Cowboy Football Adds Five More Players at Mid-Year

University of Wyoming head football coach Dave Christensen announced Thursday the addition of five new mid-year scholarship players to the program. The five new Cowboys include two student-athletes who graduated early from high school to enroll at UW for the 2013 spring semester and three junior-college transfers. They bring Wyoming’s total of mid-year transfers to nine. Four mid-year transfers were early announced on December 19, 2012. The five new players include two defensive lineman, a linebacker, a tight end and a running back.

Troy Boyland is a 6-2, 310-pound defensive tackle from Palo Alto, California. He played two years of junior-college football at College of San Mateo in San Mateo, CA. He is ranked as the 16th best junior-college defensive tackle recruit in the country by 247Sports.com., and also received a three-star ranking from that recruiting website. He played his high school football at Palo Alto Senior High in Palo Alto, CA. Boyland was also recruited by Middle Tennessee, Tulane, UNLV, Washington State and Western Michigan.

James Diamanti is a 6-4, 285-pound defensive tackle from Grand Junction, Colorado. The Denver Post selected Diamanti to its 2012 First Team All-Colorado squad for all classifications his senior season at Grand Junction High. He was also named to the Post’s Class 5A First Team All-State squad. Class 5A is the largest classification in Colorado.  Diamanti was named his conference’s Player of the Year his senior season, while being credited with 88 tackles, 5.0 sacks, four forced fumbles and three recovered fumbles. His junior season, he made 50 tackles, had 4.0 sacks, forced three fumbles and recovered one fumble. He also started as a sophomore, and was credited with 42 tackles, 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. Diamanti was also recruited by Colorado, Colorado State, New Mexico State and UTEP.

J.D. Krill is a 6-6, 245-pound tight end from Mission Viejo, California. Krill played two seasons of junior-college football at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo. He is ranked as the No. 12 best JC tight end recruit in the country by 247Sports.com.  Rivals.com gives Krill a three-star rating. He caught 10 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown as a sophomore in 2012. As a freshman in 2011, Krill had five receptions for 42 yards and one touchdown. Krill played his high school football at Aliso Niguel High in Mission Viejo. Krill was also recruited by Connecticut, Ole Miss and Texas State.

Jeff Lark, a 6-2, 220-pound junior-college linebacker from Arizona Western Community College in Yuma, Arizona, is joining the Cowboy Football program at the start of the 2013 spring semester. Lark is ranked by 247Sports.com recruiting website as the 17th best JC outside linebacker in the nation, and gives Lark a three-star rating. He played one season at Arizona Western in 2012, after redshirting his first season of 2011. He will have three years of eligibility at Wyoming. In 2012, Lark was credited with 62 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 5.0 tackles for loss, forced two fumbles and intercepted one pass, which he returned for a touchdown. Arizona Western posted an 8-2 record, including a 42-37 win over Nassau Community College of New York in the El Toro Bowl in Yuma, AZ. Lark is originally from Cedar Hill, Texas, where he played at Cedar Hill High School. After high school, he played one year at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. At Cushing Academy, he recorded 57 tackles, 6.0 sacks and had 12 passes broken up, playing safety and cornerback. He was also recruited by Texas A&M.

Omar Stover comes to Wyoming from Boling Brook High School in Boling Brook, Illinois.  The 5-11, 197-pound running back was named to the 2012 Illinois Football Coaches Association All-State Team for Class 8A, the largest classification in Illinois. Stover also earned All-Area honors his senior season. He rushed for 1,012 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior, while leading Boling Brook to a 7-4 record and the second round of the state playoffs. As a junior in 2011, he started on a Boling Brook team that captured the State Championship with a 13-1 record. Stover was also recruited by Bowling Green, Ole Miss and Western Michigan.

The signing period for mid-year, junior-college transfers ran through January 15, 2013.  Mid-year high-school transfers sign scholarship offers, rather than national letters of intent, and are announced once they are officially enrolled at a university.