Pokes Football: Best of Wyoming

LARAMIE -- It's officially "series season."

This summer, with the help of some longtime Wyoming football followers, we will count down the Top 25 homegrown products in program history.

Get our free mobile app

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 an 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:

Wyoming defensive back Lee Vaughn snagged five interceptions out of the Cowboys secondary between 1994 and '96./ UW courtesy photo

No. 17 - Lee Vaughn

Defensive back, 1993-96, Cheyenne, Wyo.

Résumé in Laramie

An All-Western Athletic Conference performer as a senior, Lee Vaughn picked off one pass that year serving as the Cowboys' lockdown corner, helping lead the team to a Pacific Division title and a berth in the inaugural conference championship game in Las Vegas. Vaughn, a Cheyenne native, capped his four-year stint under Joe Tiller with 220 career tackles and five interceptions, three of which came during the '95 campaign. He also broke up 27 passes and tackles the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage four times. Vaughn was a record-breaking track athlete at East High School. He parlayed that speed -- along with a strong college career -- into becoming a sixth-round selection of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1997 NFL Draft. A torn ACL cut his career short in Dallas, but Vaughn did have stints in NFL Europe, the AFL, CFL and AF2 League.

About Cheyenne

The most-populous city in the state with more than 65,000 residents, Cheyenne serves as Wyoming's Capital. Home to the "Daddy of 'em All," the Magic City of the Plains hosts the world's largest outdoor rodeo, Cheyenne Frontier Days, each July. Cheyenne is a railroad and military town. It has also been home to notable people like Neil Diamond (singer), Tom Horn (Western outlaw), Wild Bill Hickock (iconic gunfighter), Curt Gowdy (sportscaster) and James Johnson (NBA). Famous country singer Chris LeDoux graduated from Central High School and world champion bull rider Lane Frost was tragically killed in the CFD arena back in 1989.

Pokes Football: Best of Wyoming series

* No. 25

* No. 24

* No. 23

* No. 22

* No. 21

* No. 20

* No. 19

* No. 18

(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

During the summer of 2021, 7220Sports.com counted down the Top 50 football players in University of Wyoming history, presented by Premier Bone & Joint Centers, Worthy of Wyoming.

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.

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

Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players