Andrew Wingard is a warrior.

While watching him play, It wouldn't take much imagination to summon thoughts of one of those Marvel Comic super heroes, Thor perhaps. With that long, blond hair flapping under the back of his helmet, Wingard hurls himself towards ball carriers like a guided missile.

To be sure, he's an intimidating presence patrolling the back half of Wyoming's nationally-ranked defense.

His head coach, Craig Bohl, says that everything he does is Mach 1. "He has the mentality of a downhill skier on double black diamond hill," Bohl says. "When we signed him, I had him promise that he would hang up his skis.

"On a football field, he has the phenomenal ability to come to balance and make the tackle," Bohl continues. "He has a great awareness and presence."

Those abilities have propelled him into Wyoming's top ten career tackle list.  With a little less than a year and a half remaining in Wingard's amazing career, he likely will become the Cowboys' most prolific tackler of all-time, a distinction that has belonged to linebacker Galand Thaxton for 30 years! 

Through the seasons, Wyoming has always produced outstanding, big-hitting strong safeties. I can go back 50 years, with safeties like Dennis Devlin in the Sugar Bowl era; Al Duyn (1972-74), known as 'the bullet; John Salley (1979-82), a huge hitter; Rich Miller (1984-88) who hit so hard he knocked himself out; Al Rich, who covered more ground in my view than anyone until Wingard;  John Wendling (2003-06), a Rock Springs native who played in the NFL; Chris Prosinski ( (2007-2010), another Cowboy State guy from Buffalo who is still in the NFL, and now Wingard.

And he may be the best of all.

If you look at Wyoming's career tackle leaders, most are linebackers.  Just two—Salley and Prosinski—were safties.  There's now one more.  The junior from Arvada's (Colorado) Ralston Valley High School, has been one of college football's top defenders since he came to Wyoming. He has been named to numerous national award watch lists, and ranks among the nation's top active career defenders.  He leads the Mountain West in three tackle categories and is ranked number two and number three in the nation in active career solo tackles and career total tackles respectively.

He has been the Pokes' leading tackler in each of the last three seasons while starting every game since the second game of this true freshman season of 2015.

Last week, Wingard did something he had not done during his stellar career, he intercepted two passes against New Mexico.  His efforts earned for him the Mountain West's Defensive Player of the Week, his second such honor this season.

Enough about his eye-popping statistics.  Let's talk about the man everyone calls 'Dewey'.

I asked him the other day if he thought he would be this good. With that infectious smile and in his humble way, he told me, "probably not".

"In a way, I have always been an underdog," he says.  "I was never the biggest, nor the fastest, and I wasn't highly recruited.  Because of the success I'm having, and the success our defense is having has really been awesome."

Despite that humbleness, Dewey has excellent speed, and good safety size (6-0, 209). But what really makes him special are the intangibles. His attitude and work ethic are the stuff of super stars.  But most importantly he loves the game of football.

"I thought I could play at this level," he says.  "Really, I don't think any of us are totally sure about how good we can be when we start our freshman years," he says. "But it was in fall camp of my first year when Coach (Curt) Mallory took me under his wing. He worked with me and made me believe I could play at a high level."

It didn't take his head coach long to see that.  "After watching him practice, I said to the defensive coaches, 'let's get number 28 on the field more'," Bohl says laughing.

"It was the Eastern Michigan game (in Laramie on September 12, 2015, a 48-29 victory) of my freshman year that I knew I belonged, and that I could play at this level," Dewey says.

Wingard recorded 12 tackles in the game, and would go on to produce that many tackles or more in six additional games during that freshman season.  He played in all 12 games as a freshman and led all Mountain West defensive backs in tackles.  At the end of the season he ranked second in the league and 12^th in the country among all players at all positions in total tackles.  He was selected as a First Team Freshman All-American.  His fame was sealed.

Wingard's prowess has certainly spread across the land.  His name appears on the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List and the Jim Thorpe Award Watch list, all honoring the nation's best defenders.  He was a first-team All-Mountain West performer last season after his sophomore year.

As the Cowboys enter the Border War Saturday, suffice it to say he is one of the elite collegiate defenders in all the land.

"I'm just so grateful to have been given this opportunity," he says in that low-key tone of his. "This has been so much fun.  It's been especially fun the way we have played on defense this season.  When we play like we did last week (seven takeaways), we can be very good.  I think when we are playing well and helping the offense like we did last week, the Cowboys can beat just about anyone."

Dewey credits Wyoming's defensive coaches for the success they're having thus far this season.  "I love what our defensive coaches have done," he says.  "We are well-coached, and we have a great approach.  I give them all the credit."

The Cowboys are the best in the country at defensive takeaways, including those seven last Saturday against New Mexico.  Just two other schools in the country have produced that many in one game this year.

"We have done well, but there are so many places for us to improve," he says.  "We can all play better."

Dewey is very close to his mom and dad, Missy and Dan.  "I owe them everything," he says with an obvious display of pride. "They have gone way above and beyond to make sure I had every chance. They have not missed one of my games, and I'm pretty sure they won't. Having dinner with them after a victory will always be one of my best memories.  I'm having fun with all of this, but I'm sure they are having double the fun!"

Dan Wingard is a commercial airline pilot who was a punter during his collegiate career.  Ironically he punted for Nebraska at the same time Bohl coached for the Huskers.

What does a hard-hitting, tackling-machine safety say about his dad being a punter?  "Oh, I give him a real bad time about it," Dewey laughs.

Bohl actually knew Wingard's grandfather, Monte Mercer, who was quite a football player at Kearney State back in the day.  "He was known as the blonde comet," Bohl recalls.  "There's a lot of good football genes in the Wingard family."

This doesn't come as a surprise, but Wingard's favorite part of the game he loves are the collisions.  "Interceptions like last weeks are a lot of fun for sure," he says, "but I love run support.  It's a lot more fun down there in the box (on or near the line of scrimmage). "That's what football is all about."   

Andrew Wingard is a football player, and he is what Wyoming football is all about.  Keep your eye on him in Saturday's Border War.  It's easy to do, just watch where the football goes.  Number 28 will be there.