Pokes Practice Report: Packing on Pounds … The Good Kind

LARAMIE -- A full vending machine weighs roughly 720 pounds.

So do some models of motorcycles and a typical male grizzly bear. That's the equivalent of 14 50-pound bags of concrete and 86 gallons of water.

Thanks, Google.

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That's also the amount of combined muscle this Wyoming football team added since January, Jay Sawvel said proudly on Wednesday, following the first official workout of fall camp.

"This football team's in a good spot," The third-year head coach added, saying this group has also dropped 400 pounds of fat.

Josiah Petaia is a shining example of Eric Donoval's offseason program.

Last fall, the now-junior offensive lineman tipped the scales in the 280s. Now, 12 months later, that number sits at 313. Admittedly, the 6-foot-3 Long Beach, Calif., native says, he feels like an entirely new person.

Sawvel agrees.

Petaia also slid into the first-team left guard role at Wednesday's practice, replacing presumed starter Chandler Donaway, who is currently home in Texas for "personal reasons."

Sawvel said Pataia maxed out at 265 on the power clean in 2025. Now, he's repping at 335. His squat numbers are even more impressive.

"Last year, I think my max was maybe 405," he added. "Now my squat is over 500. It's really the strength staff. They really did a great job."

A number of other players looked the part Wednesday inside a sun-splashed War Memorial Stadium, including a tight end room that includes Jake Wilson, Kyle Frendt and Landon Pace, among others. Ishmael Muhammad, all 6-foot-3, 226 pounds of him, definitely didn't look like your run-of-the-mill freshman.

Ke'Lyn Washom, Sawvel added, is now "cut" when he takes off his shirt.

"His speeds this summer, you're sitting there and you're like, this is impressive," he said of the 6-foot-1, 205-pound wideout. "Well, part of it is, he lost 11 pounds of body fat."

The off-the-field work has been put in, now, Sawvel and his staff want to see it translate into winning.

"This team was really excited to get on the field, so that's a big positive right away," he added. "I've really appreciated this football team through the course of the entire offseason, all summer. You know, one thing that kind of stands out, for us as coaches, me as a head coach and just talking to people that are out there, we're a lot better-looking football team at a number of positions."

EXTRA POINTS:

* While Jones Thomas all but has the free safety position locked up, the strong side is still up for grabs. Jett Vincent made his opening argument Wednesday, stepping in front of a Tyler Hughes' out-route near the west sideline. The Colorado State transfer laid out for the lone interception of the afternoon.

* Hughes rans the first team while junior quarterback Landon Sims took the rein of the second unit. Despite coming off a third ACL surgery, the Alabama native looked elusive in the pocket and made strong throws all afternoon, including a strike to Jackson Holman down the east sideline. He also weaved around an on-coming rush and dumped a shovel pass off to Pace in the open field.

* Esaia Bogar made life miserable on nearly all of the Cowboys' athletic tight ends in this two-hour workout. The 255-pound edge rusher was constantly in the backfield and hurrying the passer into throwing check downs.

* While Samuel "Tote" Harris and Markell Holman took reps with the first and second units, respectively, Nico Hamilton showed plenty of burst in his first audition of the fall. He could be in line for the third spot in the barn. Jaden Lawrence, though, will have a final say in that.

* While the current injuries aren't necessarily hurting the potential starters, depth has taken a hit this offseason, mainly on the offensive line. Nate Geiger (knee) is out for the season. Jake Davies (foot) likely won't return to the field until sometime in September. Brandt Rice is out for an unknown amount of time after suffering a broken ankle during a "Moped accident." Wide receiver Tyler Nystrom, defensive tackle Cody Crawford and rookie quarterback Taylor Hasselbeck will all be sidelined for the season after suffering ACL tears. Running back Diore Hubbard, West Virginia's leading rusher in 2025, is also making his way back from a season-ending knee injury.

* Punter Bart Edmiston Jr. was on the field today with his teammates for the first official workout. It's been a tumultuous month-plus for the Mississippi native, who, along with his family, has reportedly been receiving online threats in regard to the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells. Sawvel released a statement, in part, Wednesday about the ongoing matter: "From our program's perspective, regarding the tragic death of Nolan Wells in Mississippi and the very public social-media link to one of our players, Bart Edmiston, at no time since July 4th have we been aware -- and in any way, shape, or form, has it come to our attention -- that Bart Edmiston has been a suspect, ever been a suspect or currently is a suspect (in Wells' death). We have no information that has ever linked him to this, OK? So that's where that's at. We'll have no further comment on it until the official investigation is completed." Edmiston and his family have hired a defamation attorney, Russell Latino.

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