LARAMIE – Wyoming's offensive line had the added pressure of trying to account for extra defenders at the line of scrimmage the past two seasons without having a consistent dual threat at quarterback.
 
Getting too aggressive against graduate transfer Tyler Hughes or Mason Drube will be a risky proposition for opposing defenses this fall.
 
Hughes passed for 2,330 yards with 20 touchdowns and three interceptions and rushed for 670 yards and 11 touchdowns last season at William & Mary. He already has a strong grasp of new offensive coordinator Christian Taylor's playbook, which was undoubtedly influenced by watching Josh Allen the past two seasons while working as an assistant with the Buffalo Bills.
 
By comparison, the Cowboys finished with 2,196 passing yards (13 touchdowns, 12 interceptions) and had 79 net yards rushing with one rushing touchdown from the quarterback position in 2025.

"I'm glad he's out there," UW head coach Jay Sawvel said after the first spring practice on Tuesday. "Now here's the thing that I love about Tyler Hughes, OK, what time is it right now? It's 5:53 (p.m.) or 5:48 ...  by 6:30 or 6:45 he's probably back upstairs watching everything from practice today."
 
Drube, a 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt freshman from Gillette, was able to get his feet wet with three appearances last season, finishing with 187 yards passing and 21 net yards rushing in limited snaps. The touted in-state prospect passed for 2,434 yards with 23 touchdowns as a senior at Campbell County High School.
 
"Hughes and Drube are both dangerous quarterbacks and both those dudes can hurt people," left tackle Rex Johnsen said. "Defenses have to respect us more. We have quarterbacks that can run now. In previous years they would just load the box on us every single play. With the new offense we have more things going on and we're going to be more dangerous on all factors."
 
Sawvel, shortly after getting his first of glimpse of Hughes in a UW uniform on the field, was impressed with the 6-foot, 200-pound senior's release and speed. During the two-hour practice, the seasoned signal caller makes quick decisions that lead to explosive plays against man coverage.
 
"I told (defensive coordinator) Aaron Bohl on one of the plays we did lose contain and the next thing you know, it would have been a 35-yard play because we were in man coverage, a bunch of guys had their backs turned," Sawvel noted of a run by Hughes. "It's going to be hard to play a lot of man against Tyler Hughes and even Mason. Especially with Tyler, that guy can roll and if you lose a rush lane you are now at risk because really on any given play, he might be the fastest guy on the field."
 
UW's defense is going to be a work in progress with so many new faces and open competitions. By the time the season kicks off on Sept. 5, Sawvel believes it could be a work of art.
 
Dante Drake and Caleb Robinson are healthy against at defensive tackle, where Jayden Williams accrued valuable experience last season and transfer Ja'Quan Redfern has been added. Defensive end is one of the most improved position groups on the team with the addition of transfers Thaddeus Gianaris, Jack Dunkley and Donnie Wingate.
 
Despite the graduation of standouts Brayden Johnson and Evan Eller, linebackers are expected to be a team strength once again with Gary Rutherford and Ethan Stuhlsatz in position to fill those shoes.
 
Tyson Shamsid-Deen (cornerback), Desman Hearns (nickel back), Jones Thomas (safety) and Jett Vincent (safety) made strong first impressions with the staff in the offseason and during Tuesday's practice.
 
"The challenge that I want our players to accept defensively, the challenge I want our coaches to accept defensively, I look at it in the fact that I think there's solid reason to believe that we could have the best defensive that we've had since I've been here with this group," Sawvel said. "I think we can believe that. Now what we have to do is we have a lot of work to do to get to that. But the pieces are there in order to do that."
 
The work for the 2026 Cowboys, a team Sawvel describes as "low maintenance," continues with practices on Thursday and Saturday.
 
"I like the spirit of this team; I like the maturity of this team. It's practice one," Sawvel said. "We can't even see the end of our tunnel right now for how far we've got to go to get to where we want to get to."
 
UW's public spring game is April 25 at War Memorial Stadium.
 
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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