Wyoming players litter NFL rosters in ’20

LARAMIE -- With NFL training camps opening up around the country, how about a little refresher on which Cowboy football players are in the league and where they are playing this season.

But first, can we appreciate this stat?

Wyoming has the second most current players on NFL rosters of any other Mountain West school not named Boise State:

Boise State - 21
Wyoming - 17
Fresno State - 15
Utah State - 15
San Diego State - 12
San Jose State - 11
Colorado State - 10
Hawaii - 7
Nevada - 6
UNLV - 6
Air Force - 4
New Mexico - 3

Pretty impressive, huh?

Let's get to it:

QB - Josh Allen - Buffalo Bills - Third season

S - Marcus Epps - Philadelphia Eagles - Second season

TE - Austin Fort - Denver Broncos - Second season

WR - Rico Gafford - Las Vegas Raiders - Second season

S - Tashaun Gipson - Chicago Bears - Ninth season

DE - Carl Granderson - New Orleans Saints - Second season

CB - Tyler Hall - Atlanta Falcons - Rookie

RB - Brian Hill - Atlanta Falcons - Fourth season

TE - Jacob Hollister - Seattle Seahawks - Fourth season

LB - Cassh Maluia - New England Patriots - Rookie

TE - Tyree Mayfield - San Francisco 49ers - Second season

LB - Mark Nzeocha - San Francisco 49ers - Sixth season

NG - Mike Purcell - Denver Broncos - Sixth season

C - Chase Roullier - Washington Football Team - Fourth season

LB - Logan Wilson - Cincinnati Bengals - Rookie

S - Andrew Wingard - Jacksonville Jaguars - Second season

DE - Eddie Yarbrough - Minnesota Vikings - Fourth season

COACH 'EM UP
Craig Bohl is mostly known around NFL circles for coaching the two current starting quarterbacks in Buffalo and Philly -- Josh Allen and Carson Wentz.

That is impressive.

But how about the job he has done since arriving in Laramie in 2014? Bohl had a hand in nearly every name above.

Tashaun Gipson was a Joe Glenn guy. Mark Nzeocha was brought in by Dave Christensen's staff. So was Eddie Yarbrough, Mike Purcell and Chase Roullier.

The rest belong to Bohl.

And don't forget, Yarbrough and Roullier thrived under Bohl, becoming two of the best players to come through the program.

Last spring, two more Bohl recruits heard their names called in the NFL Draft. That, of course, was Logan Wilson to the Bengals in the third round and fellow linebacker Cassh Maluia headed to New England in the sixth.

Tyler Hall was also signed by the Falcons as a free agent.

In the Bohl era, at least one Cowboy has been drafted each year aside from 2016.

NOTABLE MATCHUPS
Let's get straight to the point: around these parts, most fans already have one NFL game circled -- Buffalo at Denver on Dec. 20.

The only question now is, will fans be allowed in the stands?

That game is special because of proximity and the return of Josh Allen to the Rocky Mountains, but don't forget Austin Fort and Mike Purcell could both be contributors for the Broncos that day, too.

Plenty of these former Pokes share the same division.

Brian Hill and Tyler Hall will face Carl Granderson's Saints twice. So will Taushaun Gipson's Bears and Eddie Yarbough's Vikings. And who could forget the battle between the Eagles and the newly named Washington Football team. That NFC East bout puts Marcus Epps and Chase Roullier on the field together twice.

There will also be a pair of meeting between Allen and Cassh Maluia's Patriots, and those Broncos mentioned above will see Rico Gafford once in Sin City and another time in the Mile High City.

Arguably the best divisional meeting will pit Jacob Hollister's Seahawks up against Mark Nzeocha, Tyree Mayfield and the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers.

Only Andrew Wingard and Logan Wilson don't share a division with a former Cowboy.

But don't worry, boys. The Jags and Bengals will meet Oct. 4 in Cincinnati.

Here are some other games where Pokes clash:
Sept. 13 - Seattle at Atlanta
Sept. 20 - New England at Seattle
Sept. 21 - New Orleans at Las Vegas
Sept. 27 - Cincinnati at Philadelphia
Sept. 27 - Chicago at Atlanta
Sept. 27 - Las Vegas at New England
Oct. 4 - Buffalo at Las Vegas
Oct. 4 - Philadelphia at San Francisco
Oct. 11 - Denver at New England
Oct. 11 - Minnesota at Seattle
Oct. 18 - Atlanta at Minnesota
Oct. 25 - San Francisco at New England
Nov. 1 - New Orleans at Chicago
Nov. 8 - Denver at Atlanta
Nov. 8 - Seattle at Buffalo
Nov. 15 - San Francisco at New Orleans
Nov. 22 - Cincinnati at Washington
Nov. 29 - New Orleans at Denver
Nov. 29 - Las Vegas at Atlanta
Nov. 30 - Seattle at Philadelphia
Dec. 6 - Jacksonville at Minnesota
Dec. 7 - Buffalo at San Francisco
Dec. 13 - Washington at San Francisco
Dec. 13 - New Orleans at Philadelphia
Dec. 20 - Seattle at Washington
Dec. 25 - Minnesota at New Orleans
Dec. 27 - Chicago at Jacksonville

SWING AND A MISS
OK, let's pretend that fans are allowed in NFL stadiums around the nation this fall. For that matter, college.

On Oct. 4, the Bills are scheduled to play at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Wyoming fans are missing out on what could have been an epic weekend in the desert.

Huh?

Six days later, the Cowboys are slated to open Mountain West play against UNLV in that very venue. Could you imagine if that landed on the same weekend?

Oh, what could have been.

Now, reality is who knows if one, both or neither game even takes place. It's still too early to tell.

It's fun to wish though, isn't it?

HE MADE IT
The NFL Network just completed its annual "Top 100" players list.

Josh Allen was No. 87.

Allen threw for 3,089 yards to go along with 20 touchdown passes and eight more scores on the ground. The former No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft completed 52.8 percent of his passes and scampered for 631 yards.

Most importantly, for just the second time since 1999, Allen led the Bills to the postseason.

The Bills added Stefon Diggs to the receiving corps this season, which you would think can only help the gunslinger. Oh yeah, not to mention No. 12 is no longer in New England.

Does No. 87 sound right to you?

Here are the other signal callers who made the cut:
No. 90 - Kyler Murray - Arizona Cardinals
No. 87 - Josh Allen - Buffalo Bills
No. 68 - Ryan Tannehill - Tennessee Titans
No. 58 - Kirk Cousins - Minnesota Vikings
No. 46 - Dak Prescott - Dallas Cowboys
No. 43 - Jimmy Garoppolo - San Francisco 49ers
No. 20 - Deshaun Watson - Houston Texans
No. 16 - Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers
No. 14 - Tom Brady - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
No. 12 - Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints
No. 4 - Patrick Mahomes - Kansas City Chiefs
No. 2 - Russell Wilson - Seattle Seahawks
No. 1 - Lamar Jackson - Baltimore Ravens