Wyoming's history of great running backs goes way back to the Cowboys' first All-American, tailback
Eddie "Boom Boom" Talboom in 1950. The Wyoming Cowboys have had some other great running backs through the years, including: Greybull, Wyo., native
Jim Crawford, who led the nation in rushing in 1956; to
Jim Kiick in the 1960s; to
Ryan Christopherson in the 1990s; to
Devin Moore in the 2000s; and finally
Brian Hill in the 2010s. This week we highlight the
Greatest Running Backs in Wyoming Football history. Wyoming fans have this week to vote for their favorite Cowboy running backs 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 Running Backs in history. The Running Backs' Bracket will launch Monday, May 11, 2020.
Running Backs
1940-50s
Jim Crawford, (1954-56), 1956 1st Team All-American, 1956 Led the NCAA in rushing, 1995 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
Walker "Sonny" Jones (1948-49), 1949 1st Team All-Skyline, 2008 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
Eddie "Boom Boom" Talboom (1948-50), 1950 Wyoming's First 1st Team All-American; 1994 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee, 2000 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee
John Watts (1954-56), 1956 HM All-American, 2016 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
1960s-70s
Lawrence Gaines (1973-75), 1975 1st Team All-WAC, 1976 NFL 1st Round Draft Pick (No. 16 overall pick)
Myron Hardeman (1977-78), 1977 & '78 Two-time 1st Team All-WAC
Jerry Hill (1958-60), 1959 and '60 HM All-American, 1993 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee, 1993 Selected by UW fans as Wyoming's Player of the Century
Jim Kiick (1965-67), 1965, '66 and '67 First Team All-WAC, 1966 Sun Bowl MVP, 1996 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee, Member of only undefeated team in NFL history -- the 1972 Miami Dolphins
1980s
Gerald Abraham (1984-87), No. 7 on UW Career Rushing List (2,278 yards), 1987 1st Team All-WAC
Dabby Dawson (1988-89), Two consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons (1,119 in 1988 and 1,005 in 1989), 1988 1st Team All-WAC
Walt Goffigan (1980-83), No. 10 on UW Career Rushing List (2,167 yards), 1981 & '83 Two-time 1st Team All-WAC
Kevin Lowe (1981-84), No. 9 on UW Career Rushing List (2,188 yards), 1984 1st Team All-WAC
1990s-2010s
Marques Brigham (1995-98), No. 5 on UW Career Rushing List (2,605 yards), 1998 1st Team All-WAC
Ryan Christopherson (1991-94), No. 3 on UW Career Rushing List (2,906 yards), 1994 1st Team All-WAC, 2006 UW Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
Brian Hill (2014-16), 2016 3rd Team All-American, UW's Career Rushing Leader (4,287 yards), 2016 1st Team All-MW
Devin Moore (2005-08), No. 2 on UW Career Rushing List (2,963 yards), 2008 1st Team All-MW,
Throughout the spring, we will include bios of each week's winner in the Wyoming Greats Fan Poll. See the fan selections below.
Tashaun Gipson
Wyoming Fans' Choice as the Greatest Cowboy Cornerback
Tashaun Gipson earned Second Team All-Mountain West Conference honors as a senior at Wyoming in 2011. He concluded his college career having started every game from the very first game of his freshman season -- 50 consecutive starts. Gipson never missed a start or a game in his four-year career. He had three interceptions as a senior, ranking him No. 4 in the Mountain West and No. 65 in the NCAA. He had five pass breakups to go with his three interceptions, ranking him No. 4 in the league in passes defended. He ended his Wyoming career with nine career interceptions, which still ranks him No. 6 on the Wyoming career interception list.
As a senior, he was third on the team and No. 9 in the MW in tackles, with 95. He led UW in solo tackles, with 72. Gipson concluded his Wyoming career with 250 career tackles.
He will be entering his ninth NFL season in 2020, having signed with the Chicago Bears in the offseason. He has started 104 of 112 games played over the past eight NFL seasons, and he has intercepted 23 passes in his professional career. He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2014 while playing for the Cleveland Browns.
Marcus Harris
Wyoming Fans' Choice as the Greatest Cowboy Wide Receiver
Marcus Harris ended his college football career as the NCAA's all-time career leader in total receiving yards, with 4,518. He still ranks No. 5 all-time in FBS history. Harris was the first wide receiver in FBS history to post three consecutive seasons of 1,400 yards receiving. Harris led the nation in receiving yards as a sophomore in 1994 (1,431 yards), ranked second in 1995 (1,423) and again led the nation as a senior in 1996 (1,650). He holds the Wyoming school records for career receiving yards (4,518), single-season yards (1,650) and single-game yards (260 vs. Fresno State in '94). He also holds the UW records for career receptions (259), single-season receptions (109) and single-game receptions (16 vs. Iowa State and Colorado State both in '96).
Harris was named a First Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in 1995 and was a Consensus All-American in 1996. He also won the prestigious Biletnikoff Award in 1996 and finished No. 9 in voting for the 1996 Heisman Trophy. The Biletnikoff recognizes college football's outstanding receiver each season. Harris was named First Team All-WAC in 1994, '95 and '96 and was the WAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year in '96. He was inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
Not only did Harris accomplish great things individually at Wyoming, but he was part of a 1996 team that posted a 10-2 record, led the nation in passing offense (359.2 yards per game), had the nation's longest winning streak (12 games) that dated back to the end of the '95 season and ended the season ranked No. 22 in both national polls.
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.
