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Esaia Bogar is Becoming a Problem for Opposing Offenses
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Oct. 15, 2026) - Wyoming defensive end Esaia Bogar showed how far the senior has come since arriving in Laramie during last Friday's 16-13 overtime win over San Jose State.
Bogar finished with five tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and a career-high 1.5 sacks, helping Wyoming snap an eight-game road losing streak before jumping on the plane back to Laramie…ice cream in hand.
Bogar is a native of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and returning to his home state to help the Cowboys secure a much-needed win made his performance last Friday even more satisfying.
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"Yeah, it felt really good," Bogar said in an exclusive interview with Pokes News on Monday. "Obviously, up until that point, we hadn't won a game on the road. So, going to California, it was definitely huge, to get the win on the road."
As Bogar mentioned, it was Wyoming's first road win after eight consecutive road losses.
The 6-foot-2, 255-pound defensive end has started all six games for Wyoming this season after appearing in 10 games with just one start a year ago.
Through six games, Bogar has recorded 23 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and one forced fumble. He leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks. That's a big jump from his 2025 season, when he finished with 13 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack.
Bogar opened the season in dominant fashion with a career-high 11 tackles against Colorado State. He followed that with a sack against Northern Colorado and added another sack and a forced fumble against Hawaii before his performance at San Jose State.
"San Jose, they pass the ball a lot, and it just allowed the entire defensive line to get active and work pass rush moves and get to the quarterback," Bogar said.
Prior to Wyoming, Bogar was one of California's top junior college defensive players at Riverside City College, where he earned National Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and was a two-time All-State selection.
During his two seasons at Riverside, Bogar recorded 23 sacks and 40 tackles for loss while helping the Tigers capture state and national championships in 2023.
Bogar has increased his leadership role at Wyoming, but don’t expect him to get loud...other than the hits he makes.
"Yeah, I'd say I'm a leader in like the aspect of kind of like leading by example," Bogar said. "Like I'm not, you know, super verbal. I'm not going to be yelling at guys."
Leadership matters, especially after just six days before the victory at SJSU, Wyoming got kicked in the teeth with a 28-0 loss to North Dakota State on Oct. 3.
The Cowboys responded with what head coach Jay Sawvel described as their best week of defensive practice before traveling to San Jose State.
Bogar said the team was disappointed with their performance against the Bison.
"It's not a good feeling to get destroyed like we did against North Dakota," Bogar said.
With San Jose State facing fourth-and-one in overtime, Wyoming's defense needed one more stop to give its offense a chance to win.
Bogar said defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl made a last-second defensive call the Cowboys hadn't practiced during the week.
"It was a last-second call by the coordinator, Coach Bohl," Bogar said. "We hadn't practiced that play at all. He made a call and we executed it."
Bogar said there was no panic in the defensive huddle before the play.
"We believed in each other. So going into that fourth-and-one we weren't scared, we weren't worried, we were just confident in the play call, and we executed."
After the defensive stop, Wyoming's offense moved into position for Erik Sandvik's game-winning 21-yard field goal.
Sacks and tackles for loss have become a big part of Bogar's production this season.
What’s Bogar’s secret?
"I think a lot of it is just reading my keys," Bogar said. "That's really where every play begins. Everyone has their keys on the field, and you have to have your eyes in the right place."
"The main thing is to just play fast, play fast so you can react fast."
After two straight road games, Bogar and the Cowboys return to War Memorial Stadium for two home matchups: Northern Illinois on Saturday and Air Force the following Friday.
Bogar told Pokes News that he’s looking forward to playing in front of Wyoming fans again, and is also excited to be a part of the traditional Cowboy Walk before kickoff.
"I think it's really important for everyone, players, the fans," Bogar said. "It's like the community; we all feel connected."
With six games remaining in the regular season, Bogar believes the Cowboys still have plenty to play for.
"Us as the players, we're going to keep on fighting," he said. "Still a lot of games left, and we're not giving up anytime soon."
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