This summer, with the help of some longtime Wyoming football followers, we will count down the Top 25 homegrown products in program history.
As always, what these guys did in professional football doesn’t matter. This is all about production in Laramie. A couple of the guys on this final list may not have been born here, but they grew up in Wyoming and graduated from a in-state high school.
Once we put a bow on these selections, we’ll move on to other states like Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, etc. You get the picture.
Cory Talich was named second-team All-Western Athletic Conference during his sophomore season in Laramie back in 1991. That year the Pine Bluffs product finished with 64 tackles, including 11 for loss. He also forced two fumbles and picked off a pass. Talich racked up 167 tackles during his tenure in Laramie. All but five of those stops came during his final three seasons. He brought down the ball carrier 16 times behind the line of scrimmage and capped his career with two quarterback sacks and three interceptions. Talich’s brother Jim also played linebacker for the Cowboys from 1994-97. His son Nathaniel suited up for the UW basketball team in 2022-23.
About Pine Bluffs
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Just a stone’s throw from the Nebraska border on Interstate-80, Pine Bluffs is home to roughly 1,100 residents. The town is located in Laramie County, just 42 miles east of Cheyenne.
(Cody Tucker and Jared Newland both work for Townsquare Media, which owns 7220sports.com. Kevin McKinney has been a color commentator of Cowboy football for five decades. Ryan Thorburn now works for the University of Wyoming in a sports information role after spending decades in the newspaper industry, most recently at the Casper Star-Tribune. Sally Ann Shurmur, the daughter of former UW football coach Fritz Shurmur, is also a veteran of the newspaper industry, working as a journalist, columnist at the CST for 43 years. She currently writes for Cowboy State Daily.)
University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
The rules are simple: What was the player’s impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.
This isn’t a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220’s Cody Tucker are Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.
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We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS — only we hope this catalog is fairer.
Don’t agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports – #Top50UWFB
This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.
The former director of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) agency is joining Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department.
9-News reported that Jeff Davis was hired as the department’s deputy director in late December. That’s after Doug Brimeyer retired.
He starts the job in February.
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Davis resigned from CPW last year instead of being fired as part of a settlement agreement. The settlement agreement Davis signed did not directly cite a reason for his termination.
Davis joined CPW as the state reintroduced wolves. His resignation came shortly after Washington state said it would not provide wolves to Colorado’s reintroduction program.
Before joining CPW in 2023, Davis had a long career in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. While there, he focused on coordinating conservation initiatives involving interdisciplinary teams and salmon recovery.
BILLINGS— Activists on both sides praised and criticized the Wyoming Supreme Court’s ruling of abortion bans as unconstitutional on Tuesday in a 4-1 majority.
The ruling marks the end of a four-year legal battle in Wyoming since the state’s 2022 abortion ban went in place with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned abortion rights on a federal level.
Watch for the report:
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Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional
The ban was put on hold after Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, led a suit against the state.
“I was holding my breath as I opened it and read it. But soon that turned to being rather elated. We couldn’t be more pleased with the opinion,” said Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s president.
Vanessa Willardson
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Julie Burkhart
The decision comes after a years-long fight and setbacks, including an arsonist who set the clinic on fire in May of 2022.
“We were set to open that next month, but unfortunately that arson set us back by 11 months. We weren’t able to open that until 2023. It was quite devastating,” said Burkhart.
“I don’t think it’s moral, ethical, appropriate for anyone to tell another person what they can or cannot do with their own body,” she added.
Wellspring Health Access
Wellspring Health Access after 2022 fire
For a Montana advocacy group, it was a different story.
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“I was very disappointed,” said Amy Seymour, president of Yellowstone Valley Christians for Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group.
“These pre-born children who are unique, complete, living, individual human beings from the moment of their conception, they can be protected if Wyoming decides to have a constitutional amendment to that degree,” she added.
Vanessa Willardson
Amy Seymour
Wyoming state Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Republican, echoed Seymour’s sentiments with a written statement.
“Today’s decision is an abomination. Four unelected justices thwarted the will of the people to establish a ‘right’ to kill an innocent baby. Thanks to these justices, Wyoming has some of the most radical abortion laws in America. I will not stand for that, and will continue fighting for innocent unborn babies,” said Neiman.
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Wyoming Supreme Court strikes down abortion bans, keeping procedure legal
GLENROCK, Wyo. — A 55-year-old Wyoming man died Monday night after his vehicle went over a bridge rail and caught fire on Interstate 25 near Glenrock.
Gavin Stanek was traveling north in a Cadillac Escalade around 9:13 p.m. when the vehicle drifted into the median near milepost 156, according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol report. The vehicle continued through the median until it struck a bridge retaining wall.
The driver’s side of the Escalade scraped along the rail before the vehicle went over the edge toward the river. The Cadillac rolled toward the passenger side and landed on its roof on the river embankment, where it was engulfed in flames, the report states.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol identified driver fatigue or the driver falling asleep as a possible contributing factor in the crash. Road conditions were dry and the weather was clear at the time of the incident.
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This story contains preliminary information as provided by the Wyoming Highway Patrol via the Wyoming Department of Transportation Fatal Crash Summary map. The agency advises that information may be subject to change.
