LARAMIE – Wyoming's running back room was in flux during spring practice.
 
Due to the unexpected departure of the position coach right before the Cowboys took the field, head coach Jay Sawvel couldn't hire new running backs coach Gary Harrell until midway through.
 
The former Howard head coach and recent Colorado assistant did his best to get on the same page with offensive coordinator Jay Johnson and the staff while evaluating the returning talent and preparing to add pieces via the transfer portal.
 
"It's always important to come in and gain trust first," Harrell said. "From day one, I didn't want to come in and give a whole lecture like we're starting spring ball from the beginning. I want to dive in like it's spring ball, make a quick introduction, see where we are as far as installment and try to learn as fast as I can."
 
Sam Scott, the team's leading rusher in 2024, did not participate in spring practice. Sawvel said the 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior was recovering from a knee bone bruise.
 
"I want to make sure he's completely right," Sawvel said of the versatile Scott, who had 447 yards rushing and three touchdowns and 74 yards receiving and a touchdown in 10 games last season. "He's just working with the strength staff and doing his running. He'll be fine."
 
Three bruising ball carriers – redshirt freshmen Nico Hamilton and Dontae Burch and Charlotte transfer Terron Kellman – took advantage of the extra snaps.
 
Hamilton rushed for 73 net yards before suffering a broken arm late in the Brown & Gold Game. He is expected to participate in summer workouts before competing for the starting job in fall camp.
 
"I've got confidence that Nico can be a good player," Sawvel said of the 5-10, 214-pounder from Austin, Texas. "I met with everybody on the team before spring ball. One of the things that stood out to me with Nico was he just flat told me, 'I'm here to take a job.'
 
"There's a belief in himself and a work ethic that he has to back that up, and I appreciate that part."
 
Burch consistently showed an ability to get into the end zone in goal-line situations, including a 2-yard touchdown run in the spring game.
 
"I'm here to fight for my spot. Right now, there's no true starter," Burch said. "I see a little crevice and I take it and the whole team is around me celebrating. It means a lot they had faith in me to get it over the line."
 
Kellman averaged 5.0 yards per carry last season for the 49ers, finishing with 242 yards rushing and a receiving touchdown. The 5-8, 210-pound junior was a three-star recruit coming out of Baltimore, Md.
 
"Coach Johnson preaches to us, Coach Sawvel preaches to us that we need to be the hammer not the nail," Kellman said. "Having that dog mentality not to be pushed around, always to be the most physical on the field. At my position I feel it's really important to just run behind your pads and not get taken down by the first guy."
 
Nikos Varelas added some depth during the spring and had six carries for 12 yards in the Brown & Gold Game.
 
UW signed two running back transfers – Damashja Harris (North Texas) and Max White (Iowa) – on May 8.
 
The 6-4, 224-pound Harris averaged 8.8 yards per carry before suffering a season-ending injury last season. Previously, the Tallahassee, Fla., native earned all-Southland Conference first team honors as a kick returner while playing at Lamar.
 
"Damashja has high end talent," Sawvel said.
 
White, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, spent the last four seasons with the Hawkeyes as a backup running back and kickoff returner. The 5-10, 207-pound senior will have a chance to compete for a bigger role with the Pokes.
 
"We want that room really stocked," Sawvel said. "We've added six running backs this offseason. We're excited about that."
 
The Pokes will officially welcome three true freshmen running backs from the 2025 recruiting class – Patrick Broadway II, Samuel "Tote" Harris and Jaden Lawrence – this summer.
 
UW's senior-led offensive line is determined to reestablish a strong ground game along with the revamped running back room.
 
"That's my favorite thing. If we could just run the ball on every single play, I would want to do that," right guard Caden Barnett said. "I love moving people. That is what I want to establish here is what Wyoming is known for. I just want to be cutthroat and run through people."
 
(Editor's note: This is the seventh in an eight-part series reviewing UW's position groups. Friday's review: Quarterbacks).
 
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