LARAMIE – Invisible service.
 
That's one way to describe what military families go through while their loved ones are deployed.
 
Samuel Harris' sacrifice went viral three years ago following a University City High School practice in San Diego. His coach asked the dynamic young running back nicknamed "Tote" to stand in front of the team and talk about someone who inspired him.
 
"Somebody in my family I respect … there's a lot of people, but I would say my mom, because she's been gone for about a year with the military," said Harris, who was just turning 16 at the time of the reunion. "She's going to continue to work hard. She's a hard worker."
 
What Harris didn't know is that his mother, Tereca, was standing right behind him for a surprise visit after being deployed with the U.S. Navy for nine months. Their long embrace embrace stirred tears for many viewers of the video shared by the team's booster club. 
 
Last Saturday, Harris' parents were able to witness another special moment for their son on the football field when Wyoming's supersonic true freshman rushed for 61 yards and an 18-yard touchdown during the 31-7 win over Northern Iowa at War Memorial Stadium.
 
"It was very loud, a lot of people there, so I was a little nervous," Harris said of playing his first home game with the Cowboys in front of a passionate crowd of 25,009. "Once I got on the field everything just spoke for itself. It was a dream come true getting in the end zone, hearing everybody cheering and celebrating with my team."
 
Harris and his family lived on a military base in Japan from the time he was 9 until 11. While playing peewee football one of his coaches called him Tote, the perfect moniker for a running back.
 
"I was the best player on the island I would say," Harris said with a smile. "It was fun playing in Japan because it was on a military base, American kids a lot of them. It was nice living in Japan also, having that experience."
 
While playing in Southern California as a freshman and sophomore, Harris was already receiving interest from Arizona and Washington. Then the family packed up again and moved to greater San Antonio, where he continued his prep career at Byron P Steele High in Cibolo, Texas.
 
"At first it was challenging for me and my sister constantly moving around, finding new friends, settling into new places," Harris said. "But we kind of got used to it and I feel it helped me with the process coming up here because moving around, and sometimes my mom being away with work, I'm familiar with being away from my family for a little bit. It helped but it was tough on me and my sister as kids."
 
Harris was shining under the Friday night lights in Texas, but during his junior season he suffered a torn ACL. UW head coach Jay Sawvel and his coaching staff never wavered during the recruitment process, which is one of the reasons why Tote is toting the football for the Pokes.
 
"The love they showed," Harris said when asked how he ended up wearning the brown and gold. "I tore my ACL when they offered me and they were constantly checking up on me during the process, during rehab, checking up on my family and constantly contacting my mom and dad and my sister. I was like, there's nowhere else I need to be but Wyoming."
 
Sam Scott, UW's starting running back, leads the Mountain West in rushing with 37 carries for 190 yards (5.1 ypc) and a touchdown. The senior had 29 carries during the 10-0 victory at Akron to open the season while Harris was limited to two carries totaling one yard in his college debut.
 
"(Harris) has been very eager to get this opportunity. We wanted that to present itself Week 1, but we felt like there was a lot of things defensively going on and we didn't want to set him up for failure," running backs coach Gary Harrell said. "Not that he couldn't handle the load, but we have a process we follow. This past week was an opportunity to get him in and get his feet wet. Once he got in, he showed some things as far as flashes. We all know he is very explosive but the main thing we want to focus on is protection. …
 
"That was very impressive for a young guy to come in a game of that magnitude and perform the way he did."
 
Scott had eight carries for 58 yards and a touchdown and Terron Kellman added seven carries for 87 yards against the Panthers. Harris helped the Cowboys put an exclamation point on the win in the fourth quarter after quarterback Kaden Anderson left the game with an injury and was replaced by Landon Sims.
 
"Everybody saw throughout fall camp how good Tote was going to be," Sims said. "He climbed through the depth chart so fast and he's going to be a real special cat. He's special now but he's going to be super special in the future."
 
Harris will get a chance to compete against one of the Power 4 conference teams that recruited him before his high school injury when UW hosts No. 20 Utah on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (6 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
 
Defensively, the Utes (2-0) are giving up 2.66 yards per rushing attempt and 74.5 rushing yards per game so far this season. The Cowboys (2-0) average 4.67 yards per rush and 177.5 yards per game coming into the matchup with their former conference rival.
 
"He showed kind of what makes him special in the fact that he's got a burst, he's got legit top end speed, his vision and quickness are very good as well," Sawvel said of Harris' early breakout performance against UNI. "He's going to do nothing but continue to improve and get better. There are things he can do that we haven't had a back here that can do since I've been here. He's just a freshman though right now so there's going to be a learning curve to certain things, but I'm really excited about what he's going to turn into."
 
Still a teenager, Harris has traveled a long road to Laramie, which has made him wise beyond his years. And mom's hard work has rubbed off on the talented Tote.

"When you have a conversation with him what sticks out is he always says wherever he's been he has always been one of the best players. That's not shocking to him," Harrell said. "That shows me the maturity to adapt in a different environment and still be who you are no matter where you are and be able to perform. He has shown that here from day one.
 
"He's going to have a bright future, and we look forward to continuing to showcase him."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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