LARAMIE – Gary Harrell didn't need a traditional résumé during his previous 22 years in the coaching profession.
 
Each job opportunity presented itself based on Harrell's outstanding work at the previous stop.
 
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame wide receiver was a highly respected assistant at five different programs over nine years before becoming the head coach at Howard, his alma mater, in 2011.
 
Harrell – affectionately nicknamed "The Flea" during a legendary playing career at 5-foot-5, including a stint in the NFL with the New York Giants – worked for Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic and most recently for Deion Sanders at Colorado.
 
This spring, for the first time in over two decades, Harrell found himself searching for employment when Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel called to see if he would be interested in interviewing for the Cowboys' vacant running backs coach position.
 
Harrell put his 1994 B.A. in marketing to work during the unexpected audition.
 
"I was fortunate enough to get jobs on performance," Harrell said. "It has been a while since I had to come before a staff and presented myself. I enjoyed that process and I really prepared for that moment. It was intriguing with the culture, and I heard a lot about the atmosphere (at UW) on game day."
 
Harrell drove up to 7,220 feet from his home in Erie, Colo., on April 3 for the interview. Sawvel called him three days later with good news.
 
"Before he finished saying, I want to offer you … I said, I accept the job," Harrell said. "I think everything happened for a reason. It's a good situation for me to be in, it's a good transition as far as making the move from Erie to here. Being a part of Colorado, I love the environment. I don't think it's any different. The wind is stronger, but as far as the weather, the scenery, the mountains."
 
The vibes of the programs in Boulder and Laramie are quite different.
 
Coach Prime has put the Buffaloes back in the national spotlight with his aggressive use of the transfer portal and help on the field from his talented son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and superstar two-way player Travis Hunter, who are both expected to be first-round picks in this month's NFL draft.
 
The Pokes have added depth and competition at key positions via the portal, but the program is built on developing unheralded recruits into productive Mountain West players.
 
Harrell has always embraced the underdog mentality since his days as a diminutive prep standout in Miami.
 
"Everybody does things differently. When you do things your way and it works and you're having success, then you tend to stick with that," Harrell said. "It's based on personnel, it's based on feel, it's based on your philosophy. I think at Colorado they have a different philosophy (about) how they go about doing things. Everything is transparent, everything has been shown. You live a life inside a fish tank for the most part.
 
"I like it here because it's football, it's no nonsense. Coach Sawvel, you can tell from the team meeting, how he commands the respect."
 
It didn't take Harrell long to earn the respect of his new colleagues and players. Three practices into his tenure, the Pokes feel like they are a step ahead of where they would have been had his predecessor not left at the start of spring.
 
"He has fit in extremely well off the bat," Sawvel said. "I'm really happy with the hire. It's one of those things when one thing happens that you actually improve yourself in the situation with it. I'm excited about that."
 
During last Saturday's scrimmage, Terron Kellman and Nico Hamilton continued to lead the running back room. A third candidate for playing time, 5-7 redshirt freshman Dontae Burch, stood out with a couple of short-yardage scores.
 
"He's one of those old school coaches but he's a good coach," Burch said of his first impression of Harrell. "I love him already."
 
The Cowboys will welcome three freshmen running backs when the 2025 recruiting class arrives this summer. Sam Scott, currently sitting out to allow a nagging injury to heal, is expected to be featured in the fall.
 
Sawvel plans to add another running back to Harrell's room during the spring portal window, if the right fit is available.
 
Offensive coordinator Jay Johnson will have a balanced attack with quarterback Kaden Anderson, tight end John Michael Gyllenborg and wide receivers Chris Durr Jr. and Jaylen Sargent returning.
 
"When I came, I didn't really expect to see what I saw, I really didn't expect to feel what I felt as far as the culture, the people," Harrell said. "From Coach Sawvel you can tell he does a great job as far as hiring the right people. Coach Jay Johnson is a great guy, and they were just so welcoming. They gave me the opportunity to present myself.
 
"The biggest thing that I didn't know and realized from day one is there is no foolishness, it's football. You can tell the players, the coaches, they love football. It's all about football, it's all about life, it's all about that next step, that next day. When I came here, I felt that and I wanted to be part of it."
 
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