Laramie, Wyo. (Feb. 10, 2023) -- Playing in a Super Bowl is something that every football player dreams of but very few get the opportunity to live out that dream. This Sunday, former Wyoming Cowboy captain Marcus Epps will get that opportunity as the starting free safety for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.



For Epps, it is the latest accomplishment in a string of career football accomplishments that can be traced back to when he joined the University of Wyoming Football program in the summer of 2014. Epps came to Wyoming from Edison High School in Los Angeles, Calif., as a walk-on. He was one of the first walk-ons in the first season of the Craig Bohl era at Wyoming. Epps would prove the value of developing walk-ons into scholarship players, and that outstanding Wyoming walk-on program continues today.



Over his college career at Wyoming, Epps would become one of the all-time great Cowboys. His road to being where he is today -- preparing to play in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. -- is an amazing story of hard work, perseverance and believing in himself. Throughout his time as a Cowboy, his teammates and coaches would often talk about how much he was respected by everyone on the team for his work ethic and how he handled himself on and off the field. That respect led to him becoming the first Cowboy in the modern era of Wyoming Football to be voted a team captain by his teammates three consecutive years.



While Epps always believed in himself and his abilities, not even he foresaw the respect he would earn during his time at UW and that was reflected in a comment by Epps during his senior season of 2018.



“To have my teammates see and appreciate all the work I put in for this program and this team, it’s awesome to be able to lead such a great group of people,” said Epps. “I didn’t envision myself as a three-time captain when I came here, but I definitely had the mindset coming in as a walk-on that I just needed an opportunity. Coach Bohl and his staff gave me that opportunity and I made the most of it.”



As Sunday’s big game approaches, two of the Cowboy coaches most responsible for bringing Epps to the University of Wyoming reflected on their former player. The first is head coach Craig Bohl.



“Marcus is an individual who is marked by determination, resolve and ability,” said Bohl. “It’s exciting to see him playing on the biggest stage in football at the Super Bowl. We’ll all be anxious to watch him and wish him all the best.”



Another member of the Wyoming coaching staff who was directly involved in connecting with Epps out of high school and encouraging him to come to the University of Wyoming as a walk-on was current Executive Director of Football Recruiting and Running Backs Coach Gordie Haug. Haug was Wyoming’s Director of Recruiting in 2014 when Epps joined the program in the first season of the Bohl era.



“Marcus is probably the hardest working player we’ve had here,” said Haug. “He really bought into our program and understood what it would take to get us to the top of the Mountain West. He added a lot to the culture within our team and probably helped start the culture change with his work ethic. Everybody else on the team respected him and looked to him as a leader.”



Epps redshirted his freshman season of 2014, but in 2015 he recorded the first of many football accomplishments as a Cowboy. He started his very first college game as a redshirt freshman in the season opener against the University of North Dakota. Epps missed the second game of the ‘15 season against Eastern Michigan due to an injury. That would be the only game in his four-year college career that he would miss. He returned to the starting lineup in Week 3 at Washington State and would go on to start every game he played in during his college career at Wyoming -- 50 career starts from 2015-18.



Epps not only started the 11 games he played in as a redshirt freshman, but he ranked third on the team in total tackles, with 83, and also led the Pokes in interceptions with two as he earned a scholarship. Of his 83 tackles, 59 were solo stops and 24 were assisted tackles. He ranked fifth in the Mountain West and No. 39 in the nation in solo tackles per game at 5.4 and ranked 12th in the MW in total tackles (7.5 tackles per game).



As his sophomore season of 2016 began, it became apparent that Epps not only was a talented athlete but he also possessed special leadership skills as his teammates elected him a team captain as a sophomore. The 2016 season was of course one of the most successful in Cowboy Football history. Wyoming posted an 8-6 record, won the Mountain Division of the Mountain West Conference, hosted the MW Championship Game as the highest ranked team in the conference and earned a bid to the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.



Epps finished the 2016 season with 111 tackles, which ranked him second on the ‘16 team and ranked as the 25th best single-season total in school history at the time. He also tied for the team lead in interceptions with three and led the Cowboys with six pass breakups. Epps recorded 13 tackles in the Mountain West Championship game and added 12 tackles in the regular-season meeting vs. San Diego State that sent the Pokes to the championship game.



The 2017 season saw Epps once again be voted a team captain by his teammates. He was a leader of a Cowboy defense that ranked No. 9 in the nation in scoring defense, No. 13 in pass defense and No. 23 in total defense. He recorded a personal single-season best of four interceptions in 2017. Epps and his Cowboy teammates posted their second consecutive eight-win season, going 8-5, and won the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.



As his senior season of 2018 approached, he was voted team captain for an amazing third time. The Cowboys earned bowl eligibility again in 2018, posting a 6-6 record. In fact, under his leadership, Wyoming was bowl eligible all three years he was a voted a team captain and made consecutive bowl appearances in the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl and the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, as well as hosting the Mountain West Championship Game in 2016. Epps was voted one of three national finalists for the 2018 Burlsworth Trophy that is presented each year to the nation’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.

I think that we will see the Pokes play more like a tight knit team tonight, I hope that it is enough to beat the Broncos!

WOW!! Down to Maldo, Thompson, Dusell, Oden, Wenzell, Barnhart and if Foster comes back. Linder has his work cut out for him on the recruiting trail!
PS. Jackal was right!

We have discussed many times since the Transfer Portal came into existence the subject of loyalty. In this date and time when true loyalty is so rare, along comes a player that epitomizes the meaning of the word, loyalty. Tonight Maldo got beat up (again) and came back onto the court when it would have been very easy to just sit and he tried to help his team again when they were in a rough spot. Unfortunately you could tell from Maldo's face that he was hurting tonight. He is such a great role model for the younger players in both the way that they play and the type of commitment and heart they should play with. There has been a number of nights were Maldo is hurting but he never quits!

My undying respect goes out to Maldo for what he has done for this team and for this program and in reality for the university as well.

Now 32-0 at home against AFA and 58-4 all time.

Tough game but the girls methodically kept pounding away to get to 17-8(10-4) with the victory.

Wyoming 62 AFA 56

and forgive me if this has been posted and hashed out already, but the Cali boys were not dismissed from the team, but made the choice to walk away from the team. As mentioned, this is from a source of mine from within the program that has first hand knowledge.

Beat McNeese St

Nm

WYOMING vs UNLV BOX SCORE: https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/wyoming-unlv-202302080661/

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 8, 2023) – The Wyoming Cowboys dropped a 69-59 battle against UNLV on Wednesday evening in the Arena-Auditorium. The Pokes held the Runnin’ Rebels to a season-low 33 percent, but UNLV recorded 10 threes on the night. Hunter Maldonado went over 2,000 career points in the contest becoming the fifth Cowboy in school history to reach the milestone.



“When you see a team connected like we were tonight and play a game against a good team (UNLV), who had been playing really well other than a little blip against Fresno (State), we were right there in spite of the fact we didn’t shoot the ball well,” UW head coach Jeff Linder said. “When you guard and hold a team to 33 percent for the game, it’s going to give you a chance to win wherever you’re playing.”



Maldonado also hit the century mark in career games in double-figures with 17 points. He now has 2,004 career points. He also added seven rebounds and three assists. Brendan Wenzel added 11 points for his sixth game in double-figures this season. Xavier DuSell added 10 points in the contest for his seventh game in double-figures this season. Jeremiah Oden added 10 points for his 10th game in double-figures this season. Caden Powell tied a career-high with six points and Nate Barnhart added a career-high nine rebounds.



“He’s the epitome of what it is to be a Wyoming Cowboy, and he is a guy who does everything right,” Linder said. “He came back for a sixth year and you’re thinking it’s going to be a special season, but he’s never wavered and he just kept pushing through. He had to go through some tough times before we got here but had the opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament last year, and we still have some time with him left this season. He knows he’s leaving a bigger legacy than just scoring 2,000 points. It’s what he brings every day to the program.”

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The Cowboys held the Runnin’ Rebels to 33 percent from the field for a season-low by a Cowboy opponent. UNLV was an impressive 25-31 from the free throw line. Wyoming shot 39 percent but hit only five threes on the night. Wyoming and UNLV each grabbed 36 rebounds. The Pokes dominated the paint in the contest holding a 30-8 advantage.



“Rebounding is a habit, and there is a reason we’re in the Top 25 in the country in defensive rebounding,” Lindr said. “We’re a really good defensive rebounding team. They (UNLV) have good athletes and you know you have to keep them off the glass. I can live with that effort and live with the fact that tonight was a step in the right direction and kudos to those guys in our locker room.”



Both teams were held in check in the opening three-plus minutes of the game with the Runnin’ Rebels earning an early 6-5 lead. Caden Powell would give the Pokes a 7-5 lead with 14:44 left in the first half and would take a charge that led to a Xavier DuSell three seconds later for a 10-6 lead.



UNLV answered the Cowboy run with a 7-0 run for a 13-10 lead with under 13 minutes left in the opening stanza. Maldonado tied the game ending the run with a triple but hit a three-pointer for a 16-13 lead nearly halfway through the half.



The Runnin’ Rebels would take a 20-17 lead until DuSell added an and-one play for a tie game with just over six minutes left in the half. Jeremiah Oden added a one-handed slam and a layup to give Wyoming a 24-21 lead with three-plus minutes left in the first half.



UNLV would battle back to take a 25-24 lead with under a minute left with a pair of buckets and that would be the game at the half. Wyoming held the Runnin’ Rebels to 25 percent from the field with Wyoming shooting 36 percent.



Maldonado gave the Pokes an early lead in the second half at 26-24 with a layup. Hunter Thompson would later hit a three-pointer in the corner and Maldonado hit a pair of free throws for a 33-29 game. But the Runnin’ Rebels hit a trio of threes for a 38-33 game with 15:52 left in the contest.



The Pokes would go without a field goal for over four minutes with the Runnin’ Rebels taking a 46-35 lead with 13 minutes left in the game. DuSell added a layup and Powell added a pair of free throws for a 46-39 game with 12 minutes left.



Powell added a slam and Maldonado added a basket for a 48-43 game nearly halfway through the half. Maldonado would make it a three-point contest and got to 2,000 points at the line. UNLV answered with a pair of baskets to push the lead back.



Wenzel added a corner three-pointer for a 52-49 game with 7:54 remaining. UNLV used the free throw line and built a 58-50 lead with five and a half minutes left in the contest. UNLV added another triple and took a 61-50 lead with 4:34 remaining. to seven points at 52-45 with 9:08 left.



Maldonado made it a nine-point game over three minutes left. UNLV would pushed the lead back to double-digits at the line for a 63-52 game with 1:58 left. Maldonado made it an eight points game with a minute left, but UNLV used the free throw line to take the contest 69-59



The Runnin’ Rebels were led by EJ Harkless with 33 points on the night. He was 8-of-12 from the field.



The Cowboys return to action on Saturday heading to Boise State to take on the Broncos at 6 p.m. in a contest on CBS Sports Network.

Laying it on the USU girls. Nice!

WYOMING at BOISE STATE GAME NOTES: https://gowyo.com/documents/2023/2/9/22wyominggamenotesatBoiseState.pdf


LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 9, 2023) – The Wyoming Cowboys head to Boise State on Saturday for a matchup with the Broncos in ExtraMile Arena in Boise, Idaho. The contest is slated for a 6 p.m. start and is the second meeting between the two teams this season.



The contest will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Rich Waltz on the call and Dan Dickau as the analyst.



Fans can listen to the contest, as well as follow stats on GoWyo.com. The game will be broadcast live on radio over the 26 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network, as Keith Kelley will have the call with Kevin McKinney on color.



About The Teams

The Cowboys head into the contest with a 7-16 overall record and a 2-9 mark in conference play after falling to UNLV on Wednesday by a score of 69-59. The Pokes held UNLV to 33 percent from the field for the lowest by an opponent this season. Opponents are shooting 45.7 percent from the field with the Pokes shooting 45 percent. The Cowboys rank fifth in the conference and No. 82 in the nation with an effective field goal percentage of 52.9 percent. The Pokes are hitting 8.7 three-pointers per game on the season for second in the Mountain West and No. 55 in the nation.



Boise State is in contention for its second consecutive Mountain West Conference regular-season crown. The Broncos sit just a game back of San Diego State in the loss column at 8-3. However, Boise State did just lose to the Aztecs, 72-52, last Saturday in San Diego. The Broncos were picked to finish third in the league’s preseason poll. Boise State is shooting 45.5 percent from the field this season and holding opponents to 40.2 percent.



About The Players

The Pokes are led in scoring this season by Noah Reynolds at 14.5 per game., But he will miss the rest of the season in protocol. Hunter Maldonado adds 14.1 points per game and surpassed 2,000 career points against UNLV. He is shooting 50 percent from the field this season and adds 4.3 rebounds per game and has 76 assists this season. Jeremiah Oden adds 7.8 points per game and 3.4 rebounds. Hunter Thompson leads the team grabbing 5.3 rebounds per night.



Tyson Degenhart leads a balanced scoring attack for Boise State. He pours in 14.2 points per game to go alongside 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. Max Rice adds 13.8 points per game, while Marcus Shaver Jr. and Chibuzo Agbo chip in 13.2 and 11.5 points per contest, respectively. Shaver also leads the team in rebounding (6.3) and assists (4.2).



About The Series

Boise State owns a 22-15 lead in the all-time series. The Broncos have enjoyed recent success, as well, winning nine of the last 10 matchups. That includes claiming a victory in the most recent contest, 85-68, in Laramie. Wyoming fell in the most recent meeting in Boise, 65-62.



Up Next

The Cowboys remain on the road. They travel to New Mexico on Tuesday for an 8 p.m. game inside the Pit. The Lobos took the first matchup, 76-75, in Laramie in December.

The Pokes came out tonight against UNLV and even with great odds they played their backsides off and you could tell that they really wanted to win this one. Despite not having the higher score tonight, the Pokes are winners in my book. I am really impressed the way that they came out tonight and played.

Go Pokes!

It appeared to me that there was a lot more team chemistry last night than any other game I’ve seen this year. It looked like the Cowboys were in rhythm most of the time and that they really enjoyed playing together.

Maybe this was just because I wanted to see this, but even in defeat, I felt the team looked like a good team and given a better shooting night, could have won the game.

I wouldn’t want to be a higher seed playing this team in the MWC tournament.

This core group has some scar tissue on it now, and Maldo knows every trick in the book to score ugly. Placing a large wager on the Pokes money line.

All the bullshit has been stripped away and now this team is all they've got. I bet they bear down and play with some pride tonight, free of the California virus.

TJ Urban or Koa McIntyre? I know Urban went down with injury, did McIntyre also? I remember Bohl saying good things about both as if they would be potential starters. I was pleased with the play we got at the safety position with who was out there and if these two are potentially better... dang. we've got some serious talent back there.

My Facebook memories tell me that this is the anniversary of the firing of Heath Schroyer in 2011. Rough basketball season, but it could be worse... At least there is hope with this staff.

has his 3rd concussion. And the hits just keep coming. This seaon needs to end.

Noah Reynolds has been shut down for the remainder of the season due to his concussion,

Will take a red shirt

Make the MWC all academic teams.

Way to go student athletes!!!!!!

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 6, 2023) –The Wyoming Cowboys play host to the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV on Wednesday evening in a contest slated for an 8:30 p.m. start. The Pokes will be looking for their third-straight win in the Arena-Auditorium in what will be the second meeting between the schools this season.



To secure your seat in the Arena-Auditorium, purchase your tickets TODAY by calling the Wyoming Athletics Ticket Office at (307) 766-7220 or visit Gowyo.com/tickets.



The contest will be televised on FS1 with Jenny Cavnar on the call and Jess Settles as the analyst.



Fans can listen to the contest, as well as follow stats on GoWyo.com. The game will be broadcast live on radio over the 26 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network, as Keith Kelley will have the call with Kevin McKinney on color.



About The Teams

The Cowboys head into the contest with a 7-15 overall record and a 2-8 mark in conference play after falling at San Jose State on Saturday. The Pokes head into the game ranking fifth in the conference and No. 66 in the nation in effective field goal percentage at 53 percent. Wyoming is shooting 45 percent from the field this season with opponents shooting 46 percent. Wyoming is hitting 8.8 three-pointers per game for second in the conference and No. 45 in the nation. The Poke also do a good job of not fouling ranking first in the conference and No. 30 in the nation with only 14.5 per game.



After an impressive non-conference display with just one loss, the Runnin’ Rebels have dropped seven of their first 11 league contests. UNLV is fresh off an 82-79 home loss to Fresno State. The Runnin’ Rebels are averaging 76.4 points per game and are allowing 68.9 per night. UNLV is shooting 45 percent from the field and are allowing opponents to shoot 43 percent.



About The Players

The Pokes are led in scoring this season by Noah Reynolds at 14.5 per game. He is shooting 48 percent from the field for fifth in the conference. Hunter Maldonado adds 14 points per game and had 34 points at San Jose State for a season best. He is 13 points away from 2,000 in his career. He also has 586 assists at UW for the second most in MW history. He is shooting 50 percent from the field this season for a career-high. Jeremiah Oden adds 7.7 points per game along with 3.4 rebounds.



UNLV is led by EJ Harkless. He pours in 17.4 points per game to go alongside 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. Keshon Gilbert adds 12.4 points and a team-best 3.6 assists per game. Luis Rodriguez chips in 11.9 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds per contest.



About The Series

UNLV owns a 42-21 advantage in the all-time series. The Runnin’ Rebels have owned the upper hand in recent memory, as well, claiming wins in seven of the last 10 matchups, including an 86-72 victory in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago.



Up Next

The Cowboys hit the road for Boise this weekend. They battle the Broncos on Saturday at 6 p.m. inside ExtraMile Arena. The Broncos took the first meeting, 85-68, in Laramie last month.

COLORADO SPRINGS (Feb. 6, 2023) – University of Wyoming redshirt freshman Nate Barnhart was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week on Monday morning. It is the first time he has garnered the honor this season and he becomes the first Cowboy to earn the award as well.



He averaged 8.5 points per game for the week along with for rebounds per game and one block per game. He shot 60 percent from the field and 60 percent from behind the arc for the week.



Barnhart recorded a career-high 12 points against Fresno State, as he tied a career-high with a pair of threes in the contest. Barnhart added five points at San Jose State with four rebounds. He went 2-of-3 from the field in the game.

....been saying that for two months. If he comes back and plays next year, sweet--that's gravy--but his absence hopefully opened Linder's eyes as to what a roster needs to look like in this conference. The big question is whether Linder sees it that way.

Surely Linder knew we needed a backup to Ike (of some kind), but instead decided to clear USC and UCLA's benches for them. Ike was in foul trouble regularly last season and had a major injury in his past--but Linder went for shooters instead of rebounders. On purpose. One would think that finding an inside guy who can give us 10-12 pts./8-9 reb. a game, and somebody with size to come in for him would be the priority, but would Linder take only one if he thought he could find another shooter?

Barnhart is pretty much already the improved version of Hunter Thompson, but Powell....can't get a read there. Thought he would get more run as $hitty as we are. Unless he suddenly develops a three, I don't see much of a future here for him, because we don't like putting weight on our players. Burned a year of his eligibility.....and for what...

Aside from perhaps 1-2 players, I'm not confident the roster will be overhauled--this is Wyoming after all--and Linder will simply write this season off as a collection of unlucky shooting nights. It kind of feels like his view on shooting three's is the same as Bohl's view when it comes to running the football..

Why is Thompson getting so much playing time? Powell was doing better on D. Pokes not looking good right now.