Wyoming
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
JACKSON, Wyo. – Jackson Hole Public Art (JHPA) is proud to announce the
public installation of 250 Portraits, a community art project featuring self-portraits created and submitted by Wyoming residents from across the state. Launched in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, the project invited Wyomingites of all ages and backgrounds to submit portraits of themselves or other Wyoming residents, resulting in a vibrant and deeply personal collection of artwork.
Portraits were submitted by artists ranging in age from 5 to over 80, representing residents from 16 of Wyoming’s 23 counties. Participants included individuals, families, school groups, and educators who worked with their students to take part. The result is a wide-ranging snapshot of the people who call Wyoming home, from young children just beginning to express themselves through art to lifelong residents reflecting on decades of experience and identity.
The portraits are now on display in five large-scale grid installations located throughout downtown Jackson. They can be found at the Center for the Arts, JH Book Trader, the Antler Inn, the alley at Pinky G’s, and the Jackson Hole Elks Lodge. The exhibition will remain on view throughout the summer, giving locals and visitors alike the opportunity to take in the full collection at their own pace.
The exhibit, 250 Portraits, was designed to highlight both individual identity and collective belonging, weaving together faces from communities large and small into a single, statewide visual portrait of Wyoming’s people. By placing the work in accessible, high-traffic locations in downtown Jackson, JHPA hopes to spark conversation among residents and visitors about what it means to be part of a community that spans such a wide and varied landscape.
A self-guided walking map is available to help visitors navigate between the five sites and experience other public art projects throughout Jackson. For more information and to access the 2026 Public Art Map, visit https://www.jhpublicart.org/art/2026map.
Pair your portrait with an audio story! Please consider adding your voice to another state-wide project celebrating the stories of everyday Wyomingites: Re-Storying the West.
All over Wyoming, there are little free libraries in neighborhoods for those who are looking for a new book. The process is simple. Take a book and leave one for others to experience.
READ MORE: Wyoming’s Little Libraries
We also have neighborhood food pantries for families in a pinch who need a little help. Again, the process is easy. Take a meal, and when you’re able, leave one for another family in need.
READ MORE: A New Local Neighborhood Food Pantry System in Wyoming
Several of the North Platte River’s access points have loaner life jackets. Once again, it’s simple. If you need a life jacket, take one, then return it to another access point for others who need it.
READ MORE: Return The Loaner Life Jackets After You Use Them
These are fantastic programs across the state that show how much communities care about others. I found another program that I think would really fly here, and it’s already going strong in some places around the country, like Montana.
The process, just like these other programs, is simple but very effective. With Wyoming fisheries being so popular, these could help make it an even bigger global sensation.
Flybrary – Take a fly, leave a fly.
I saw this article on FlyLordsMag.com and thought it was fantastic.
Montana artist Brandi Massey is passionate about fly fishing, and she used her own experience of leaving her fly box at home when leaving for a fly fishing trip. After that experience, she remembered seeing a “Flybrary” on her social media timeline and decided to jump into action and do her own version of the “Flybrary” to ensure other fly fishing trips don’t get ruined because of not having any flies.
She had her dad build the box, got her permits, and put up her first “Flybrary” on the Blackfoot River, and has more in the works.
In the article, Brandi explained why she decided to do it.
I’ve been fly fishing since I could hold a fly pole in my hand. Always trying to catch more fish than my dad. I love the fly fishing community and this is a great way to stay connected to the community. I’m an artist and this is an amazing way to show a piece of myself to the world.
Have you ever seen a “Flybrary” out in the wild? LET ME KNOW HERE
The 22 Top Game Fish Of Wyoming
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