UW's McNeely out for season with torn ACL

LARAMIE — University of Wyoming running back Dawaiian McNeely, who was the projected starter for the Cowboys, will miss the entire season after tearing his ACL during practice Wednesday, coach Craig Bohl said Friday morning.
McNeely left Wednesday's practice with the injury and was immediately ordered an MRI. The test revealed the torn ACL, ending his season before it even began.
"He'll be done for the year (with a) major surgery," Bohl said. "We were concerned about that, but that's what I had thought. That's where we're at. I want to support him, and he'll get his surgery and get into a rehab deal, and hopefully he'll be back for next year."
McNeely ran for 356 yards and one touchdown on 63 carries last season, but battled various injuries throughout the course of the year. He was expected to take over the No. 1 role in UW's backfield after the departure of Titus Swen.
Running back Harrison Waylee, an incoming transfer from Northern Illinois, is "doubtful" for the season-opener against Texas Tech, Bohl said. D.Q. James, Sam Scott and Jamari Ferrell are the frontrunners to take the bulk of the carries to start the season.
Waylee and James are both returning from knee injuries of their own. James tore his ACL at the end of last season, and Waylee had knee surgery this offseason.
"We're working through all that stuff right now," Bohl said. "D.Q. has done some things well, but he's not quite 100%. We think he will be. He's been slowed by some rehab, but he's making some progress.
"I think Jamari's doing some good things. ... I was encouraged, I saw Harrison run up and down. I think he was running up to 3,000 yards today. Whether we have him for the first game or not, I think that's somewhat doubtful, but we're going to get a couple guys ready to play against Tech."
UW has nine running backs listed on its roster in total, but experience at the college level is limited behind Waylee, James and McNeely on the depth chart. Bohl feels confident with the group's ability to adapt to the adversity.
"When you lose a player like Dawaiian, who you're counting on, that's a concern," Bohl said. "It's less than ideal, but it's not like something where we're going to alter our offense and things like that. I think we've got a pretty deep group of running backs, and we'll sort those out."