LARAMIE, Wyo.  (August 13, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowboys hit the field on Thursday after an off day and Media Day yesterday for the seventh practice of the fall on Jonah Field inside War Memorial Stadium.

What Head Coach Jay Sawvel Had To Say
"It was good practice today. We had a lot of different scenarios in it. I think this team right now is doing solid at situations. You want to be perfect as a situational football team. This is big time for us right now. There's a lot of jobs on the line; these are opportunities in the next 10 days to differentiate themselves and earn their spots."

The Cowboys return one of the top linebackers in the MW in Preseason All-Conference selection Ethan Stuhlsatz. 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.

Gary Rutherford made an impact for the Cowboys last season with 15 tackles playing in all 12 games. He will be joined by other emerging players in Parker Moore, Steven Perez and Dash Bauman.

Wyoming added some talented freshman in Boston Gable and Dante Bruley to add to the depth of an already talented group.

Defensive Coordinator and linebacker coach Aaron Bohl enters his third season leading the defense. 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. He mentored a pair of All-Conference linebackers in Brayden Johnson and Evan Eller.