LARAMIE, Wyo. — Four of the University of Wyoming’s senior football players have been listed on the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watchlist. Seniors Shae Suiaunoa, Harrison Waylee, Nofoafia Tulafono and Wyatt Ekeler are joining a list of adept footballers across the country that show promise for the 2025 NFL Draft.
According to the Senior Bowl website, these players have been a part of a scouting process going back to February that seeks the best of the best from the collegiate level. These UW seniors have been identified as showing a lot of promise, and each brings a unique set of strengths to every game.
According to the University of Wyoming Athletics Department, linebacker Shae Suiaunoa started in all 13 UW football games in the 2023–24 season. He ranked second in Cowboy tackles through the season with 93 total and was named All-Mountain West third team by sportswriter and analyst Phil Steele. Suiaunoa ranked 10th in the entire Mountain West Conference in tackles per game with 7.2.
Running back Harrison Waylee stands out from among his teammates and fellow Mountain West players with an honorable mention by coaches and media for his 2023 season performance as well as his appearance in Steele’s All-Mountain West second team. Waylee only appeared in 10 games for the Cowboys, but started in nine of them. In those 10 games, he was able to rush for nearly 1,000 yards and earned a rank of 50th in the entire country in total yards rushed in the season.
Waylee was also efficient in his rushing as well. In 10 games, Waylee rushed an average of 94.7 yards and 5.8 yards per carry, distinguishing himself as the 24th and 34th best in the nation in those categories, respectively. His 2023 season ended with five total touchdowns.
Waylee suffered a knee injury during an Aug. 10 scrimmage and is currently unplayable for an indefinite period of time.
Center Nofoafia Tulafono snapped the ball for the Cowboy’s offense in all 13 games last season and set the stage for important rushes through the entire year, including a 191-yard rush by Waylee against the University of New Mexico Lobos.
Safety Wyatt Ekeler also appeared in all 13 games and started in 12. Like Waylee, Ekeler received an honorable mention from Mountain West coaches and media for his season performance last year. Ekeler ranked third out of all Cowboy defensive players in tackles, with 49 out of 77 tackles being solo stops. He also got two interceptions last season, with one for a score against Nevada. A snuffing force on defense, Ekeler is tied for the most pass deflections last season with seven.
The Senior Bowl website adds that scouts will travel across the country to watch games in person throughout the entire football season and that the current list of prospects is subject to change as the season progresses.
If the four Cowboys are selected near the end of the season, they will appear at the Reese’s Senior Bowl at the University of Southern Alabama campus Feb 1. The Cowboys’ season begins Saturday, Aug. 31 at 8:30 p.m. with an away game against the Arizona State University Sun Devils.
