the thriller over Texas Tech. Even though the Pokes clinched the win on Sam Scott's 2-point conversion, it was Hoyland's 56-yard field goal in the second quarter that turned the tide after the Red Raiders stormed out to a 17-0 lead.
"The Texas Tech game sticks out. When you ask a lot of these seniors what their favorite game is that's a really special one," said Hoyland, who ended the 2023 season by earning Arizona Bowl most valuable player honors after kicking the game-winner against Toledo as time expired on Bohl's tenure. "I remember coming in and watching the Mizzou win in 2019 and thinking I kind of want to have a win like that. To be able to contribute to that was pretty great."
Hoyland, who is from Broomfield, Colo., made a 49-yard field goal during last week's 24-10 loss at Colorado State. He has already earned a degree from UW in mechanical engineering and will finish his MBA in May.
"Get an education," Hoyland said of his expectations when he initially joined the program. "Just come in here and get an engineering degree was going to be good enough for me, and if I got it paid for that would be a good bonus. Being able to look back at how far I've surpassed that is pretty cool."
Most fans have noticed that Hoyland isn't wearing the red kicking shoe he used during his first four seasons with the Pokes. The change has nothing to do with last year's mini slump from long distance or superstition.
"It's a boring answer. They ran out, they discontinued that kind of cleat," Hoyland said. "I don't really care what kind of cleat it is as long as it works for me. I found a cleat that works pretty well for me this season and I'm pretty happy with the choice I've made."
During Boise State's 2022 visit to Laramie, it looked like Hoyland would have a chance to force overtime after a wild sequence in the final minute.
Running back George Holani, who had not lost a fumble during his decorated career, had the ball knocked loose while trying to run out the clock. Harris scooped the fumble up and returned it 44 yards to the Boise State 21-yard line with 45 seconds remaining.
"When I got the ball, everything went black and white," Harris said. "I saw people to my left, I saw people to my right, and I was like that seems the safest way. I chose wrong but it is what it is."
Harris was caught from behind by the Broncos' quarterback and pushed out of bounds. The Cowboys went for the win on the next snap and threw an interception, which prevented Hoyland from getting a chance to tie the score.
The two seniors are hoping to be part of an upset for the ages against the Broncos in their final home game.
"My entire time here we've played Boise tooth and nail on this field," Harris said. "On the blue turf it's a different story, but on our field, we always seem to give them a problem. We're going to go out there and play the game we know we can play and try to play spoiler."
UW defeated Boise State 30-28 in 2016 to earn a spot in the Mountain West championship. The Cowboys lost to the Broncos 17-9 in 2020 and the 20-17 heartbreaker in 2022 at the War.
"We've had some tough ones with them over the years. There's still some impact we can have on the college football world and that does mean something to this team," Hoyland said. "I hope we can go out there, play our best and give them a run for their money."
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