| WyomingAthletics.com | WEB |
|
UW This Season: Josh Barge enters his third season as a starter at wide receiver for the Cowboys. A consistent performer throughout his Wyoming career, Barge has accumulated over 1,000 career all-purpose yards as a wide receiver and punt returner in his previous two seasons as a starter, including 526 all-purpose yards in 2003 and 515 in 2004. Barge and fellow senior Jovon Bouknight will give Wyoming two of the most experienced and exciting receivers in the country in 2005. The two teammates hooked up for one of the most exciting plays of the 2004 College Football season against Ole Miss on Sept. 25. Barge caught a 69-yard reverse pass from Bouknight against the Rebels on way to a 37-32 home win. The pass play was selected as the "Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Week" on ESPN and was one of six plays nominated as a finalist for "Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year." By being selected as the play of the week, Pontiac donated $5,000 to the general scholarship fund of the University of Wyoming. Barge also returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown versus Ole Miss. 2004: Barge had an exciting start to his junior season with his outstanding performance versus Ole Miss. He was selected the Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week versus the Rebels, and appeared to be poised for a big season. But the week after the Mississippi game, he suffered an abdominal strain on a punt return against Louisiana-Monroe, forcing him to miss the next two games versus San Diego State and BYU. Barge returned to action against Colorado State, and played the remaining six games of the season. He caught 23 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns during the 2004 season. He ranked fourth in both receptions and receiving yards for the Cowboys. Among Mountain West Conference receivers, he ranked 19th in average receiving yards (31.0 yards per game), and was 20th in receptions (2.30 receptions per game). His best games in `04 came against Ole Miss with two receptions for 95 yards; versus Air Force, four catches for 55 yards; and at New Mexico, three catches for 54 yards. Barge accounted for five plays of 30 or more yards -- two receptions and three punt returns. 2003: Barge ranked fourth in receiving yards for the Pokes (279 yards), and was fifth in receptions (19). He led the Cowboys in punt returns, returning 24 punts for an average of 9.5 yards per return. His punt return average ranked him No. 3 in the Mountain West Conference and No. 53 in the nation. Barge earned Honorable Mention All-MWC honors from conference media members as a punt returner. His best game as a sophomore was at Air Force where he caught five passes for 67 yards. He also had three catches for 54 yards in a 35-28 home win over Colorado State, including a 34-yard TD reception. His longest reception of the season was a 41-yard touchdown catch at Boise State. The best day he had as a punt returner was at Oklahoma State, returning four punts for 58 yards, including a season long 45-yard return. Barge accounted for five plays of 30 yards or more in 2003 -- two receptions and three punt returns. 2002: He played in 10 games as a true freshman, primarily on special teams where he had two assisted tackles. He earned his first varsity letter. High School: Barge was a two-time First Team All-State selection as a wide receiver, and twice named Kansas City receiver of the year. He also earned Kansas City All-Metro honors both his junior and senior seasons. Barge helped lead Blue Springs High School to a perfect 14-0 record and the Missouri Class 5A State Championship in 2001 -- 5A is the largest classification in Missouri. His junior season, Blue Springs posted a 10-2 record and advanced to the state quarterfinals. He had 58 receptions for over 1,000 yards as a senior, and caught 49 passes for over 900 yards as a junior. He also was an excellent defensive back, and was a talented track and field athlete. He won the Class 5A state championship in the 110 meter hurdles, and finished second in the 300 intermediate hurdles at the state championships. He has been timed at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Coached in high school by Kelly Donohoe. He was also recruited by Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and SMU. Personal: Born August 8, 1983, in Independence, Mo. One of three sons of Mary and Larry Barge. He is majoring in physical education. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
