When signing day came on February 5th, the Wyoming coaching staff saw their recruiting class short two spots and have been looking to fill those spots since.

Tonight the Cowboys have filled at least one of those spots in signing 6’1″, 255-pound defensive end Taneila “Nela” Lolohea out of El Camino Junior College (Torrance, CA).

Lolohea picked the Cowboys over an offer from Eastern New Mexico. His lead recruiter was cornerback coach John Richardson.

He officially visited Laramie this past weekend along with a junior college teammate, Victor Villarreal.

What led Lolohea to select the Cowboys?

Lolohea said, “I really loved the atmosphere and the coaching staff. They were really honest with me the whole time.  I enjoyed the campus and also the players.

I’m really grateful for their [coaches] faith and believing in me because I knew my height was a problem with recruiting.  They saw something different which really caught my attention.

Also the main important thing in my life is God and a big thanks for the talent that he gave me to play for Wyoming.”

The future Cowboy defender racked up 56 tackles, five sacks and 11.5 tackles-for-loss this past season for the Warriors.

Nela Lolohea hudl highlights