Wyoming Safety Named League's Defensive Player of the Week

* University of Wyoming press release contributed to this report

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowboys saw another defensive player earn honors from the Mountain West this week with safety Wyett Ekeler being named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week. It is the first time he has earned the award in his career.

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Last week, nickel Wrook Brown was named the MW Defensive Player of the Week. Cornerback Jakorey Hawkins earned Special Teams Player of the Week with kicker John Hoyland earned that honor after the Texas Tech game earlier this season for Three of the five weeks this season has seen a Cowboy garner recognition from the league.

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Ekeler recorded a pair of sacks in a win over New Mexico. It was the first two sacks of his career in the Brown and Gold. Both came in timely situations.

His first came on third down to halt a Lobo drive and his second came via the strip sack, as he recovered the fumble to stall a New Mexico drive in the closing minute of the first half. He finished the contest with four tackles along with a pass breakup.

"Wyett, that was his best game," Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl said Monday. "He played really fast. He was really disruptive ... So, yeah, it's encouraging to see Wyett get noted like this."

He ranks third on the team this season with 35 total tackles. He also leads the Cowboys with four tackles for loss and is tied for the team lead with four pass breakups.

A national television audience on FOX will have the opportunity to see a match-up of two of the Mountain West’s top teams, Wyoming vs. Fresno State, this coming Saturday.

The game will kick off at 6 p.m., Mountain Time from Wyoming’s War Memorial Stadium.

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