LARAMIE, Wyo.  (July 14, 2026) – The college football season is right around the corner, and the Wyoming Cowboys will head to Las Vegas for 2026 Old Trapper Mountain West Conference Media Days at The Palms Resort and Casino on Wednesday and Thursday. Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel will be joined by quarterback Tyler Hughes, offensive tackle Rex Johnsen, linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz and defensive tackle Jayden Williams.
 
The two-day media event includes one-on-one interviews with all head coaches and four student-athletes from every MW institution. All MW student-athletes will participate in interviews on Wednesday, July 15, while the head coaches will be available on Thursday, July 16.

Fans will be able to watch the Cowboys live on the MW+ for free with players going at 9:30 a.m. MT on Wednesday. Head Coach Jay Sawvel will be live at 11:30 a.m. MT on Thursday. It will be made available for free as the Mountain West Network's Jesse Kurtz and Karlie Drew will host the show both days.

Hughes comes to Wyoming after spending four seasons at William & Mary. He earned Third Team All-CAA honors. He was the first quarterback in school history to pass for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 600.  In 2025, Hughes threw for 2,330 yards completing 66 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He also rushed for 670 yards with 11 touchdowns. He was 22-of-33 passing for a career-high 296 yards against Charleston Southern throwing four touchdowns. He threw for a career-high five scores against Hampton. He rushed for a career-high 120 yards against Campbell and rushed for a career-high three scores against New Hampshire.

Johnsen appeared in and started all 12 games for the Pokes. He has played in 32 career games for the Pokes. He helped a pair of running backs earn multiple 100-yard rushing games in Tote Harris and Sam Scott. The Pokes rushed for a season-high 212 yards against Colorado State in a 28-0 victory. UW had 426 yards in the season opener against Akron for a season best. He earned Second Team Preseason All-MW by Athlon Sports and earned Third Team honors by Phil Steele.

Stuhlsatz appeared in all 12 games and made one start. He finished the season with 41 tackles to go along with 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup. He had 20 solo stops and 21 assisted tackles. He recorded a season-high 10 tackle for the Pokes at San Diego State. He added seven tackles in the finale against Hawai'i. He finished with 24 tackles in the final four games of the season. He was an Academic All-MW selection. He earned First Team Preseason All-MW by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.

Williams played in 11 games with three starts during the 2025 season. He recorded 24 tackles for the season with a career-high three tackles for loss. He had 13 solo stops and 11 assisted tackles. He had a career-high 1.5 tackles for loss against San Jose State. He recorded four tackles twice on the season in back-to-back games against San Jose State and Air Force. He added three tackles three other times on the season. He had three tackles and a tackle for loss against Nevada. He earned Second Team Preseason All-MW by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.

Head Coach Jay Sawvel enters his third season as head coach of the Cowboys. In 2025, The Cowboys defense was once again one of the top units in the nation ranking No. 30 in the nation allowing only 20.5 points per game. The Cowboys also featured one the nation's top red-zone defenses ranking second in the nation. Wyoming allowed only 175.5 passing yards per game, which ranked No. 13 in the nation. The Cowboys also blocked four kicks on the season, a number that ranked fifth in the nation.
 
Wyoming recorded two shutouts during the season doing so against Akron in the season opener and Colorado State. It marked the first time since 1966 that the Cowboys recorded two shutouts in a season.
 
Sawvel mentored seven Cowboys to All-Mountain West honors in 2025. Wyoming had two Second Team selections in offensive guard Caden Barnett and linebacker Brayden Johnson. Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg eared an invite to the NFL Combine and also played in the Senior Bowl.