LARAMIE – DeVonne Harris is still here.
 
And still working night and day.
 
The super senior began the week with a 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. shift Monday at the local Jersey Mike's Subs and took the field for Wyoming's 10^th spring practice on Tuesday afternoon in the Indoor Practice Facility.
 
Harris, who already has a degree in American Studies and is working on another one in Sociology, removed his goggles and changed into his trademark pajama pants before doing a post-practice interview.
 
"You approach it like you're just getting here," Harris, who arrived at UW in 2019, said of entering his sixth and final season in the program. "You want to get better every day. With all that experience you know what you're doing, so you build on top of that. You try to do other things since you know all the techniques and plays."
 
Head coach Jay Sawvel is confident the Cowboys will have a strong pass rush with Harris leading the way this season. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end tied for the team lead with 4.0 sacks and had a team-high eight quarterback hits in 2023.
 
"Look, there's a curiosity you have. A guy has been here for 21 years that you look at, OK, will he be complacent this spring? Will he kind of just go through his motions and take his reps and call it good?" Sawvel said of Harris. "He is working to get better, and you see a lot of things from him that you're like, OK, this looks better than it ever has. So, I'm really pleased with his mindset, his attitude and where he's at right now."
 
The return of Harris, along with resilient juniors Sabastian Harsh and Braden Siders, provides defensive ends coach Brian Hendricks a wealth of experienced and skilled players to work with.
 
"DeVonne's energy, everybody feels it. You know when he's having a good day, you know when he's having a bad day," Hendricks said. "The majority of the time it's a good day. The kid is always positive and just brings a really good vibe to the program. Guys feed off that. He is special in that way. He's got his own weird attire, his own personality, but he's being him. So, we really appreciate that."
 
Harsh had 50 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and a forced fumble last season after missing the 2022 campaign with a gruesome knee injury. During the winter strength and conditioning program, he added 15 pounds of muscle to his 6-3 frame.

"I think he was kind of like, I'm here, I'll do my job and let's see what happens," Hendricks said of Harsh overcoming the mental hurdle of returning from a serious injury last season. "Our expectation is we've got to go produce and you shouldn't be surprised when those plays come your way and you make those plays. I believe that mindset has really kicked in with him that if you play really fast the production is going to come your way."
 
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was Harsh's first sack victim. When the Arizona Bowl was on the line, Harsh came up with a critical third-down stop to give the offense the ball back for the game-winning drive in the thrilling 16-15 fourth-quarter comeback over Toledo.
 
"It just lets me know that once I get into that moment, I've been there before and I can make that play," Harris said of the experience. "There's no reason for me to be nervous when I do get there. I just need to be cool, calm, collected and not think about the play too much, just go do my job and finish the play the right way."
 
Siders had 5.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks and four quarterback hits despite missing last year's spring practice to recover from shoulder surgery and then dealing with hamstring issues throughout UW's 9-4 finish.

"He was still operating at a redshirt freshman level. Now that he's been able to get his body right and increase his upper body strength from that shoulder surgery and build endurance in those hamstrings, you can tell the confidence is there and that's a big key for the room."

Now healthy and carrying 10 more pounds of muscle, Siders is flashing some devastating pass rush moves to go with his solid run-stopping tackling abilities.
 
"We're starting in a way better spot than we ended for sure," Siders said of having a strong offseason alongside Harsh. "We've got all the pieces together now (at defensive end) and we'll be a good help to this defense. Watching film from last season we had a lot of stuff to correct. This spring that's all we've been focusing on."
 
Hendricks' rotation is not limited to the three headliners. Ethan Day, Kevin Sjogren and Tyce Westland have all developed into players he trusts to put on the field in crucial situations.
 
"We're very capable but we're just (10) practices in and right now we're going against the same guys every day," Hendricks cautioned of the defensive ends dominating some inexperienced offensive tackles this spring. "We know what protections are coming, we know people's strengths and weaknesses. We've got to be able to do it on the big stage. We're capable but we're nowhere near where we need to be yet.
 
"But it is exciting to see the guys taking the information, taking the coaching and they're able to translate it on the field."
 
Sawvel made a trip to Jersey Mike's Subs last month to order a sandwich from his favorite fast-food employee, but Harris wasn't at the counter.
 
"Tell me if you're going to be in the back. I won't come up there and spend money," Sawvel quipped. "That's alright, it was still a good sub."
 
Not surprisingly, Harris was getting an extra workout in at his day job.
 
"We were kind of swamped because we had our truck with all of our inventory," Harris said. "I was back there putting everything away while we had two people up front."
 
Fans can get a peek at Harris and the pass rush during UW's spring game at 1 p.m. on April 27 at Cheyenne East High School.
 
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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