Cowboys Receive Verbal Commitment From California Speedster

LARAMIE -- Wyoming football has its 16th verbal commitment in the 2027 recruiting class.

Damarious Johnson, a 6-foot, 177-pound cornerback from Bakersfield, Calif., announced Monday he intends to call Laramie home.

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"Excited to announce I’ve accepted my offer to play at the University of Wyoming," he penned on X. "I’m thankful for everyone who assisted with getting me to this point in my football career. Let's work."

Johnson is the third California product to commit to Jay Sawvel's program, joining edge rusher Garrison Manzanarez (Cypress) and safety Jimmel Champion (Huntington Beach). The two-way player is also the second cornerback in this class, along with Parker, Colo., native Freddie Burke.

Johnson, who lined up at running back, linebacker and in the secondary at Independence High School, tallied 37 total tackles, including 22 solo stops. He also added half a tackle for loss, broke up a pass and scooped up a fumble, according to MaxPreps.com.

He came to Laramie for a junior day camp in June and ran a blazing 4.36 40-yard dash. That's no surprise. The soon-to-be senior was a state qualifier in the 100-yard dash, posting a time of 10.64, a school record.

Wyoming's former conference rival Fresno State was the first FBS program to offer Johnson. Portland State, Idaho, Eastern Washington and Sacramento State also showed interest.

Johnson is the ninth defensive member of the group, joining linebacker Drew Benassi (Lee's Summit, Mo.), nose tackles Kingston Beyer (Fort Worth, Texas) and Brett Singler (Shiocton, Wisc.) and secondary members Karson McKenzie (Englewood, Colo.) and Cody High School star Cache McFadden, along with Champion, Manzanarez, Burke.

The others are: Big Horn offensive tackle Chase Garber, Batavia, Ill., teammates Michael Vander Luitgaren (quarterback) and Thomas Prescott (tight end), wide receivers Alijah Landrum-Hamilton (Englewood, Colo.) and Levi Rillos (Arvada, Colo.) along with signal caller Tucker Ingersoll (Arvada, Colo.) and lineman Noah Reid (Mission, Kan.).

Wyoming's known commits have bumped the '27 class, so far, up to 104th nationally out of 138 FBS programs, per 247sports.com. UNLV (59), North Dakota State (91), San Jose State (97) and Nevada (103) are the only Mountain West programs currently ahead of the Cowboys. New Mexico (108), Hawaii (117), Northern Illinois (122), UTEP (142 - lower than a number of FCS teams) and Air Force (N/A) round out the conference rankings.

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