Cowboys Announce 14 Signees on First Day of Early Signing Period

Tim Harkins
Associate Athletics Director for Media Relations,
Public Relations and Broadcasting
University of Wyoming Athletics

 Laramie, Wyo. (Dec. 21, 2022) —  The Wyoming Cowboy Football program announced 14 signees on the first day of the 2023 early signing period on Wednesday.  The class includes one Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) transfer and 13 high school signees.

Quote from Head Football Coach Craig Bohl on Wyoming’s Early Signing Class

“We’re excited to introduce this initial group of young men in our early signing class,” said University of Wyoming head football coach Craig Bohl.  “We’ve addressed needs on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, and we are continuing to build our program primarily through high school recruiting.  We did receive a commitment from an experienced running back from Northern Illinois, and we will continue to recruit other players through the transfer portal during this early recruiting period.”

2023 Wyoming Football Early Signing Class Select Highlights

 Individual Recruiting Rankings

• Seven three-star rated high school recruits.
• Six high school recruits ranked among the Top 100 players in their home states.
• A proven FBS running back with over 1,900 career rushing yards at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
• FBS transfer running back Harrison Waylee comes to Wyoming from Northern Illinois University where he earned Third Team All-Mid American Conference honors as a sophomore, rushing for 899 yards in 11 games signed with Wyoming.
• Kaden Anderson is rated as a three-star quarterback by both 247 Sports and Rivals.  He played his high school football at Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, which has a rich history of producing top college quarterbacks, including former Missouri QB Chase Daniels and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.
• Dante Drake is a rated as a three-star recruit by On3.com as a defensive lineman.
• Running back Keany Parks, who is ranked as the No. 2 overall recruit in the state of Wisconsin by Rivals, signed with the Cowboys on Wednesday.
• Offensive tackle Quinn Grovesteen-Matchey is rated as the No. 7 overall recruit in the state of Wisconsin by 247 Sports and is rated a three-star recruit by On3.com.
• Naz Hill is ranked as a three-star cornerback by 247 Sports and is rated as the No. 33 overall recruit in the state of Illinois by 247 Sports.
• Justin Stevenson is rated as a three-star wide receiver by Rivals and by On3.com.
• Tell Wade, who is rated by On3.com as the No. 17 overall recruit in the state of Colorado also will be joining the Pokes.  He was named by The Denver Post to the 2022 All-Colorado team for all classifications as an offensive lineman.  He is projected as a defensive end for Wyoming.

 Position Breakdown

• This year’s position breakdown sees seven recruits on defense and seven on offense.  The defensive recruiting group is made up of three defensive backs and four defensive linemen.  Offensively, UW signed two wide receivers, two running backs, two offensive linemen and one quarterback.

 State-by-State Breakdown

• Wyoming’s 2023 early signing class has seven signees from the state of Texas, followed by two from Illinois and Wisconsin.  There is one signee each from the states of California, Colorado and Iowa.

The early signing period for college football teams began on Wednesday, Dec. 21 and will run through Friday, Dec. 23.  The mid-year junior college signing period also began on Wednesday and will conclude on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023.  Signings of transfers from four-year schools through the NCAA Transfer Portal has also begun.  The regular signing period for football for the 2023 recruiting class will begin on Wed., Feb. 1 and will run through Saturday, April 1.

2023 University of Wyoming Football Early Signing Class

FBS Transfer Signee (1)

Harrison Waylee                        RB        5-10     192       Jr.      Johnston, Iowa (Northern Illinois)

High-School Signees (13)

(Listed Alphabetically)

 Name                                      Pos.      Ht.       Wt.      Class      Hometown (Last School)               

Kaden Anderson                       QB        6-4       205       Fr.      Southlake, Texas (Southlake Carroll)

Ian Bell                                     CB        6-1       180       Fr.              La Verne, Calif. (Damien)

Bricen Brantley                          WR       6-3       175       Fr.      Houston, Texas (Ailef Taylor)

Chauncey Carter                       CB        6-0       175       Fr.      Garland, Texas (Garland)

Jake Davies                               OT        6-7       250       Fr.      Yorkville, Ill. (Yorkville)

Dante Drake                             DT        6-3       267       Fr.      Robinson, Texas (Robinson)

Quinn Grovesteen-Matchey       OT        6-6       240       Fr.      Evansville, Wis. (Evansville)

Naz Hill                                     CB        6-3       180       Fr.      Kankakee, Ill. (Kankakee)

Keany Parks                              RB        6-1       180       Fr.      Kenosha, Wis. (Bradford)

Lucas Samsula                           DT        6-4       255       Fr.              Plano, Texas (Plano West)

Justin Stevenson                       WR       6-1       175       Fr.              Katy, Texas (Paetow)

Tell Wade                                 DE        6-3       250       Fr.              Wray, Colo. (Wray)

Jayden Williams                         DT        6-3       270       Fr.              Bryan, Texas (Rudder)

Other Individual Highlights

• Kaden Anderson is rated as a three-star quarterback by both 247 Sports and Rivals.  He was ranked by The Dallas Morning News as the No. 71 player on its Top 100 list of Texas recruits for 2023.  Anderson hails from Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, which has a rich history of producing top college quarterbacks, including former Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel and former Alabama QB Greg McElroy.

Ian Bell, a cornerback from La Verne, Calif., chose the Wyoming Cowboys after also being recruited by Arizona, Colorado State and UNLV.

Bricen Brantley earned First Team All-District honors as a wide receiver in District 23-6A in Houston, Texas.  Brantley was named his team’s Most Valuable Player his senior season as he caught 55 passes for 918 yards and had nine receiving touchdowns.

Chauncey Carter is being recruited as a cornerback by the Wyoming Cowboys.  He earned First Team Texas All-District honors as a punt returner and Second Team All-District as a cornerback for District 9-6A.  The Dallas Morning News named Carter an Honorable Mention All-Area team member.

Jake Davies is being recruited as an offensive linemen by the Wyoming Cowboys.  He played tight end and defensive end at Yorkville High School in Yorkville, Ill.  Davies is ranked as the No. 82 overall recruit in the state of Illinois by 247 Sports.  He was named as a Special Mention member of the 2022 Champaign News-Gazette All-State football team as a defensive end.

Dante Drake is a rated as a three-star recruit by On3.com as a defensive lineman.  As a junior, Drake was named a Second Team All-District 9-4A defensive end in Robinson, Texas.

Quinn Grovesteen-Matchey is rated as the No. 7 overall recruit in the state of Wisconsin by 247 Sports as an offensive tackle and is rated a three-star recruit by On3.com.  He was named to the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl Watch List in 2022 as an offensive lineman.

Naz Hill is ranked as a three-star cornerback by 247 Sports and is rated as the No. 33 overall recruit in the state of Illinois by 247 Sports.  He was named as a Special Mention member of the 2022 Champaign News-Gazette All-State football team as a defensive back.

Keany Parks is ranked as a three-star running back by Rivals, which rates Parks as the No. 2 recruit in the state of Wisconsin in the 2023 recruiting class.  247 Sports also ranks Parks as a three-star recruit and rates him as the No. 6 overall recruit in the state of Wisconsin.

Lucas Samsula was selected as a First Team All-District 6-6A tight end his senior season of 2002.  He is projected as a defensive tackle for the Cowboys.

Justin Stevenson is rated as a three-star wide receiver by Rivals and by On3.com.  His junior season, Paetow High posted a 15-1 record and a 7-1 district record.  Paetow went on to win the 5A D1 State Championship.

Tell Wade is rated as a three-star recruit by On3.com, which also ranks him as the No. 17 overall recruit in the 2023 recruiting class in the state of Colorado.  He was named by The Denver Post to the 2022 All-Colorado team for all classifications as an offensive lineman and is projected to play defensive end for the Cowboys.

Harrison Waylee joins the Wyoming Football program as a proven FBS running back, transferring to UW from Northern Illinois University.  As a sophomore in 2022, Waylee earned Third Team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) honors at running back in voting by MAC head coaches.  He also was named to the Pro Football Focus (PFF) Third Team All-MAC squad.

Jayden Williams earned Second Team All-District honors as a defensive lineman his senior season of 2022.  An outstanding athlete, Williams also competes for the Rudder High wrestling team and he throws the shot put and discus on the track and field team.  In the winter of 2022, Williams placed fourth in the heavyweight division at the Region 3-5A regional tournament and advanced to the Class 5A state championships.

More Information on the 2023 Wyoming Football Signing Class

• Additional information on the 2023 recruiting class is available on the Wyoming Signing Day Central page at GoWyo.com and on Twitter @wyo_football.
• See rosters and bios on Wyoming’s 2023 Early Signing Class in the PDF attached to this story.