A New Cowboy Behind Center: Tyler Hughes Earns Wyoming Starting Job
- Jeff Bugher
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
LARAMIE, Wyo. – Head coach Jay Sawvel announced Monday that quarterback Tyler Hughes, the graduate transfer from William and Mary, will lead the Cowboys into the 2026 season after a fall-camp competition that included junior Landon Sims and redshirt freshman Mason Drube.
“I informed the quarterbacks today that Tyler Hughes is the starting quarterback,” Sawvel said as he addressed the media following Monday's practice. “I'm really happy with that room overall. From where Mason is, to where Landon Sims has come- through the entire course of camp.”
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The decision came after Wyoming's second major scrimmage of fall camp, a roughly 95-play session Saturday night inside War Memorial Stadium.
“Tyler was really, really good Saturday night,” Sawvel said.
However, Hughes winning the starting job was based on much more than Saturday night’s scrimmage.
“Just the overall command of everything from the minute he got here, the command of the whole offense, the command presence that he's got to everything, the dynamic to him, everything to it,” Sawvel said. “He's put himself in a really good spot.”
Command is important in offensive coordinator Christian Taylor's system.
Hughes has a familiarity with Taylor that predates Wyoming. Taylor recruited the Marietta, Georgia, native to William & Mary, and Hughes spent one year in his system before Taylor took a job with the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. The two eventually reunited in Laramie during the offseason.
Returning to Taylor's offense has had familiarity without being exactly the same.
“When you've been in the system for three years, and then you play in another system, and then you come back. I mean, it's kind of like feeling like you're, it's almost like getting back into something that you're used to again,” Hughes said. “However, we know things are different. Truth is, Coach Taylor was with an NFL team for two years. Like he's not the same coach he was two years ago. He’s the same guy, but he's a better coach.”
The offense is also putting considerable responsibility on Hughes before the snap.
“There's a lot more command at the line things, being able to flip pros, being able to get into a better play, knowing what the front is, knowing what the coverage is, and getting us into the best situation or best play that we have possible,” Hughes said. “So that's been something that I've really enjoyed.”
Wyoming's offense will give him plenty of pieces to move around.
“We have great athletes who are able to do whatever they're asked to do and people who are willing to do certain things.”
Hughes arrives with a stacked resume.
At William & Mary, Hughes became the first quarterback in school history to pass for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 600 yards in a season. In 2025, he completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,330 yards, 20 touchdowns and only three interceptions while adding 670 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He earned Third Team All-CAA honors.
Wyoming saw that dual-threat ability during the spring.
Hughes threw a 47-yard touchdown and broke off a 45-yard run in the spring game.
Safety Brooklyn Cheek came away impressed, according to a quote in the 2026 Wyoming Football media guide.
“It’s hard to stop him, that’s what I saw,” Cheek said. “There was the one play where he’s running down the sideline and a quarterback isn’t usually moving as fast as DBs and safeties, but he’s running and he talks after he plays.
“That’s what I love about him; he’s a scrappy guy who loves football. Great player.”
One of Hughes' developing connections has been with junior wide receiver Jackson Holman.
Something Wyoming fans saw first-hand at the spring game.
“After every practice, we'll just sit there and throw go’s,” Hughes said during Mountain West Media Days. “If we didn't get it after practice, we'll make sure that we get it in that day off. Just trying to get better at every single thing while being very intentional while we do it.”
Hughes has changed physically since arriving in Laramie as well.
Hughes said the resources available at Wyoming have helped him add weight since his arrival.
“One of the things that really stuck out to me about the University of Wyoming is that you have every resource to be the best player that you can be,” Hughes said. “I'm up like 15, 20 pounds from when I came in here.”
What NFL QB does Hughes model himself after?
“Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, I've always enjoyed. I like Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady; obviously, he's the GOAT,” Hughes said.
His transition to Wyoming hasn't been limited to football.
Hughes, who grew up on the East Coast, has taken a liking to Laramie and the Cowboy way.
“You've got snowy mountains, you've got hills all over the place. So I love it. It's been a bit different. I take the little things, and I appreciate them.”
“I went to my first ever rodeo at Jubilee Days. That was pretty cool,” Hughes said. “I thought it was some movie stuff that I never thought I'd see in my life, but I enjoyed it. Wearing my cowboy hat and my boots. Never thought I'd ever do that.”
The hat and boots apparently made the transformation official.
“After I got the hat and those boots, I'm like, oh yeah, I'm really a cowboy now,” Hughes said.
Now he will be the Cowboy taking the first snap when Wyoming opens the season on Sept. 5 at Colorado State in the Border War at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game will air on USA Network.
For Hughes, September 5th will be his last collegiate “first game of the season.”
He knows things won't always be perfect, but he wants to make the most of it.
“Sometimes you're going to miss a throw, sometimes you're going to miss a read, but who am I the next play, who am I the next game, who am I the next drive?” Hughes said
That mentality is what Hughes and his team need as they start with a clean slate and a chance to prove themselves.
About the Author:
Jeff Bugher is a third-generation Wyomingite living in Casper. He is a sportswriter and Wyoming Cowboys/Cowgirls enthusiast who is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA ) and the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). Jeff's work has been cited by Sports Illustrated, one of the world's leading sports publications.
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