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Deion DeBlanc’s Role Could Be Growing After Hawai‘i Performance
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Deion DeBlanc has never lacked confidence in what he can do with the football in his hands.
The biggest challenge has been earning enough opportunities to show it.
After battling injuries through the spring and parts of fall camp, the Wyoming sophomore wide receiver entered the 2026 season trying to establish himself in a crowded position group and needed to prove to a new offensive coordinator that he deserved a bigger role.
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Four games into the season, that opportunity may finally be arriving.
DeBlanc produced his best offensive performance of the young season in Wyoming’s 27-10 Homecoming victory over Hawai‘i, catching three passes for 41 yards. He averaged 13.7 yards per reception after entering the game with just one catch for six yards through the Cowboys’ first three contests.
Although it was a small sample size, it was important for a player who has wanted to become a more regular part of the offense.
“He can make plays,” Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said after the win. “He can make really good plays for this offense.”
Sawvel told PokesNews.com that DeBlanc had been frustrated with his limited opportunities. The two had talked about it, including a conversation just two days before the Hawai‘i game.
Sawvel said DeBlanc brought up some of the less glamorous responsibilities he was being asked to handle, including blocking a defensive end on one particular play.
Sawvel had a deal for him.
“You do your damn job...The ball’s coming to you,” Sawvel recalled telling him. It was in a mentorship tone, to encourage a player with potential.
Against Hawai‘i, it did.
Sawvel described DeBlanc as a physical player capable of doing multiple things within the offense and said the sophomore is continuing to learn and improve. He also described their relationship as strong, saying their conversations end with a hug.
DeBlanc missed a portion of spring practice with a hip injury and was slowed by an ankle injury during fall camp. That created another problem: new offensive coordinator Christian Taylor hadn't had many opportunities to evaluate him.
“If you're Christian Taylor coming in here and you missed a chunk of the spring with a hip and you've had an ankle that you've missed a little bit of time with in fall camp, right? And you're the offensive coordinator. You're looking at this and saying, OK, like I've not seen this guy do enough,” Sawvel said during fall camp.
“We have a belief in him and a faith in him to be a good player,” Sawvel said in August. “But, you know, there's also a proof part.”
Following the last fall scrimmage, DeBlanc told PokesNews.com that his focus was on building trust through repetition.
“It's not about one practice, about one scrimmage or anything like that,” DeBlanc said. “It's just really just putting days and stacking days together just to make sure that he's comfortable with putting me out there on the field.”
Essentially, DeBlanc wanted to pick up where he left off in 2025.
As a freshman in 2025, DeBlanc contributed in several different roles. He finished the season with 17 receptions for 90 yards, rushed 10 times for 54 yards and a touchdown, returned six kickoffs for 109 yards, and totaled 167 yards on 10 punt returns with another touchdown.
His first collegiate touchdown came on the ground against UNLV, when he carried three times for 26 yards in the same game. Later that season, he made one of his biggest plays on special teams against San Jose State, finishing that game with 86 yards and a touchdown on four punt returns.
DeBlanc remembered both plays vividly when discussing them during fall camp.
Scoring his first touchdown, he said, was “like a dream come true.”
“It built a lot of confidence,” DeBlanc said.
“Once I really broke the first level, I just knew I wasn't getting caught,” DeBlanc said.
DeBlanc wants to bring the explosiveness that he showed in 2025 into 2026.
“Every time I get the ball, it could be a home run shot,” DeBlanc said. “Every time I touch the ball, I'm just trying to score because I know that's my ability and I know I could do that for sure.”
Taylor's offense also appears suited for a player with DeBlanc's tenacity and versatility.
DeBlanc said during camp that he was excited about the different ways Taylor could create matchups, including moving receivers into the backfield and running backs outside.
“He can line you up anywhere,” DeBlanc said. “He's a very smart, creative guy.”
The 5-foot-10, 191-pound Houston native is a sophomore.
His numbers through four games remain modest - four receptions for 47 yards, two rushing attempts and one punt return - but the Hawai‘i game was an opportunity to show what he can do.
Three of his four catches and 41 of his 47 receiving yards this season came Saturday.
Against Hawai‘i, the ball finally came his way.
DeBlanc did his job, showed what he can do, and has even more on the horizon.
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