LARAMIE — The “series season” has officially begun.
This summer, with the help of some longtime Wyoming football fans, we'll be counting down the top 25 homegrown players in program history.
As always, it doesn't matter what these players did in pro football. It's what they did in Laramie that matters. A few of the players on this final list may not have been born here, but they grew up in Wyoming and graduated from high school in the state.
Once we've made those choices, we move on to other states like Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, etc. You get the idea:
Wide receiver Ryan McGuffey had 2,697 yards receiving from 2000-2003. / Photo courtesy of UW
No. 14 – Ryan McGuffie
Wide receiver, 2000-03, Riverton, Wyoming.
Laramie's resume
Ryan McGuffie McGuffey led the Cowboys in receptions for three seasons, racking up over 2,650 yards in the process. He was named first-team all-conference in 2001 and ranks in the top 10 in school history in most statistical categories, including yards (2,679), receptions (231) and catches in a single game. In a 2001 game against UNLV, he caught the ball 15 times for 144 yards, which still ranks third-best for a Cowboys receiver. It definitely helped that the school's all-time passing leader, Casey Bramlett, was his quarterback throughout his career at High Plains. McGuffey is one of the best receivers to come out of the Cowboys State and play at UW. He was also a team captain in 2001 and 2002.
About Riverton
Fremont County's most populous city, Riverton, has a population of over 10,000. Located almost in the center of the state, the Rendezvous City is right next to the Wind River Indian Reservation. Other notable people from Riverton include Chance Phelps (a Marine killed in action in Iraq and the inspiration for the HBO movie “Apollo 11”). Seize the opportunity), Darrell Winfield (Marlboro Man), Nick Bebout (former Wyoming and NFL football player)
Pokes Football: Best of Wyoming Series
* Issue 25
* Issue 24
* Issue 23
* No.22
* No.21
* No.20
* No.19
* Issue 18
* Issue 17
* No.16
* No.15
(Cody Tucker and Jared Newland work for Townsquare Media, which owns 7220sports.com. Kevin McKinney has been a Cowboys football commentator for 50 years. Ryan Thorburn has worked in newspapers for decades, most recently at the Casper Star Tribune, and now covers sports information at the University of Wyoming. Sally Ann Shurmur, daughter of former University of Wyoming football coach Fritz Shurmur, is also a newspaper veteran, having worked as a journalist and columnist for 43 years at CST and currently writing for Cowboy State Daily.)
Top 50 University of Wyoming Football Players
The rules are simple: What impact did the player have during his time at Laramie? That means NFL performance, draft position or other honors earned outside of UW are not relevant for this list.
This is not a one-man job. We need a panel of experts for this job. I'm going to be joined by Cody Tucker from 7220. Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn and Kevin McKinney.
We all made our own lists of 50 and then calculated the computer average – think BCS, but we hope this catalog is more fair.
Gallery credit: 7220Sports.com
– Top 50 University of Wyoming Football Players
