Passionate fans love to follow their favorite teams, and they are especially passionate about their favorite players.
The players are the game, they’re the show. It’s what they do out there that appeals to us most.
In college sports, we appreciate what those young adult student-athletes accomplish. It’s the dual responsibility of competing at and performing at a high level in the classroom as well that is so impressive.
Getting a college education, earning a college degree, is an impressive accomplishment. Doing that, and competing all the while, is really impressive.
Those student athletes who compete at the college level, and excel in the classroom, are a very special group.
The recent announcement of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Hampshire Honor Society had 10 Wyoming Cowboys on this year’s list.
These are senior players who will graduate this spring/summer and have completed their final year of playing eligibility in 2022. Or, hey’re graduates who have been out of high school at least three years. These players must have attained a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, and they must have been starters or significant contributors throughout the 2022 season.
The most players Wyoming had previously put on the NFF Hampshire Honor Society team in a single year was five, in 2020.
This year Wyoming will have 10.
Seven of the 10 Cowboy honorees still have playing eligibility remaining.
Only three Pokes have completed their playing careers in Parker Christensen, Marco Machado and Zach Watts. Christensen, the fullback/tight end from Sheridan, posted a 3.808 GPA in Kinesiology and Health Promotion. Machado, an offensive lineman from Waco, Nebraska, had a 3.991 GPA in Chemical Engineering. And Watts had a 3.600 GPA working toward a Master of Business Administration degree.
The Wyoming returnees on the list is a who’s who of quality starters and contributors.
Frank Crum, the veteran offensive tackle and a Laramie native, comes back for his senior season. Crum has posted a 3.500 GPA toward a Master of Business Administration degree.
Clayton Stewart, the UW punter, has one more season of playing eligibility and a 3.625 GPA toward a Master of Business Administration.
Wyatt Wieland, the senior wide receiver from Colorado Springs, has a 3.598 GPA toward a Master of Business Administration.
Will Pelissier is the second Wyoming wide receiver honored by the NFF and College Football Hall of Fame. Pelissier hails from Big Horn and has a 3.884 GPA in Finance. He has two years of playing eligibility remaining.
Treyton Welch, Wyoming’s outstanding tight end, made the list and returns for his final season. The Buffalo, Minnesota, native has a 3.267 GPA in Finance.
Cowboy cornerback, Deron Harrell comes back for his final season. The Denver native brings a 3.400 GPA in Education with him.
The final Cowboy to be honored by the Hampshire Honor Society is defensive lineman Ethan Drewes. The Longmont, Colorado, native has a 3.780 GPA in Accounting and still has two years of playing eligibility remaining.
Drewes and Pelissier are the only two Cowboys on the Hampshire Honor Society list with two years remaining.
As the analogy goes, “these aren’t degrees in basket weaving.”
These are people who are not only challenged by athletic competition, they’re also challenged by the classroom.
And these are folks who take on both challenges – and excel.
There are so many examples of college student athletes in every sport who are successful in both venues.
And there are many examples of those impressive people right here at the University of Wyoming.
