LARAMIE – DeVonne Harris made his debut in the 2019 Arizona Bowl and John Hoyland made his surprise first start in the 2020 opener at Nevada.

The sixth-year defensive end, affectionately known as “Speed ​​Googles” for wearing his prescribed specs in games, and the fifth-year placekicker who made a fashion statement by wearing a red shoe, will play their final home game in Wyoming against No. 13 Boise State on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.

Harris, returning to the starting lineup after suffering a broken forearm early in the season, recovered a fumble in last week’s loss to Colorado State.

Although not fully healthy, the 6-foot-1, 235-pound senior from Big Lake, Minnesota, will log most of the snaps against the Broncos on defense. Sabastiaan Harig And Braden Siders expects him to miss the game due to injuries.

Harris started all 26 games for the Cowboys over the past two seasons. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2019, played in five games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and rotated behind some excellent defensive veterans in 2021.

Former UW head coach Craig Bohl imitated Harris’ deep voice and gave the edge rusher grief for wearing pajamas to the High Altitude Performance Center.

“A man who showed up every day with a smile on his face, came to work and didn’t really care what other people thought of him, and helped those young boys get better,” Harris said of his legacy. “And I want to be remembered for my pajama bottoms.”

Hoyland walked on and was thrust into the spotlight when projected starter Luke Glassock was injured before the 2020 trip to Reno.

The true freshman calmly made field goals of 27, 36, 42 and 38 yards during the Cowboys’ 37-34 overtime loss to Wally Pipp Glassock.

“He was Mr. Automatic,” special teams co-coordinator Shannon Moore said of Hoyland. “Two days before that Nevada game, all those guys had come out of the dorms from COVID quarantine. Before you know it, he’s the starting kicker. It really is an incredible story.

“Once you get a taste of some of that success, then suddenly it keeps happening and you kind of feed off of that.”

With two games remaining in his career, Hoyland has made 68 of 86 (79.1%) field goal attempts and 146 of 147 (99.3%) extra points. He is UW’s all-time leading scorer with 350 points.

“It’s weird. You’ve been here so many years and every year you think, ‘I’m coming back another year,'” Hoyland said of his emotions during his final home game. “Not being able to say that anymore will be different.”

Harris said his favorite moment at UW was blocking the field goal Jakorey Hawkins returned for a 62-yard touchdown in a stunning 22-19 victory over Appalachian State last season.

The dramatic victory, which followed the overtime thriller over Texas Tech in the opener, lifted the Cowboys to nine wins in Bohl’s final season.

Although his latest campaign hasn’t gone according to plan, Harris hasn’t thought twice about doing the stretch run with other injured seniors, including safeties. Wyett Ekeler And Isaac White.

“It was just one of those seasons. Everyone seems to be regressing. I think that’s the most people we’ve had injured in the six years we’ve been here,” Harris said. “When you know you don’t have any more games after this season, you want to be there. I don’t want to pack it in. I want to be there and finish strong.

“When Wyett came back with two bats (protecting his broken thumbs) against San Jose, I turned around at his pick and couldn’t stop laughing. I thought, ‘Just get down there, you can’t hold the ball.’ I think we all want to finish strong, whether we’re limping off the field or walking off the field.”

Hoyland said his favorite game was the thriller over Texas Tech. Although the Pokes emerged victorious Sam Scott’s 2-point conversion, it was Hoyland’s 56-yard field goal in the second quarter that turned the tide after the Red Raiders stormed to a 17-0 lead.

“The Texas Tech game stands out. If you ask a lot of these seniors what their favorite game is, that’s a very special game,” said Hoyland, who capped the 2023 season by earning Arizona Bowl most valuable player honors after he had kicked the game winner. against Toledo as time expired during Bohl’s tenure. “I remember coming in and seeing the Mizzou win in 2019 and thinking I would like to get a win like that. To be able to contribute to that was pretty awesome.”

Hoyland, a native of Broomfield, Colorado, made a 49-yard field goal during last week’s 24-10 loss to Colorado State. He already has a mechanical engineering degree from the UW and will complete his MBA in May.

“Get an education,” Hoyland said of his expectations when he first entered the program. “Just coming here and getting an engineering degree would be good enough for me, and if I got paid for it, that would be a good bonus. Looking back at how far I’ve surpassed that is pretty cool.”

Most fans have noticed that Hoyland is not wearing the red kicking shoe he used during his first four seasons with the Pokes. The change has nothing to do with last year’s mini-slump over long distance or superstition.

“It’s a boring answer. They ran out, they stopped having those types of cleats,” Hoyland said. “I don’t really care what kind of shoe it is as long as it works for me. I found a shoe this season that works quite well for me and I’m quite happy with the choice I made.”

During Boise State’s 2022 visit to Laramie, it appeared Hoyland would get a chance to force overtime after a wild sequence in the final minute.

Running back George Holani, who had not lost a fumble during his decorated career, got the ball loose while trying to run out the clock. Harris scooped up the fumble and returned it 44 yards to the Boise State 21-yard line with 45 seconds left.

“When I got the ball, everything went black and white,” Harris said. “I saw people on my left, I saw people on my right, and I thought, that seems like the safest way. I chose wrong, but it is what it is.”

Harris was caught from behind by the Broncos quarterback and pushed out of bounds. The Cowboys went for the win on the next play and threw an interception, not giving Hoyland a chance to tie the score.

The two seniors hope to be part of a never-ending battle against the Broncos in their final home game.

“My entire time here, we’ve played Boise tooth and nail on this field,” Harris said. “On the blue grass it’s a different story, but on our field we always seem to give them a problem. We go out there and play the game we know we can play and try to play spoiler.”

UW defeated Boise State 30-28 in 2016 to earn a spot in the Mountain West championship. The Cowboys lost to the Broncos 17-9 in 2020 and the 20-17 heartbreaker in 2022 during the war.

“We’ve had some tough moments with them over the years. There’s still some impact we can have on the college football world and that means something to this team,” Hoyland said. “I hope we can go out there, play our best and give them their money’s worth.”

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