Pokes Receive Verbal Commitment From Third Safety Prospect

LARAMIE -- Ten.

That's the number of official offers Jimmel Champion received after his junior season at Huntington Beach High School in southern California.

One of those came from Colorado State. Another, Boise State. New Mexico and Nevada wanted the 6-foot-2, 195-pound safety, too. Arizona, San Diego State and BYU also showed interest.

He chose Wyoming.

"After a great visit and conversations with coach (Jason) Petrino and head coach Jay Sawvel, I’m blessed to announce my commitment to the University of Wyoming," Champion penned on X. "Thank you to God, my family, coaches and everyone who supported me. Excited to call Laramie home."

The three-star prospect, who is listed by 247sports as the 108th best player in California, was also recruited by Georgia State, Idaho, Montana, Northern Arizona and defending FCS national champion Montana State.

Champion was one of a dozen prep players to make an official visit to the high plains this summer. All 12 have given their verbal commitment to the 2027 class, swelling the number to 15 overall.

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

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.).

Playing both ways in high school, Champion snagged six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown in just six games. In the secondary, he recorded 28 tackles, 23 of which were solo stops. He also forced and recovered a fumble and tallied three tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Champion picked off one pass and broke up four others.

Sawvel and Co. are typically in the single digits when it comes to verbal commitments this early in the recruiting cycle during his three years on the sidelines in Laramie. Craig Bohl's decade-long tenure was no different.

Sawvel has said numerous times in the past he likes to put prospects on the sidelines for games in the fall inside War Memorial Stadium.

Wyoming's known commits have bumped the '27 class, so far, up to 98th nationally out of 138 FBS programs. UNLV (69), North Dakota State (86) and Nevada (97) are the only Mountain West programs currently ahead of the Cowboys. San Jose State (102), New Mexico (104), Hawaii (110), Northern Illinois (116), UTEP (138) and Air Force (N/A) round out the conference rankings.