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.

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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:

28 Sep 1996: Wide receiver Dejohn Branch #20 of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels is hit in the air by defensive back Je'Ney Jackson #32 of the Wyoming Cowboys following a leaping reception in the Rebels 33-21 loss to the Cowboys at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas,

No. 19 - Je'Ney Jackson

Defensive back, 1994-97, Guernsey, Wyo.

Résumé in Laramie

Je'Ney Jackson's five interceptions during his senior campaign is still tied for the third most in a single season in school history. That puts the Guernsey product in the same company with names like Andrew Wingard, Julius Stinson and Paul Wallace, among others. He was named an All-Western Athletic Conference selection that year. Jackson capped his career in Laramie with seven picks -- the other two came in 1995 -- landing him in the Top 10 all-time. He helped lead the Cowboys to a Pacific Division title in 1996, along with a berth in the inaugural WAC Championship game in Las Vegas. Jackson went on to become a strength and conditioning coach at the college level, including six seasons at UW.

About Guernsey

Home to just over 1,100 residents, Guernsey is a reservoir town inside Wyoming's Platte County in the southeast part of the state. Ruts from the Oregon Trail are nearby. So is Register Cliff, a guest book of the old west, featuring signatures of weary travelers in the soft stone. Camp Guernsey serves as a joint training center for the Wyoming National Guard.

Pokes Football: Best of Wyoming series

* No. 25

* No. 24

* No. 23

* No. 22

* No. 21

* No. 20

(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