‘It’s Nothing': Dawaiian McNeely Not Fazed by Thumb Injury
LARAMIE -- "It's nothing. I'm not even worried about it."
Dawaiian McNeely repeated those words above numerous times Monday afternoon inside Wyoming's High Altitude Performance Center.
Agitated? Maybe a little.
The overriding subject was injuries, something the senior is fed up with talking about -- and going through.
A torn ACL in his left knee cost him the entire 2023 season. Nerve damage in his right hand limited his touches the year prior. So did other nagging ailments. There's a new setback to add to the list, a dislocated thumb. That happened in last Saturday's loss to Idaho, his first game action since Nov. 19, 2022.
"It may be annoying, but you got to stick to the course," said McNeely, who was sporting a white bandage wrapped around his left hand. "It's all good. It's nothing new, nothing I can't handle. It's nothing crazy at all. So, we're good."
While the California product is downplaying his latest diagnosis, his head coach cut his debut short. McNeely carried the ball just one time against the Vandals. That went for four yards.
With the Cowboys in a dogfight, Jay Sawvel said he wasn't taking any chances.
"When you find out on Saturday that you have a guy with a dislocated thumb, and they've had to do an anesthetic to then get the it back into place -- and they have to do a certain pad or whatever -- and a guy doesn't have feeling in his hand, it doesn't give you a lot of confidence to then put him out there running the football," he said. "So that was the decision we made at that time. It wasn't in our best interest to do that."
McNeely may not be interested in talking about his medical history, but the mental pain and anguish of the previous 12 months is painfully obvious. The former three-star recruit was finally starting to hit his stride late in the '22 season, gashing Hawaii for 81 yards on just four carries, despite having a large black club on his right hand.
Tied 13-13 early in the fourth quarter, McNeely took a handoff and veered slightly to his right, blowing through a massive hole in the Warriors' front four. The long-strider kicked it into another gear and dusted the secondary en route to a 61-yard touchdown jaunt.
Wyoming would hang on for the 27-20 victory on the islands.
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On just 63 rushing attempts that season, McNeely rushed for 356 yards. That's an astonishing 5.7 yards per carry. Craig Bohl, then Wyoming's head coach, vaulted him to the top of the team's depth chart during fall camp.
A harmless-looking, non-contact cut on the North 40 practice field ended it all.
"It was very tough at times -- It was very tough," McNeely said of that season-ending knee injury. "It was just something that I'm pretty sure no one wants to deal with and whatnot, but I feel like God gives his toughest battles to his strongest warriors. So I just had to really trust and believe that. I got through it, you know, and thrived through it."
Did he ever think about hanging up his cleats after all the misfortune in his career? No chance. In fact, he still has two years of eligibility remaining and already knows what's next.
"I'm going to come back," he said without hesitation. "100%"
Sawvel and Co. have not rushed McNeely into action this offseason. It would have been easy to do, too.
Probable starter Harrison Waylee went down in camp with a knee injury and was forced to undergo surgery. He's not expected back for a couple more weeks, at least. DJ Jones, who has started the first two games in the Cowboys' backfield, was a safety at the University of North Carolina last season.
McNeely received word early this week he will be cleared to play Saturday night against rival BYU. Gordie Haug, for one, isn't shocked one bit.
"He's a warrior," Wyoming's running backs coach said. "He'll do whatever it takes to get back on the field. I'm excited that he's cleared and ready to roll."
Is he worried about that thumb and ball-security issues?
"We'll be fine," Haug added. "I mean, if he has to, he can run the ball with one hand, but I don't think that's going to be the case."
McNeely rushed for 33 yards on five carries against the Cougars in 2022 inside LaVell Edwards Stadium. Fans warned him it was vicious. They expressed the meaning of this meeting. The history.
That team will now return the favor, paying a visit to Laramie for the first time in 15 years.
McNeely has heard all the talk. That doesn't interest him anymore. His focus is on proving he's back and his team is much better than this 0-2 start would indicate.
"It's a very big game, as far as a rivalry," he said. "I know there's some bad blood between both teams. It should be a very fun game and we welcome the opportunity. I played in the last one, and I didn't know how it really was until I stepped on the field and felt it.
"... I don't really care what they have going on, for real. It's all about what's going on in this facility at The War."
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Mountain Time Saturday night and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.