Wingard on McBride: ‘Most of the Bad Blood is Gone’

LARAMIE -- Border War banter never dies.

Just ask former Wyoming safety Andrew Wingard, who in late August said Trey McBride was one of the first new Cardinals teammates he ran into before the ink on his contract was even dry.

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"OK, I'm over it," he told the local media in Phoenix about that initial conversation, followed by a playful glare. "Me and Trey go back pretty far. Most of the bad blood is gone, but we go back pretty far -- CSU and Wyoming."

Wingard and McBride squared off just one time in college. That came in 2018 when the visiting Cowboys rolled to an easy 34-21 victory in their first-ever game inside Canvas Stadium.

The Colorado products -- Wingard is from Arvada and McBride hails from Fort Morgan -- had one encounter that night. That was the physical tight end "spearing" Wingard in the back when he was on the ground, he said. McBride simply called it "playing through the whistle."

"Me and him got a little tangled up," McBride, sporting a grin, told the local press on Tuesday. "It was unfortunate, but, yes, he's held a grudge for a while."

Wingard, who is tied for the most tackles in Mountain West history with 545, tallied three stops, including half-a-tackle for loss in that win over the Rams. He also added a pass breakup and two quarterback hits.

It was fellow safety Marcus Epps who did the majority of the damage in that meeting, hammering quarterback Collin Hill in the back -- legally -- and forcing a fumble. Epps, who is currently in a battle to be a starter in Philadelphia, also registered eight tackles that night in Fort Collins.

McBride, a future Mackey Award winner and second-round draft pick, was held off the stat sheet. The freshman would go on to snag seven passes for 89 yards and a touchdown that fall.

He almost topped that production in a game in the desert last November.

McBride hauled in nine balls for 79 yards in a 27-24 overtime loss to Wingard's Jaguars. "Dewey," as he was known in Laramie, finished with a team-high 10 tackles.

"I know he was mic'd up," Wingard said with a smile. "All the people in the video room heard a lot of things that I said. Thankfully it wasn't broadcasted publicly.

"... We're cool now."

Wingard, who said he was an "absolute demon" in Laramie, hoisted the coveted Bronze Boot three straight times to cap his Wyoming career. McBride had that feeling just once. That came during the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season with no one in the stands.

The Cowboys and Rams will meet Sept. 5 for the 118th time in history. You can bet these two will do some jawing in the meantime.

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