What’s in a Name? The Story Behind Wyoming RB Samuel ‘Tote’ Harris
- Jeff Bugher
- 43 minutes ago
- 5 min read
LARAMIE, Wyo. – What’s in a name? Long before Samuel “Tote” Harris was carrying the football for the Wyoming Cowboys, he was learning how to “tote the rock.”
That is literally how the nickname “Tote” came to be.
Harris’ mother was in the military therefore the family had to move around a lot. One of those places was Japan when he was 7 years old. One of his trainers, Coach Solo, noticed how naturally the young running back carried the football. The family has Georgia roots, where the phrase “he can tote the rock” is common.
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Coach Solo was also from Georgia and made the observation that the young Harris could “tote the rock.” With a Texas connection mixed in and the expression “mayne,” the nickname initially became “Totemayne.”
As Harris grew older, “mayne” was dropped.
Yet, “Tote” stayed.
The nickname followed him from elementary school in Japan to Texas, San Diego, and Texas, and eventually to Laramie.
“Tote” is also becoming a nationally known name on watch lists.
The Wyoming sophomore running back enters the 2026 season after being named to the watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
As a freshman, Harris was Wyoming's leading rusher in 2025. He played in 11 games with seven starts and rushed for 558 yards on 100 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per attempt. Harris also caught 16 passes for 184 yards. He rushed for a career-high 126 yards against Colorado and added 102 yards on just 12 carries against Fresno State.
The expectations are noticeably higher this year.
“It's very exciting,” Harris said. “The pressure's on, but pressure breaks pipes. It's an honor to have that amount of pressure and just to have the amount of trust and belief that the staff has in me. It's going to be a good one. I'm ready for it.”
At 5-foot-11 and 202 pounds, Harris is a sophomore from Cibolo, Texas, who played his high school football at Byron P. Steele. He was a three-star recruit coming out of high school after averaging 9.3 yards per carry as a senior. As a junior, he rushed for nearly 800 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Athletics have always been part of Harris' life.
“My dad played basketball at Savannah State, and my mom ran track at Savannah State also,” Harris said. “So I come from a very athletic background. My sister also ran track.”
Harris also credits the people who helped him along the way for shaping the player he has become.
“I've had a lot of mentors,” Harris said. “I've been blessed to have a lot of role models in my life, especially my father and a lot of coaches coming up from Pop Warner, Little League, all the way up to now. So I want to give a shout-out to Coach Solo, Coach Shortridge, Coach Willie, all the coaches who coached me when I was young.”
That list has expanded since arriving at Wyoming.
“A mentor here at Wyoming could be the entire staff,” Harris said. “There are great figures on the entire staff, especially Coach Sawvel, Coach Taylor and Coach Flea (Gary Harrell), my position coach, the running backs coach. It's a great group of guys here. Anyone I can go talk to, they give great advice. Everything's very family-oriented here, so there are a lot of great role models here.”
Harris said the running back room is filled with explosive playmakers.
“Anybody in the running back room can really break one free for 60, 80, punch it in on the goal line,” Harris said. “The running back room is very explosive.”
The arrival of new offensive coordinator Christian Taylor has only increased Harris' excitement about Wyoming's offense.
Taylor has emphasized generating explosive plays and getting the ball to playmakers, which aligns with how Harris wants to play.
“I'm very excited, just really to go out there and make plays,” Harris said. “That's one of his philosophies on offense - big plays. As long as we can smack those big plays, it's going to be great. Especially in the run game, with the run scheme we have, it's a big play waiting to happen on any type of run play we have, whether it's power, outside zone, counter, anything. So I'm very excited.”
There is another area where Harris sees himself helping the team.
Head coach Jay Sawvel has placed an emphasis on red-zone offense throughout camp, and Harris sees an opportunity for the Cowboys to turn more possessions into points.
“That red zone will be very important, and I'm excited to score more points this year for sure,” Harris said.
There is a different feeling surrounding the Cowboys this fall, according to Harris.
“Everybody's always been focused, but it's something different,” Harris said. “It's something in the air. These few practices we've had, there's been a lot of competing. That's what we really needed. The amount of competition is insane.”
Harris thrives on it.
“I'm a competitor myself, so just feeling the competition at practice every day, it gets me amped up and really excited to see what we can do against other teams.”
After his breakout 2025 season and three national award watch-list selections heading into 2026, Harris has an opportunity to become even greater.
Ask Harris what he wants someone seeing him play for the first time to remember, and his answer fits the nickname he's carried since he was 7.
“I want them to see a crowd pop,” Harris said. “Every time I get the ball or every time, I'm in the game, it's an opportunity to hear the crowd pop. I'm going for about 40, 50 yards every time I carry the ball. I want them to see and feel a playmaker, whether it be hearing the crowd pop, seeing me run down the field, scoring a touchdown, seeing the sideline get hyped up for me making a play.”
Now, the rest of the nation is starting to learn the name “Tote.”
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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