Wyoming Football Announces 2024 Early Signing Class

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowboy Football program announced 26 commitments on the first day of the 2024 early signing period on Wednesday. Wyoming's early signing class includes 18 scholarship signees and eight preferred walk-ons.

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"We're excited about where we're at with this class," said University of Wyoming incoming head football coach Jay Sawvel. "Our entire staff has put in a lot of work, including Coach Bohl, from last January up through this week. We were able to keep nearly all of our commitments throughout the process and have been able to add some strong commitments at a couple positions.

"Now as we go into the next phase of recruiting, there are a some transfer opportunities we need to continue to work on. We are very, very excited about this class, and we feel it supplements and augments a really good class from last year."

2024 Football Signing Periods
The early signing period for college football teams began on Wednesday, Dec. 20 and will run through Friday, Dec. 22. The mid-year junior college signing period also began on Wednesday and will conclude on Monday, Jan. 15, 2023. Signings of transfers from four-year schools through the NCAA Transfer Portal opened on Monday, Dec. 4 and runs through Tuesday, Jan. 2. The regular signing period for football for the 2024 recruiting class will begin on Wed., Feb. 7 and will run through Monday, April 1.

Individual Recruiting Rankings

• Fifteen three-star rated high school recruits.

• Eleven high school recruits ranked among the Top 100 players in their home states.
Position Breakdown

• This year's position breakdown sees 13 recruits on defense, 10 on offense, 1 on special teams and 1 categorized as an athlete. The defensive recruiting group is made up of 5 defensive backs, 4 linebackers and 4 defensive linemen. Offensively, UW has 4 offensive linemen, 3 wide receivers, 2 tight ends and 1 quarterback.

State-by-State Breakdown

• Wyoming's 2024 early recruiting class includes players from 10 different states.

• The Cowboys' 2024 early recruiting class breaks down as follows: Wyoming (4), Minnesota (4), Texas (4), California (3), Colorado (3), Illinois (2), Missouri (2), Iowa (1), Kansas (1) and Nebraska (1).

Other Individual Highlights

• Jordan Abarca is a defensive tackle from Seal Beach, Calif. Abarca was ranked as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports.

• Keelan Anderson is a place-kicker from Cheyenne South High School in Cheyenne, Wyo. Anderson connected on a Wyoming High School state record 61-yard field goal vs. Natrona County High School during the 2023 season. He was a unanimous 2023 First-Team All-State Class 4A honoree as selected by the Wyoming High School Coaches Association.

• Deyon Batiste is a three-star rated quarterback by Rivals.com, ESPN, 247Sports.com and On3.com. ESPN ranked him as the No. 205 overall recruit in the talent-rich state of Texas in 2024. TX Top Talent ranked him the No. 22 best high school quarterback recruit in the state of Texas out of the 75 Texas QBs they rated entering the 2023 season.

• Dash Bauman is rated as a three-star recruit by both 247Sports.com and On3.com. On3 ranked him as the No. 10 overall recruit in the state of Nebraska in the 2024 recruiting class, and 247Sports ranked him the No. 13 overall recruit in the state. Bauman was one of only 24 players in the state named to the 2023 Omaha World-Herald All-Nebraska Football Team for all classifications.

• Tyrese Boss is a two-star rated recruit by Rivals.com He was named First Team All-Baseline League for the 2023 season.

• Bleyne Bryant received three-star ratings from both On3.com and 247Sports. On3 ranked him as the No. 17 overall recruit in Missouri in his recruiting class. 247Sports rated Bryant as the No. 21 overall recruit in the state of Missouri.

• Garrett Combs is rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com and ESPN.com. He was named a First Team All-District defensive end for District 4-5A Division 1 as a senior.

• Chris Durr Jr. is ranked by 247Sports.com and Rivals as a three-star recruit. 247Sports ranked Durr as the No. 54 overall recruit in the state of Illinois. As both a senior and a junior, he was honored as a Class 5A First Team All-State selection by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association (IHSFCA).

• Jack Harvey is a linebacker from Baldwin City, Kan., and attended Baldwin High School. Harvey is a multi-sport athlete, also competing in wrestling where he won a Kansas State title in the 190-pound weight class. He also earned a spot in the Kansas Shrine Bowl.

• Alex Haswell was a unanimous selection as the 2023 Wyoming Class 4A Lineman of the Year in voting by members of the Wyoming Coaches Association. He led his Sheridan High team to its third consecutive 4A State Championship in 2023. He was a unanimous selection to the 2023 Class 4A All-State First Team as both an offensive lineman and defensive lineman in voting by the Wyoming Coaches Association.

• Drew Jackson is a defensive back from Cheyenne, Wyo., where he attended Cheyenne East High School. Jackson was a unanimous First Team Class 4A All-State selection as a running back and also earned First Team honors as a defensive back in voting by the Wyoming Coaches Association.

• Braylon Jenkins is rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com. 247Sports ranked Jenkins as the No. 18 overall recruit in the state of Iowa. He was ranked as the No. 19 overall recruit and the No. 5 best offensive lineman in the state of Iowa by the Des Moines Register following his senior season at Valley High. Jenkins was named to the 2023 Des Moines Register First Team Class 5A All-State Team.

• Hunter Kallstrom is rated as a three-star recruit by On3.com and 247Sports.com. On3 also ranked Kallstrom as the No. 13 overall recruit in the state of Minnesota, and 247Sports ranked him as the No. 15 overall recruit in Minnesota. Kallstrom was named to the North Team for the 2023 Minnesota High School All-Star Game.

• Brycen Lotz is ranked as a three-star recruit by both 247Sports.com and On3.com. 247Sports ranked him tied for the No. 16 overall recruit in Minnesota. On3 ranked Lotz as the No. 17 recruit in the state of Minnesota. Lotz was named to the 2023 SBLive Minnesota First Team All-State Team as an offensive lineman. He was also selected to the 2023 Associated Press Second Team All-State Team.

• Eltoum Murgus is rated as a three-star recruit by both 247Sports.com and On3.com. On.3 ranked Murgus as the No. 13 best recruit in the state of Missouri in the 2024 recruiting class.

• Nathan Murphy is rated as a two-star recruit by Rivals. Murphy was a unanimous selection to the First Team All-District 12-6A team as a senior.

• Tyler Nystrom is a wide receiver from Arden Hills, Minn., where he attended Mounds View High School. He was ranked as a three-star recruit by On3.com. On3 also ranked Nystrom as the No. 18 recruit in the state of Minnesota. 247Sports.com ranked him as a two-star recruit and ranked Nystrom as the No. 26 recruit in the state of Minnesota.

• Trey Olsen is a wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., where he attended Loveland High School. Olsen was a First-Team All-State Class 4A selection as selected by Colorado head coaches and presented by CHSAANow.com and MaxPreps.

• Adrian Onyiego is rated as a three-star recruit by both On3.com and 247Sports.com. On3 ranked Onyiego as the No. 14 overall recruit in the state of Minnesota, and 247Sports ranked him tied for the No. 16 overall recruit in Minnesota.

• Giovanni Panozzo is ranked as a three-star recruit by On3.com. On3 also ranked Panozzo as the No. 15 overall recruit in the state of Colorado. He was named Second Team Class 5A All-State as selected by Colorado head coaches and presented by CHSAANow.com and MaxPreps.

• Gary Rutherford is rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com. 247Sports also ranked Rutherford as the No. 55 overall recruit in the state of Illinois. Rutherford was named First Team All-State Class 5A in 2023 as a linebacker/wide receiver by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association (IHSFCA).

• Joaquin Sandoval is a defensive back from Glenwood Springs, Colo., where he attended Glenwood Springs High School. Sandoval was a Second-Team Class 3A All-State honoree as a quarterback and defensive back as selected by Colorado head coaches and presented by CHSAANow.com and MaxPreps.

• Tegen Seeds is an offensive lineman from Douglas, Wyo. Seeds was a 2023 First-Team All-State honoree as an offensive lineman as selected by the Wyoming Coaches Association, and he was a First Team All-State honoree as a defensive lineman in 2022 as selected by the Wyoming Coaches Association.

• Charles Williams is ranked as a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com. Williams is also ranked as the No. 230 overall recruit in talent-rich state of California by 247Sports. He helped lead Marin Catholic to the CIF North Coast Section (NCS) Division III Championship, which advanced them to the State Playoffs where they won the CIF Class D-3A State Championship in 2023. Entering his senior season, he was ranked as the No. 8 best running back in the state of California by SBLive California. His junior year, he was named Second Team All-State by Cal-Hi Sports.

• Jake Wilson is rated as a three-star recruit by On3.com. Wilson was named First Team All-District 6A Division 2 as a senior, playing a combination of tight end and wide receiver. He also earned First Team Academic All-State honors from the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) as a senior in addition to earning Academic All-District honors.

* Alex Conn, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive lineman, played the 2023 season at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Iowa Western won its second consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship in 2023.  Iowa Western entered the NJCAA National Playoffs as the No. 2 seed and defeated the No. 3 seed Kilgore (Texas), 47-7, in the semifinals.  Iowa Western then defeated No. 4 seed East Mississippi, 61-14, in the NJCAA National Championship Game.  Conn began his college career at the University of Nebraska in the COVID season of 2020.  He redshirted the 2021 season and did not play in any games during his redshirt freshman season of 2022 before transferring to Iowa Western for the 2023 season.  He did earn Nebraska Scholar-Athlete honors in the spring of 2021 and again in 2022.  Coming out of high school at Derby High School in Derby, Kan., Conn was rated as a three-star prospect by both Rivals and 247Sports.  Rivals ranked Conn as the No. 6 overall recruit in Kansas, while 247Sports rated Conn as one of the nation’s top 60 offensive tackle recruits.  He was an All-State Class 6A player his senior season and helped lead Derby High to back-to-back undefeated Class 6A State Championships.  Class 6A is the largest classification in Kansas.  He chose Nebraska over scholarship offers from: Arizona, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and TCU.

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