‘It Means Everything’: Alex Haswell Living His Wyoming Football Dream
- Jeff Bugher
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
LARAMIE, Wyo. - For Alex Haswell, putting on a brown and gold jersey carries a little more meaning than simply playing for a college football team.
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Wyoming defensive lineman grew up in Sheridan, watching the Cowboys and making the long trip across the state to War Memorial Stadium. Now, as a redshirt sophomore, Haswell is preparing for a chance to contribute to the program he grew up rooting for.
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“It means everything, honestly,” Haswell said. “It’s always been a dream since I was a little kid, growing up watching the Cowboys play. Coming here, it’s really a big honor for me. It’s also really nice that it’s close to my family, so they can come and see me whenever they want.”
Close, of course, is relative in Wyoming.
Haswell said his family made the roughly four-and-a-half-hour drive from Sheridan to Laramie for one or two Cowboy games each season when he was growing up.
Before becoming a Cowboy, Haswell became accustomed to winning as a Sheridan Bronc.
Playing for head coach Jeff Mowry, Haswell helped Sheridan win three consecutive Class 4A state championships. He was unanimously selected as the 2023 Wyoming Class 4A Lineman of the Year and earned unanimous first-team All-State honors on both the offensive and defensive lines. As a senior defensive end, he recorded 34 tackles, seven tackles for loss and a sack.
For Haswell, his time at Sheridan was about more than championships and individual honors.
“I was very fortunate to be able to play under Coach Mowry and all the coaches there,” Haswell said. “We were super successful, and that was awesome, but them teaching me how to be a man and being really close with all my teammates was really good.”
Staying Home in Wyoming
Despite his success at Sheridan, Haswell didn't have college teams lining up to recruit him.
He didn't play as a sophomore, leaving him with little film heading into a crucial stretch of the recruiting process. His recruitment didn't begin gaining traction until after his junior season.
During the summer of 2023, Haswell began hearing from Division II and NAIA programs before Wyoming entered the picture.
Cowboys coach Shannon Moore, who coaches tight ends and special teams, stayed in regular contact with Haswell and made trips to Sheridan. Wyoming offered Haswell an opportunity the week before his senior state championship game.
Haswell committed roughly four days later.
Seeing other Wyoming natives prove that players from the state's smaller communities could succeed in Laramie and beyond made an impression on Haswell.
He pointed to former Cowboys Logan Wilson and Frank Crum as examples he looked up to. Once he arrived at UW, he found more Wyoming players to lean on, including Will Pelissier of Big Horn and Jordan Bertagnole of Casper.
“It was huge, for sure,” Haswell said of seeing Wyoming natives succeed. “It was just so easy to look up to those guys.”
Haswell's connection to UW also runs through his family. His mother, Christi Haswell, competed in rugby, cross country and track at UW, while his father, who is from England, played semi-professional rugby.
Healthy and Ready
Haswell's first two seasons in Laramie required patience.
He redshirted without appearing in a game in 2024, and an injury kept him off the field again in 2025.
This fall, Haswell has been able to stay healthy through summer workouts and fall camp. Now he's eager for his first opportunity to contribute to Wyoming's defensive front.
“I’m super excited,” Haswell said. “Last year I was out at the beginning of the season with an injury. So being able to just be healthy all through summer, all through fall camp and, cross fingers, knock on wood, all through the season. I’m really excited to go out there and play hard with the rest of my boys.”
Haswell also sees a Wyoming defense with depth at several positions and a close bond among the players.
“We really are family,” Haswell said. “I feel like all positions are really close with each other. The tackles and corners and all that. Even though we do have a decent amount of returners, we do have a lot of guys that are stepping into new roles. I think everybody’s just ready to get to that first game and show what we can do.”
Border War Comes First
Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 at Colorado State in the 118th running of the Border War. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado.
As a Wyoming native, Haswell doesn't need an introduction to the rivalry or what it means around the state.
As fall camp progressed, some of his teammates asked the Sheridan native about it.
“I have my fair share to say,” Haswell said.
Brothers Back on the Same Field
Haswell won't be the only member of his family wearing brown and gold this season.
His younger brother, Beck, is a freshman defensive end on the team.
Beck Haswell arrived from Sheridan as one of Wyoming's most decorated members of the 2026 recruiting class. The defensive end was rated a three-star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals and was listed as the top recruit in Wyoming. He earned Casper Star-Tribune Super 25 Defensive Player of the Year honors after recording 41 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and six sacks as a senior.
After previously sharing the field in Sheridan's yellow and blue, the brothers are teammates again, this time in brown and gold.
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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