Wyoming

Wyoming Loses First Presumed Starter to Transfer Portal

Published

2 years ago

May 2, 2024

Wyoming Loses First Presumed Starter to Transfer Portal

LARAMIE — An obvious strength of Wyoming’s football team, Jay Sawvel would say in mid-April after an open practice inside War Memorial Stadium, is in the middle of the defensive front.

“There’s a case to be made, he might have been our best defensive tackle last year,” the rookie head coach said, referring to senior Gavin Meyer.

Now the 6-foot-4, 284-pound Wisconsin product is “expected to enter” the NCAA Transfer Portal with one season of eligibility remaining.

Meyer’s “NIL agent” Miles Jordan broke the news to On3sports.com Wednesday, just hours after college football’s free-agent frenzy officially came to a close at midnight Mountain Time.

Meyer himself liked the post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Jordan shared the announcement.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* DJ Jones feeling right at home in Pokes’ loaded backfield

* PODCAST: Putting a bow on spring football in Laramie

* Four Cowboys earn NFL mini-camp invites

* Jay Sawvel in search of depth on the O-line, at corner

* Tuck’s Take: Chris Durr Jr. could become a Mountain West pest

* Wyoming’s DeVonne Harris is quirky, but far from complacent

* Boddie eager to make plays in Pokes’ new-look offense

* Jayden Williams is Bringing ‘Controlled Chaos’ to Pokes’ Front Four

Meyer becomes the 15th Cowboy to leave the program this offseason. While that number might look troublesome on the surface, the veteran nose guard is the only presumed starter to bolt since Sawvel took the reins in early January.

Jordan Bertagnole, who announced in the offseason he would return to Laramie for a sixth year, was slated to line up next to Meyer in the trenches, forming one of the top tackle tandems in the Mountain West if not the country. Caleb Robinson was also expected to enter the rotation this fall. He was lost for the season with an unspecified injury midway through spring camp.

Jayden Williams, Ben Florentine, Jaden Williams and Lucas Samsula will likely vault up the depth chart with Meyer’s departure.

Meyer tallied 26 tackles last season — 13 solo stops and the same number of assists — while helping lead the Cowboys’ defense to a Top-50 ranking. The year prior he finished with a career-best 39 tackles and tacked on 3.5 sacks. The former three-star recruit out of Franklin High School also forced a fumble.

His best outing came during a 27-14 road victory over New Mexico back in 2022. Earning the spot start after Cole Godbout was sidelined with an injury, Meyer capped his night with six tackles, including two quarterback sacks. He also partially blocked a 45-yard field-goal attempt as time expired in the first half.

“Well, having a head coach give me props about what I do is awesome,” Meyer said in mid-April in response to Sawvel’s comments about him arguably being the best player on the defensive front. “I think that’s really a testament to our D linemen, as a whole, and having the depth in the room where it’s point A to point B — doesn’t matter who’s in there, they do their job and they do it well and can make plays.

“You know, to be a leader in that room, I really appreciate (his words), but I think it’s the whole room. That’s a testament to how we work hard and the leaders of the defense.”

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* What have the Cowboys so far lost to the transfer portal?

* Wyoming defensive tackle injured Thursday, likely to miss season

* Wyoming’s Kaden Anderson proving to be worth the wait

* Mental, physical hurdles no longer hampering Sabastian Harsh

* Wyoming QB Carson May to Enter NCAA Transfer Portal

* 5 Takeaways From Wyoming’s Open Spring Scrimmage

* Svoboda, Gyllenborg: ‘We’re blessed that they are here’

Here are the former Cowboys currently in the NCAA Transfer Portal:

^ DT – Gavin Meyer – Sr. – Franklin, Wisc.

# CB – Chauncey Carter – RFr. – Garland, Texas

^ RB – DQ James – Soph. – Lancaster, Texas

* WR – Chase Locke – Jr. – San Antonio, Texas

* S – Garrett McGriff – RFr. – Carmichael, Calif.

* OL – Forrest Scheel – Soph. – Cambridge, Minn.

* OL – Kuba Tyszka – RFr. – Norridge, Ill.

* DL – Jaxon Galica – RFr. – Oshkosh, Wisc.

# DE – Keelan Cox – Sr. – Missouri City, Texas

* RB – Tyler Jacklich – RFr. – Modesto, Calif.

* QB – Carson May – Soph. – Jones, Okla.

# LB – Cayden Hawkins – Soph. – Highlands Ranch, Colo.

* LB – Brady Hultman – RFr. – Saint Charles, Mo. (Currently at Missouri)

# CB – Josh Dixon – Soph. – McKinney, Texas

^ CB – Kolbey Taylor – Jr. – Houston, Texas (Currently at Vanderbilt)

* Never played a snap at UW

^ Was a starter at some point in UW career

# Appeared in three games or less at UW

LOOK: Pokes’ unis through the years

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Wyoming

Former director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife lands a job in Wyoming

Published

10 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Former director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife lands a job in Wyoming

This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.

The former director of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) agency is joining Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department.

9-News reported that Jeff Davis was hired as the department’s deputy director in late December. That’s after Doug Brimeyer retired.

He starts the job in February.

Davis resigned from CPW last year instead of being fired as part of a settlement agreement. The settlement agreement Davis signed did not directly cite a reason for his termination.

Davis joined CPW as the state reintroduced wolves. His resignation came shortly after Washington state said it would not provide wolves to Colorado’s reintroduction program.

Before joining CPW in 2023, Davis had a long career in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. While there, he focused on coordinating conservation initiatives involving interdisciplinary teams and salmon recovery.

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Wyoming

Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional

Published

22 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional

BILLINGS— Activists on both sides praised and criticized the Wyoming Supreme Court’s ruling of abortion bans as unconstitutional on Tuesday in a 4-1 majority.

The ruling marks the end of a four-year legal battle in Wyoming since the state’s 2022 abortion ban went in place with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned abortion rights on a federal level.

Watch for the report:

Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional

The ban was put on hold after Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, led a suit against the state.

“I was holding my breath as I opened it and read it. But soon that turned to being rather elated. We couldn’t be more pleased with the opinion,” said Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s president.

Vanessa Willardson

Julie Burkhart

The decision comes after a years-long fight and setbacks, including an arsonist who set the clinic on fire in May of 2022.

“We were set to open that next month, but unfortunately that arson set us back by 11 months. We weren’t able to open that until 2023. It was quite devastating,” said Burkhart.

“I don’t think it’s moral, ethical, appropriate for anyone to tell another person what they can or cannot do with their own body,” she added.

Screen Shot 2026-01-07 at 6.02.41 PM.png — Wellspring Health Access after 2022 fire

For a Montana advocacy group, it was a different story.

“I was very disappointed,” said Amy Seymour, president of Yellowstone Valley Christians for Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group.

“These pre-born children who are unique, complete, living, individual human beings from the moment of their conception, they can be protected if Wyoming decides to have a constitutional amendment to that degree,” she added.

Screen Shot 2026-01-07 at 6.03.56 PM.png — Amy Seymour

Wyoming state Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Republican, echoed Seymour’s sentiments with a written statement.

“Today’s decision is an abomination. Four unelected justices thwarted the will of the people to establish a ‘right’ to kill an innocent baby. Thanks to these justices, Wyoming has some of the most radical abortion laws in America. I will not stand for that, and will continue fighting for innocent unborn babies,” said Neiman.

Wyoming Supreme Court strikes down abortion bans, keeping procedure legal

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Wyoming

Wyoming man killed in fiery I-25 crash near Glenrock

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming man killed in fiery I-25 crash near Glenrock

GLENROCK, Wyo. — A 55-year-old Wyoming man died Monday night after his vehicle went over a bridge rail and caught fire on Interstate 25 near Glenrock.

Gavin Stanek was traveling north in a Cadillac Escalade around 9:13 p.m. when the vehicle drifted into the median near milepost 156, according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol report. The vehicle continued through the median until it struck a bridge retaining wall.

The driver’s side of the Escalade scraped along the rail before the vehicle went over the edge toward the river. The Cadillac rolled toward the passenger side and landed on its roof on the river embankment, where it was engulfed in flames, the report states.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol identified driver fatigue or the driver falling asleep as a possible contributing factor in the crash. Road conditions were dry and the weather was clear at the time of the incident.

This story contains preliminary information as provided by the Wyoming Highway Patrol via the Wyoming Department of Transportation Fatal Crash Summary map. The agency advises that information may be subject to change.

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