- Marcus Harris won the Paul Warfield Trophy and Fred Biletnikoff Award in 1996.
- Ryan Yarborough was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
- Jay Novacek averaged 22.6 yards per catch in 1984, setting a single-season yards per catch average for the tight end position.
While their NCAAF odds to win national championships aren’t typically among the best nowadays, the Wyoming Cowboys had ample success during the mid-1960s, including a Sugar Bowl win.
They also went 10-0 in 1950.
Today, the Cowboys’ football odds are available at the BetMGM online sportsbook.
See my list of the top five Cowboys players of all time.
5 Best Wyoming Cowboys Football Players, Ranked
| Rank | Player | Position | Cowboys Years |
| 1 | Marcus Harris | WR | 1993-1996 |
| 2 | Ryan Yarborough | WR | 1990-1993 |
| 3 | Jay Novacek | TE | 1982-1984 |
| 4 | Eddie Talboom | QB | 1948-1950 |
| 5 | Josh Allen | QB | 2015-2017 |
Wyoming Cowboys All-Time Greatest Football Players
1. Marcus Harris
Harris played for the Cowboys from 1993 to 1996. After the 1993 season, in which he had just one catch for 14 yards, he exploded, going for at least 1,423 yards in each of his remaining three seasons.
He also had at least 11 touchdowns from 1994 to 1996.
His career culminated in the 1996 season, during which he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and Paul Warfield Trophy and was a consensus All-American.
In 1996, he caught 109 passes for 1,650 yards and 13 touchdowns.
A year before, he was a first-team All-American after catching 78 passes for 1,423 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Over his career, he had 259 catches (the most in Cowboys history) for 4,518 yards (first) and 38 touchdowns (second).
He also holds the single-season records in receptions (109) and yards (1,650).
2. Ryan Yarborough
A two-time All-American during his time with Wyoming from 1990 to 1993, Yarborough was a productive receiver, catching 239 passes (third) for 4,446 yards (second) and 42 touchdowns (first).
In 1993, he caught 67 passes for 1,512 yards and 16 touchdowns. Those 16 touchdowns are the single-season Cowboys record.
He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
3. Jay Novacek
Novacek helped revolutionize the tight end position during his time with the Cowboys from 1982 to 1984.
He was a consensus All-American and first-team All-WAC.
Over his career, he caught 83 passes for 1,536 yards and 10 touchdowns.
In 1984, he caught 33 passes for 745 yards and four touchdowns. His average of 22.6 yards per catch set the NCAA record among tight ends.
He’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
4. Eddie Talboom
After starting his college football career at Notre Dame, Talboom moved over to Wyoming after serving in World War II.
As a quarterback for Wyoming from 1948 to 1950, he led them to a perfect 10-0 record in his final season, during which he was also named a first-team All-American.
He was also named the Gator Bowl MVP and was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Talboom recorded 34 rushing touchdowns, a record that stood until Brian Hill, a running back, broke it in 2016.
5. Josh Allen
We know Allen today as the MVP-winning signal-caller for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL, but before that, he was a raw, gunslinging prospect for the Cowboys from 2015 to 2017 after transferring in from Reedley.
He was second-team All-MWC in 2016. That season, he completed 209 of 373 passes (56%) for 3,203 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. As a runner, he added 523 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Over his career, he threw for 5,066 yards (eighth), 44 touchdowns (fifth), and had 56 total touchdowns (fourth).
In his final season with Wyoming, he led them to a win over Central Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
He was inducted into the University of Wyoming Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
