There was a period of time in the 1990s when Wyoming Football was known as "Receiver U". There have been so many great receivers wear the Brown and Gold through the years. This position group is an unbelievable collection of talent, and so this week we highlight the
Greatest Wide Receives in Wyoming Football history. Wyoming fans have this week to vote for their favorite Cowboy wide receivers through Wyoming Greats Fan Poll.
Each week a featured position group will include a 16-player bracket, with voting available for a four-player group each day throughout the week until a Cowboy is named as the winner of the Wyoming Greats Fan Poll at week's end. To cast your vote go to the Wyoming Football's Official Twitter account @wyo_football. Voting updates will be provided during the week @wyo_football. At the end of each week, we'll announce on social media the former Cowboy great receiving the most fan votes and we'll have each week's voting summary at GoWyo.com/WyoGreats
We hope you enjoy looking back at the greatest Pokes.
Here are the candidates for Wyoming's Greatest Wide Receivers in history. The Wide Receiver Bracket (Launches Monday, April 27, 2020)
Wide Receivers
1950s-Early 1980s
Gene Huey (1966-68), 1967 and '68 1st Team All-WAC, 2009 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
Jerry Marion (1964-66), 1966 1st Team All-WAC
Steve Martinez (1979-82), No. 9 at UW in Rec. Yards (2,043)
Dewey McConnell (1949-51), 1951 AP 1st Team All-American, 1950 and '51 1st Team All-Skyline, 1995 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
End of the WAC Era
Marcus Harris (1993-96), 1996 Consensus All-American, 1996 Biletnikoff Award Winner, 1995 1st Team All-American, 3-Time 1st Team All-WAC, 1996 WAC Co-Offensive POY, No. 1 at UW in Rec. Yards (4,518) and Catches (259), 2004 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
Wendell Montgomery (1996-99), 1998 and '99 1st Team All-Conference, No. 4 at UW in Rec. Yards (2,883), No. 7 in Catches (181)
Anthony Sargent (1986-87), 1987 1st Team All-WAC
Ryan Yarborough (1990-93), 1992 and '93 1st Team All-American and 1st Team All-WAC, No. 1 at UW in TD Rec. (42), No. 2 at UW in Rec. Yards (4,446) and No. 3 in Catches (239), 2003 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
Beginning of Mountain West Era
Jovon Bouknight (2002-05), 2005 HM All-American, 2005 1st Team All-MW, No. 1 at UW in All-Purpose Yards (5,921) and KO Ret. Yards (2,016), No. 2 at UW in Catches (250), No. 3 at UW in Rec. Yards (3,626)
Malcom Floyd (2000-03), 2001 and '03 HM All-MW, No. 6 at UW in Catches (186), No. 8 in Rec. Yards (2,411)
Michael Ford (2004-07), 2006 HM All-MW, No. 9 at UW in Catches (156), 1,879 Receiving yards
Ryan McGuffey (2000-03), 2001 1st Team All-MW, No. 4 at UW in Catches (231), No. 6 in Rec. Yards (2,679)
Recent Cowboys
Tanner Gentry (2013-16), 2016 2nd Team All-MW, No. 4 at UW in TD Rec. (20), No. 5 at UW in Rec. Yards (2,815)
Robert Herron (2010-13), 2012 and '13 HM All-MW, No. 4 at UW in TD Rec. (20), No. 10 at UW in Rec.Yards (2,030)
Chris McNeill (2009-12), 2011 and 12 2nd Team All-MW
Dominic Rufran (2011-14), No. 5 at UW in Catches (203), No. 7 in Rec. Yards (2,487)
Throughout the spring, we will include bios of each week's winner in the Wyoming Greats Fan Poll. See the fan selections below.
Andrew Wingard
Wyoming Fans' Choice as the Greatest Cowboy Safety
Andrew Wingard was recognized as one of the most outstanding defensive backs in college football and one of the greatest football players in University of Wyoming history in 2018. Wingard concluded his college career with 454 career tackles, ranking him No. 20 in NCAA history in tackles. He also tied for the Mountain West Conference career tackle record and ranks No. 2 on the Wyoming career tackle list.
He averaged 8.90 tackles per game as a collegian, which ranked him No. 6 among all active players at the FBS level in 2018 in career tackles. His 5.37 solo tackles per game ranked No. 4 among active FBS players in 2018, and his 10 career interceptions ranked him No. 9 among active FBS players in 2018.
Wingard earned First Team All-Mountain West Conference honors for the third consecutive season. He was invited to and participated in the 2019 East-West Shrine Game and the 2019 NFL Draft Combine. Wingard helped lead the Wyoming Cowboys to their third consecutive bowl eligible season. His Wyoming defense ranked No. 19 in the nation in total defense in 2018 (326.2 yards per game), No. 16 in the NCAA in fewest opponent first downs allowed (223), No. 25 in rushing defense (129.5 yards per game), No. 28 in scoring defense (22.0 points allowed per game) and No. 32 in pass defense (196.7 yards per game). Prior to his senior season, he was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List and the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Watch List -- all three for the second consecutive year. Wingard is one of only four players in Wyoming history to record three 100-tackle seasons (122 in 2015, 131 in 2016 and 114 in 2017).
Jay Novacek
Wyoming Fans' Choice as the Greatest Cowboy Tight End
Jay Novacek was the NCAA's Consensus All-America tight end in 1984, meaning he was selected to more First Team All-America teams than any other tight end in the country for that season. Novacek still holds the NCAA record for average yards gained per reception by a tight end in a single season. In 1984, he averaged 22.6 yards per reception to set that NCAA record as he caught 33 passes for 745 yards. He also earned First Team All-Western Athletic Conference honors in 1984. Novacek was one of 10 members in the inaugural UW Athletics Hall of Fame class in 1993. In 2008, he was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame.
He went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL where he was a starter on Super Bowl Championship teams following the 1992, '93 and '95 seasons. He was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl for five consecutive seasons from 1991-95.
Not only was Novacek a football All-American at Wyoming, but he also earned All-America honors in track and field, placing fourth in the decathlon at the 1984 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. To this day, Novacek still holds the University of Wyoming school record for points scored in the decathlon (7,762 points). He also still ranks No. 2 on the UW Top 10 list in the Indoor pole vault (16' 3") and No. 4 in the outdoor pole vault (16' 4").
Mitch Donahue
Wyoming Fans' Choice as the Greatest Cowboy Defensive Lineman
Mitch Donahue's is one of the most decorated players in Wyoming Football history. His senior season of 1990, Donahue earned First Team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News and NFL Draft Report. He finished fourth in voting for the 1990 Outland Trophy Award, which honors the nation's top linemen.
In both 1989 and '90, Donahue was honored as the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and for three consecutive seasons (1988, '89 and '90) he was named First Team All-WAC. He owns the Wyoming school records for career sacks (49.0) and sacks in a single-season (22.0).
Donahue was a leader on Wyoming teams that won back-to-back WAC titles in 1987 and '88, going a perfect 16-0 in league play over that two-year span. The Cowboys also earned three bowl bids during his career -- the 1987 and '88 Holiday Bowls and 1990 Copper Bowl.
In 2002, he earned the highest honor from the University of Wyoming Athletics Department when he was inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame.
Chase Roullier
Wyoming Fans' Choice as the Greatest Cowboy Offensive Lineman
Chase Roullier was named a 2016 Second Team All-American by USA Today Sports as a center. He capped off his college career by being selected in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Since joining Washington, he has started 37 of 43 games at center for the Redskins over the past three seasons. Roullier was invited to and participated in the 2016 East-West Shrine All-Star Game in St. Petersburg, Fla., and was also invited to and participated in the 2017 NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis, Ind.
A native of Savage, Minn., Roullier was a national semifinalist for the 2016 National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Scholar-Athlete Award. He was also selected First Team All-Mountain West Conference in voting by conference head coaches and media as a senior, and was named to both the 2016 Outland Trophy Watch List and the 2016 Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List. During his career, he played in 48 games at Wyoming, starting 42 of those games. That included starting all 14 games at center in 2016. His senior season he was asked to move to center by the Cowboy coaching staff after playing guard his previous three seasons at Wyoming.
Roullier was voted a team captain both his junior and senior seasons. He helped the Cowboys win the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference in 2016, earning the Cowboys the right to host the 2016 Mountain West Football Championship Game. Roullier and his teammates also earned a berth in the 2016 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl and ended the season with an 8-6 overall record and a 6-2 conference mark. He earned Academic All-Conference honors all four years of his college career and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.
