Pokes Football: Best of Colorado – No. 23
LARAMIE -- No other state has been more of a recruiting hotbed for the University of Wyoming than Colorado.
This list will prove that.
Numerous UW Hall of Famers, NFL stars and program record holders began their football journey in that square to the south. The Cowboys' top rival, Colorado State, overlooked plenty of these guys. So did CU. Air Force even whiffed a time or two.
Some just flat out picked Laramie over Fort Collins, Boulder and Colorado Springs.
This summer, with the help of some longtime Wyoming football followers, we will count down the Top 25 Colorado products in program history. As always, what these guys did in professional football doesn't matter. This is all about production in Laramie.
No. 23 - Keegan Cryder
Center, 2017-21, Littleton, Colorado
Résumé in Laramie
After redshirting during the 2017 season, Keegan Cryder solidified himself as one of the best offensive linemen in the nation, earning Freshman All-American honors by the FWAA. The 6-foot-4, 309-pound center started all 12 games that fall -- his first four at guard -- paving the way for 1,300-yard rusher Nico Evans. Fellow running backs Xazavian Valladay and Titus Swen would also benefit from Cryder's blocking abilities up front. In 2019, he allowed just a single sack in more than 800 snaps. Cryder also led the team with 100 "knockdown" blocks. He was part of a Wyoming offensive line unit that was named to the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll. Only 24 lines nationally earned that recognition. Cryder was named to the All-Mountain West Second Team. He vaulted to the First Team during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign. He was also on the Rimington Trophy and Outland Trophy Watch Lists. Cryder, after playing in all 44 games he started at Wyoming, earned a free-agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following yet another all-conference season in 2021. Cryder won three bowl games during his UW career (2017 and '21 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and 2019 Arizona Bowl).
About Littleton
Littleton, a Denver suburb, is home to more than 45,000 residents. Matt Stone, co-creature of the hit television cartoon, South Park, is from Littleton. So are actresses Molly Burnett (Days of our lives) and Melissa Benoist (Glee). Unfortunately, this town is also known for tragedy. In 1999, the Columbine High School Massacre took place here. 12 students and a teacher were murdered in one of the worst school shootings in history.
Pokes Football: Best of Colorado series:
Pokes Football: Best of Wyoming series
(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
Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com
- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
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