Wyoming’s Easton Gibbs Lands on East-West Shrine Bowl Roster

LARAMIE -- Easton Gibbs will wear Steamboat on his helmet one final time at this season's annual East-West Shrine Bowl, a college football All-Star game that showcases NFL hopefuls.

The game will be played Feb. 1 in Frisco, Texas. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. Mountain Time and will be televised on NFL Network.

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Gibbs, a linebacker from Temecula, Calif., is the first Wyoming player to appear in this tilt since placekicker Cooper Rothe in January of 2020.

Frank Crum, the Cowboys left tackle, played in the Hula Bowl and fellow senior Ayir Asante suited up in the Tropical Bowl, where the receiver snagged three passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Despite having one season of eligibility remaining due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Gibbs announced before the season this would be his last in Laramie.

He went out with a bang.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior tallied 109 tackles, including 64 solo stops while helping lead the Cowboys to a 9-4 record and a win in the Arizona Bowl. Gibbs also broke up five passes and finished with a pair of sacks. He also forced two fumbles and hauled in his first-career interception.

"They were the people that took a chance on me," Gibbs said last July, referring to head coach Craig Bohl and why he stayed despite offers from other schools via the NCAA Transfer Portal. "They're the first ones that gave me a chance -- the only ones that gave me a chance. You know, I feel like I owe it to the state and the people that brought me here and have welcomed me as family.

"I'm a loyal dude. It's always been Wyoming for me and I think it always will be."

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Gibbs totaled 361 tackles during his four-year playing career, including 121 during his junior campaign. Gibbs was named the Mountain West's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the league's media. He earned First-Team status in December for the second consecutive year.

Gibbs was dubbed the heir apparent to Chad Muma, who was a third-round selection of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 NFL Draft. Logan Wilson, another Wyoming linebacker, was the Bengals third-round pick two seasons prior. Cassh Maluia, Wilson's running mate, was also taken in that draft. He landed in New England in the sixth round.

Gibbs held up his end of the bargain and is now eighth on the school's all-time tackles list, passing fellow linebackers Ken Fantetti, Lucas Wacha and Ward Dobbs.

Other Cowboys to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl:

2017: Chase Roullier

2007: John Wendling

2004: Casey Bramlet

1998: Cory Wedel

1997: Marcus Harris

1989: David Edeen, Eric Coleman

1985: Rick Donnelly

1983: John Salley

1980: Dan Pittman

1979: Greg Chytka

1976: Lawrence Gaines

1976: Aaron Kyle

1968: Dennis Devlin, Jim House, Gene Huey

1961: Chuck Lamson

1960: Jerry Hill

1956: Jim Crawford

1952: Chuck Spaulding

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players