Nine Cowboys Named to All-Mountain West Football Teams

UW has One-First Team, Three Second and Five Honorable Mention Pics

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Dec. 3, 2024) – The Mountain West Conference announced its 2024 All-Mountain West football teams on Tuesday and nine Wyoming Cowboys were honored.  The team was selected in voting by the 12 Mountain West head coaches and media members covering the league.

The Cowboys had one First Team selection in kicker returner Tyler King. Wyoming had three Second Team Selections in offensive guard Jack Walsh and tight end John Michael Gyllenborg. Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa was named to the defensive Second Team at Linebacker.

The Cowboys also had five players named Honorable Mention in nickel Wrook Brown, defensive end Sabastian Harsh, wide receiver Jaylen Sargent and center Nofoafia Tulafono.

First Team Selections

Tyler King was named First Team as a kick returner. He finished the season ranked first in the conference and fourth in the nation in yards per return at 28.1. He also recorded a return for a touchdown, which ranked him tied for third in the nation and first in the conference.

Second Team Selections

John Michael Gyllenborg earned Second Team accolades at tight end. He led the Cowboys in receiving yards per game with 47.2 and tied for the team lead with three touchdown receptions. He ranked second on the Cowboys with 30 receptions in nine games. He also ranked second on the team in yards with 425. He caught the game winning touchdown to lift the Cowboys to a win over Washington State in the finale. Gyllenborg had a career-high 137 yards against San Jose State. It was the most by a Cowboy tight end since Jacob Hollister had 144 yards against Boise State in 2016. He also recorded seven games with three or more catches. He was the highest graded tight end in the MW according to Pro Football Focus.

Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa was named Second Team All-MW at linebacker. He was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award as well. He led the Cowboys in tackles with 88 on the season and added a team-high 10 tackles for loss along with one sack.  Suiaunoa ranked tenth in the conference in tackle per game at 7.3 He recorded 10 or more stops in four games. He recorded a career-high 13 tackles and career-high three tackles for loss against Air Force. He helped the Wyoming defense allow only 20 points in the third quarter in the final three games of the season. The Cowboy defense also led the nation in third-down percentage defense at 25.9 percent.

Jack Walsh was named Second Team along the offensive line. Walsh recorded over 650 saps this season and did not allow a sack on the season. He recorded over 20 pancake blocks along the offensive line. Pro Football Focus ranked him the No. 25 guard in the nation and fourth in the MW. Helped the Cowboys recorded 604 yards of total offense for the most since recording 604 yards on Nov. 20, 2021 at Utah State. Protected for Poke in a contest passing for 342 yards for the most since passing for 366 yards in 2015.

Honorable Mention Selections

Nickel Wrook Brown earned Honorable Mention accolades. He finished the season ranked fourth on the team with 48 total tackles and led the team with three interceptions including one for a touchdown to help Wyoming down New Mexico. He ranked third on the team with six pass breakups and led the program in passes defended. Brown finished the season ranking eighth in the conference in interceptions and No. 66 nationally. He helped the Wyoming defense allow only 20 points in the third quarter in the final three games of the season. The Cowboy defense also led the nation in third-down percentage defense at 25.9 percent.

Defensive end Sabastian Harsh earned honorable mention honor for the Cowboys. He missed time with an injury but ranked as the top tacklers amongst defensive ends prior to the injury at five tackles per game. He added 8.5 tackles for loss on the season to rank second on the team and added 1.5 sack.  He seven tackles for a season-high against BYU and added a sack in the contest. He had four tackles for loss against San Diego State. It tied a school record done seven times with the last coming from Youhanna Ghaifan against Texas State in 2017.

Kicker John Hoyland earned Honorable Mention All-MW honors for UW. It was the third time in his career that he earned All-MW honors. He finished the season 15-of-19 in field goals and was 14-of-15 for 93 percent inside 50 yards and was perfect 7-of-7 inside 40 yards. He had a season-long field goals of 54 yards against Boise State and one of 49-yards at Colorado State. He was named the MW Special Team Player of the Week following Washington State, a contest that saw him go 3-for-3. He finished his career at Wyoming with a school-record 73 made field goals to rank third in MW history. He also set a school record with 366 career points.

Wide receiver Jaylen Sargent earned Honorable Mention honors or the Pokes. He finished the season leading the Cowboys in receiving yards with 480 and added two touchdowns. He ranked second in the conference turning conference play in yards per reception at 23.3 and ranked tenth in receiving yards per game in conference play at 60 per game. In final three games of conference play had 317 yards receiving and recorded six catches of 30 or more yards with two touchdowns. He had 186 yards receiving against New Mexico for most by a Cowboy since 2012.

Center Nofoafia Tulafono earned Honorable Mention All-MW honors for the Cowboys. He started all 12 games for the Cowboys. He recorded over 350 pas block snaps allowing only one sack. Had well over 20 pancake blocks for the season. Pro Football Focus gave him a 82.7 pass block grade, which is No. 25 in the nation and second in the MW. Helped the Cowboys recorded 604 yards of total offense for the most since recording 604 yards on Nov. 20, 2021 at Utah State. Protected for Poke in a contest passing for 342 yards for the most since passing for 366 yards in 2015.