LARAMIE – Before Jay Sawvel entered the visiting locker room to get doused by cold water, offensive lineman Caden Barnett made a brief, impassioned speech about the Cowboys' effort in the regular-season finale.
 
"No other two-win team in America would come here and compete like that!" the senior-to-be noted during his ode to the 'Cowboy culture' in the program.
 
Wyoming ended a frustrating campaign with a 15-14 victory over Washington State last Saturday night at Martin Stadium.
 
Sawvel expects the key players from a talented young core to be back to help get UW on the winning track again next fall.
 
The returners from the raucous post-game celebration in Pullman have a lot in common with the 21 members of the 2025 recruiting class announced during Wednesday's early signing day.
 
Riding for the brand matters.
 
"One thing I can tell you about this class that I love is that these people need football," Sawvel said.
 
Kaden Anderson, UW's projected starting quarterback next season, is a product of the brightest Friday night lights after replacing Texas' Quinn Ewers behind center at prep powerhouse Southlake Carroll.
 
Evan Svoboda, who capped the dramatic 14-play, 90-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to John Michael Gyllenborg on fourth-and-16 with 24 seconds left to stun the Cougars, will return to UW to play tight end.
 
The headliner of the 2025 recruiting class – Campbell County legacy recruit Mason Drube – will fit right in when he enrolls at UW next semester to begin competing with Anderson and the other signal callers.
 
"When Mason committed, that was a huge, huge thing, first of all because of the person," Sawvel said. "Everything you talk about with him is an 'A'. Person, he's an 'A', family, 'A', ability level. He ran a 4.62 (40-yard dash) pre-junior year, he has an excellent arm.
 
"It's not hard for me to close my eyes and go, 'That quarterback we just played at Washington State, Mason Drube becomes that or more in college.' Mason's going to be outstanding."
 
UW's defense limited John Mateer to 56 yards rushing, 182 yards receiving and two total touchdowns. The Manning Award finalist racked up 3,139 yards passing with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions and a team-high 826 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns on the ground for the Cougars for the season.
 
Sawvel said he also plans to add a junior college QB to the room with Anderson, Drube, redshirt freshman Deyon Batiste and walk-on Gage Brook.
 
"I don't want to waste a year of eligibility on Mason until he is fully ready for it," Sawvel said. "I want to add someone that can play for us, and if Mason beats everyone out, then great, Mason's the starting quarterback or Mason's the backup. What I didn't want to have happen is be in a situation where something happened, and Mason had to play because we didn't have someone there as a buffer."
 
Drube will not be the only member of the class competing in spring practice. Deion Deblanc, a three-star wide receiver prospect from Houston, is also enrolling early in an effort to get on the field as a true freshman as Chris Durr Jr. did last season.
 
"When he gets the ball on offense, he'll try to run through you and when you have the ball on defense he tries to run through your face," Sawvel said of Deblanc, a two-way star at North Shore High who chose UW over a list of Power 4 programs.
 
Sawvel credited Drube with helping recruit Deblanc and some other notable signees.
 
The atmosphere at War Memorial Stadium, particularly the early-season matchup with No. 17 BYU and the finale against No. 10 Boise State, also made a difference.
 
Pro Football Hall of Fame left tackle Orlando Pace's son, Landon Pace, committed to the Pokes after the family experienced the War for the first time. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end received interest from some big-name schools, including Ohio State, his father's alma mater.
 
"Again, thank you to the fans of Wyoming," Sawvel said. "All of these guys basically took official visits on game weekends and experienced game atmospheres. The impression that was left on a game day atmosphere for Wyoming versus BYU on Landon Pace went so far."
 
Offensive lineman Johnathan Bush, tight end Kyle Frendt, running back Samuel "Tote" Harris, linebacker Parker Moore, defensive end Axel Ramazani and wide receiver Ke'lyn Washom also held P4 offers.
 
Drube was recruited by Boston College, Michigan State, Washington State and others.
 
The Cowboys added a second in-state recruit in Afton's Cooper Lawson, an offensive line prospect who is used to playing in the War after leading Star Valley to three consecutive state championships.
 
"He's a fluid, good athlete, tough kid, physical kid, great family," director of personnel Kirby O'Meara said. "He's a kid that we feel has a really good upside and we're excited about."
 
The new 105-player roster limit means FBS programs must cut a significant number of contributors loose, which helped UW add some of the high-end high school talent this cycle but also means Sawvel must make some difficult decisions with developing backups and walk-ons.
 
In addition to the 21 players added Wednesday, the Cowboys plan to add about 18 more players from the high school and transfer portal during the regular signing day period from Feb. 5 through April 1.
 
"This is a good starting point for us," Sawvel said. "I'm really happy with where we're at with these 21 (signees) today because all these people absolutely love to play football."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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