Biggest ‘What If’ Recruits in Recent Wyoming Football History
LARAMIE -- "I'm going to break your heart," the late Dana Dimel said to me back in the summer of 2019. "This is a great story."
I was all ears as Wyoming's former head football coach leaned forward inside his spacious office high above El Paso's Sun Bowl.
After accepting the gig in Laramie prior to the 1998 season, Dimel said he was back in Manhattan, Kan., on the weekends tying up loose ends. One of those was preparing Kansas State's high-powered offense for a Cotton Bowl showdown with BYU.
The other?
Luring recruits to the wild west.
One of those potential prospects was a little-known, under-appreciated running back from Rosebud, Texas. Not even K-State showed real interest. Dimel promised him an official visit. That would come following the New Year.
Turns out, that was too late.
"Do you know who that player was?" Dimel said with his trademark grin.
LaDainian Tomlinson.
The future NFL Hall of Fame inductee rushed for 5,263 yards and found the end zone 54 times in his impressive four-year career at TCU. He parlayed that production into becoming the fifth overall selection of the 2001 draft.
"We were that close to getting him," Dimel said. "He had no one else. Is that insane? That's exactly how that went down."
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The San Diego Chargers took Tomlinson in the first round. The team's second pick was also a potential Wyoming target. That man was quarterback Drew Brees, who became a 13-time Pro Bowl selection and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy while under center in New Orleans.
A bronze bust of the Austin, Texas product will also one day reside in Canton, Ohio.
“He said he wanted to be in a place where they throw 50 times a game,” former Wyoming receiver and Biletnikoff Trophy recipient Marcus Harris told me in '19. “He would’ve been where Joe Tiller is at. Period.”
Tiller, unfortunately for Cowboys' fans, bolted for Purdue after leading UW to a 10-2 record and a berth in the inaugural WAC Championship game in 1996. Brees, an under-recruited 6-foot quarterback, did indeed follow him to West Lafayette, Ind. There he threw for nearly 12,000 yards and 90 touchdowns while leading the Boilermakers to just their second Rose Bowl appearance in program history.
What could have been, right?
“He wanted to throw the ball,” Harris reiterated. “He would've come there.”
There are a number of other high-profile names that have flirted with playing their college ball on the high plains. One of those was a local signal caller who would eventually be the No. 2 pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. Ironically, he was also selected by the Chargers.
His name? Ryan Leaf.
"Yes, I would've loved to go to Laramie," the Great Falls, Mont., native told me in March. "I didn’t visit. I had planned to in January of ‘94, but (Washington State head coach) Mike Price called me in on New Year's Day and sealed the deal. It was Wazzu after that. I canceled trips to UCLA, Oregon and Wyoming."
Leaf, who was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy after tossing 34 touchdowns and throwing for nearly 4,000 yards during his junior season in Pullman, said he loved Tiller's offense and Mike Van Diest, the main assistant who recruited him. It was because of those two -- and the basketball-on-grass attack -- Wyoming, Leaf added, "was right up there" with his now alma mater.
All of these what if's had me thinking one thing: Who else?
So, thanks to 247sports.com, I found that answer. Well, partially. Here is a list, dating back to 2002, of players UW recruited. None of them came here. There is a Heisman winner, future NFL Hall of Famers, Super Bowl champions and just all-around studs, many of which gave the Pokes fits on the field. To add a little salt to the wound, three of these players are actually from the Cowboy State.
Without further ado:
2002
TE - Joe Klopfenstein - Colorado
OL - Clint Oldenburg - Colorado State (Gillette)
2003
S - Eric Weddle - Utah
2004
QB - Rudy Carpenter - Arizona State
RB - Kyle Bell - Colorado State
TE - Kory Sperry - Colorado State
CB - Aquib Talib - Kansas
2005
CB - Orlando Scandrick - Boise State
2006
OL/TE - Nate Solder - Colorado
2007
DE/ TE - JJ Watt
2009
LB - AJ Klein - Iowa State
RB - Ronnie Hillman - San Diego State
2011
QB/S - Johnny Manziel - Texas A&M
RB - Jay Ajayi - Boise State
2014
DL - Taven Bryan - Florida (Casper)
OL - Dalton Risner - Kansas State
2016
RB - Josh Jacobs - Alabama
TE - Albert Okwuegbunam - Missouri
TE - Noah Fant - Iowa
DE - Curtis Weaver - Boise State
2017
OL - Rashawn Slater - Northwestern
P - Ryan Stonehouse - Colorado State
2018
WR - Chris Olave - Ohio State
WR - Romeo Doubs - Nevada
TE - Trey McBride - Colorado State
DE - Aiden Hutchinson - Michigan
2019
S - JL Skinner - Boise State
2021
QB - Taylan Green - Boise State/ Arkansas
WR - Eric McAlester - Boise State/ TCU
2023
S - Luke Talich - Notre Dame (Cody)
* All names courtesy of 247sports.com
University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com
- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
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