LARAMIE – Jovon Bouknight came to Wyoming to play quarterback.
 
Then he met two big Wheatland men already on campus – Casey and Corey Bramlet.
 
"There' were a couple other schools recruiting me at the time, but they were the ones talking about quarterback, and (Wyoming) is right up the road," Bouknight, who was a dynamic dual-threat quarterback at Manual High School in Denver, said of being recruited by head coach Vic Koenning and offensive coordinator Rusty Burns. "They made it seem like I would have a really good shot at playing quarterback. So, that's kind of where my heart took me.
 
"Lo and behold, I got up there and was introduced to the Bramlet brothers. The rest is history."
 
Bouknight, who will be inducted into the UW Intercollegiate Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class on Sept. 6, moved to wide receiver as a freshman in 2002. He finished his spectacular career on the short list of greatest players in program history at the position along with Marcus Harris (1993-96) and Ryan Yarborough (1990-93).
 
Harris is UW's career leader in receptions (259), receiving yards (4,518) and is second in touchdown catches (38). Yarborough is first in touchdown catches (42), second in receiving yards (4,446) and third in receptions (239).
 
Bouknight, who didn't get to play in Joe Tiller's legendary offenses like Harris and Yarborough, ranks second in receptions (250) and third in receiving yards (3,626) and touchdown catches (29).
 
"It's a huge honor and such a blessing," Bouknight said of being on the Mt. Rushmore of Cowboys receivers. "I remember watching Marcus Harris and Ryan Yarborough (film) in my later years. I was a junior or senior, and I wanted to see what the hype was about and what these guys were about. Man, they were spectacular. I mean, Ryan with his speed and his quickness and his technique. He was very special. And then Marcus just being a specimen. His hands and how he obviously attacked the ball in the air, he was just a heck of a player.
 
"To be put in that category, I'm truly honored."
 
Bouknight led the Pokes with 63 catches as a freshman even though the position room was stacked with talent, including Ryan McGuffey and future NFL receivers Scottie Vines and Malcom Floyd.
 
Despite Casey Bramlet's 3,290 yards passing and 24 touchdown passes, UW finished 2-10 that season. Koenning was fired after the campaign and replaced Joe Glenn.
 
"I didn't know any better," Bouknight said of the coaching change. "At that young age, it was one of those deals where you were committed to the university, and it didn't really didn't affect me. It was more about where I was and my peers, the guys that were around me, than who I was playing for. I had wonderful coaches. I still to this day, talk to my receivers coach, Rob Phenicie, but it didn't have a huge effect on a young Jovon Bouknight at that time."
 
Bouknight was third on the team with 47 catches for 746 yards as a sophomore behind seniors McGuffey (68 catches, 815 yards) and Floyd (63 catches, 834 yards).
 
The Cowboys finished 4-8 during Glenn's first season in 2003 but recaptured some of the magic at War Memorial Stadium with memorable upset victories over rivals BYU (13-10) and Colorado State (35-28).
 
"That was a wonderful year. Joe, he brought in a lot of excitement, a lot of energy and he made everyone believers within his program," Bouknight said. "Obviously, any time you win the Boot and you win it on your home turf, that was amazing. Then the same thing with BYU. Both of those games are memorable experiences for me and the town of Laramie, too. It was just wonderful.
 
"You had to be there to see it. Those were times before social media was present, so everybody in the town and from surrounding areas came to those games and you all celebrated together. There were some great times during that time."
 
Casey Bramley finished his career that season and remains UW's career leader in passing yards (9,684) and is second in touchdown passes (56) behind Brett Smith (76). Corey Bramlet took over as the starter in 2004 and experienced something his older brother never did with the Pokes – a winning season.
 
UW started 4-1, including a 37-32 victory over Mississippi, before losing back-to-back games at BYU and CSU. After a 43-26 home win over Air Force, the Cowboys needed to beat UNLV on the road to be eligible for the program's first bowl invitation in 11 years.
 
Backup quarterback J.J. Raterink, filling in for an injured Bramlet, passed for 227 yards and four touchdowns, including the 25-yard game-winner to Bouknight to seal the 53-45 double-overtime thriller.
 
"J.J. Raterink did a phenomenal job stepping in and playing his butt off," Bouknight said. "We were playing for each other and just the grit of that team fighting through some of the adversity … once we got it into overtime, I mean, that momentum was on our side, and we knew we weren't going to lose that ball game at that point."
 
Six weeks later, an even more iconic connection between Raterink and Bouknight led to another brown and gold celebration at Sam Boyd Stadium.
 
UW trailed UCLA i21-10 entering the fourth quarter of the Las Vegas Bowl. The game flipped when Glenn reached into his bag of tricks to dial up a play utilizing Bouknight's quarterback skills from his high school days.
 
Bramlet pretended to limp off the field with an injury while Raterink rushed onto the field to take a snap. He pitched the ball to C.R. Davis, who then pitched to Bouknight on a reverse.
 
Bouknight pulled up short of the line of scrimmage and underthrew a pass in the end zone that Raterink adjusted to and caught for a 23-yard touchdown.
 
After Bouknight, who finished with 107 receiving yards, drew a pass-interference penalty in the end zone in the closing minutes, Bramlet completed the comeback with a touchdown pass to tight end John Wadkowski.
 
The defense held on for the final 61 seconds as the Cowboys stunned the Bruins 24-21 for the program's first bowl win in 38 years.
 
"Oh man, so many people talk about that play and how remarkable it was and how it would always be remembered," Bouknight said. "The funny thing is people are always taking a shots at me, making jokes, because that ball was not the best ball that I remember throwing in my career. Being a former quarterback, I've thrown some pretty good passes, but that that one was not. A lot of people didn't give J.J. credit for his athleticism, but I remember JJ being a pretty good basketball player, too.
 
"JJ made a heck of a play, and that was a wonderful play for the Wyoming Cowboys history and tradition."
 
The momentum from UW's 7-5 finish carried over to the first five games of Bouknight's senior season. He piled up 194 all-purpose yards in a competitive loss to Urban Meyer's loaded Florida Gators in the opener at the Swamp.
 
Bouknight also had 132 yards receiving and a touchdown in a 29-28 win at Air force and caught a 29-yard touchdown to give the Pokes the lead for good in a 24-14 win over Ole Miss in Oxford. UW was 4-1 after a home win over UNLV.
 
Despite Bouknight leading the Mountain West in touchdowns (12), receiving yards (1,116), all-purpose yards (1,765) and being a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, the team lost its final six games of the season to finish 4-7.
 
"It was a mix of emotions," Bouknight said of his senior year. "We knew we had a good team, but we couldn't get back on track. That was probably the biggest disappointment of my career, allowing the pieces to kind of fall apart, especially after having a great season in that junior year."
 
Bouknight, a six-time all-Mountain West selection (honored at both wide receiver and kick returner), is still UW's all-time leader in all-purpose yardage (5,921), kickoff return yards (2,016) and average yards per game (126). He holds the program single-game record for kickoff return yardage (219 at Utah, 2005) and ranks fifth for total touchdowns (30).
 
In 2006, Bouknight played in NFL Europe before signing free agent contracts with the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Following his brief professional playing career, he returned to Laramie as a graduate assistant on Glenn's staff before starting a coaching path with stops at Utah State, Texas Tech, Oregon, Kentucky and Marshall.
 
"Man, it's been wonderful, honestly, to give back to the game and share the knowledge, the wisdom that I have," Bouknight said. "I feel like (coaching) keeps me in the game, keeps me grounded. With my roots in football, it's a beautiful deal when you're able to impact and form relationships with some of these young kids. I love it. I never thought I was going to coach, which is crazy. Joe Glenn and some of the guys on his staff, meeting in the film room just kind of opened my eyes up.
 
"They made me understand that being a genuine person and being a genuine coach how much you can get through to people. It has been a wonderful ride."

Bouknight joined Jay Sawvel's coaching staff as an offensive analyst in late July. He discussed his new role at UW and his full-circle journey on the One Wyoming Podcast.

(Editor's note: This is the first in a seven-part series profiling the 2024 UW Intercollegiate Hall of Fame class. Tickets to the induction banquet, which begins at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6 in the Gateway Center, go on sale to the public Saturday and can be purchased here: https://one.bidpal.net/wyohalloffame2024/welcome)
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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