Pokes Football: Best of Wyoming – No. 7
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.
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:
No. 7 - Jim Talich
Linebacker, 1994-97, Pine Bluffs, Wyoming
Résumé in Laramie
Jim Talich hasn't put on a Wyoming uniform since 1997. That was nearly three decades ago. Still, the linebacker from Pine Bluffs is ranked third all-time in program history in career tackles with 440. He sits behind only Galand Thaxton (467) and Andrew Wingard (454). Talich was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference team during his junior season. That same year, the Cowboys finished 10-2 overall and claimed a Pacific Division title and a berth in the inaugural league championship game. Talich rolled up 138 stops that fall. That's still good enough for sixth all-time. In a 22-19 victory over rival Air Force that season, Talich finished with 18 tackles. That's the seventh-best single-game performance ever. Talich's older brother, Cory Talich, landed on this list at No. 25. His oldest son Nic Talich is currently a linebacker on the Wyoming football team. His other son Luke Talich is a safety at Notre Dame. Talich resides in Cody and serves as the defensive coordinator for the Broncs high school football team.
About Pine Bluffs
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.
Pokes Football: Best of Wyoming series
* No. 22
* No. 21
* No. 20
* No. 19
* No. 16
* No. 15
* No. 8
(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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