81  John Wadkowski
	Class: Senior Hometown: Santa Paula, Calif. High School: Santa Paula Union Last College: Ventura CC, Calif. Height / Weight: 6-4 / 259 Position: TE/H-Back

All-America Candidate

UW This Season: John Wadkowski was selected the Second Team All-Mountain West Conference tight end in 2004, in only his first season at Wyoming. Wadkowski will be the top returning tight end in the MWC in 2005. He will forever be remembered by Cowboy fans as the player to catch the winning touchdown pass against UCLA in the 2004 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl. Wadkowski also attracted national attention in the summer leading up to the 2005 season. He was ranked as the No. 20 best tight end in the nation by the Sporting News. Three preseason publications selected Wadkowski a First Team All-MWC honoree entering the `05 season -- the Sporting News, Athlon and Street & Smith's.

2004: Wadkowski caught 18 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns in 2004. In addition to his winning touchdown catch vs. UCLA, his other TD reception came in the second overtime versus UNLV to tie the game at 45-45. Wadkowski started nine of the 11 games he played in during the 2004 season. He missed the BYU game due to a sprained knee. The only two games he didn't start were due to Wyoming beginning those two games in four-wideout sets. Wadkowski's best individual game his junior season was in a 43-26 home win over Air Force. Wadkowski caught four passes for 51 yards versus the Falcons. Wadkowski also earned Academic All-Mountain West Conference in 2004.

Ventura CC: Wadkowski earned First Team Junior College All-America honors in 2003 at Ventura Community College in Ventura, Calif. He caught 43 passes for 616 yards and four touchdowns during his two years at Ventura. As a sophomore, he caught 27 passes for 386 yards and two TDs, and earned First Team All-Region III honors in California, in addition to being named an All-American. He had 16 catches for 230 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman in 2002. Ventura posted back-to-back 6-4 records during his career. Wadkowski is an outstanding receiver, who is known for his precise route running. Not only is he an extremely reliable receiver, he also possesses the athletic ability to effectively gain yards after the catch. Wadkowski became an excellent blocker over his two seasons of junior college, after being primarily a receiving tight end in high school. A team captain at both the junior college and high school levels, Wadkowski was an honor student throughout high school and junior college. He was coached in junior college by Terry Morris.

High School: He earned Academic All-CIF honors in high school. His high school coach at Santa Paula Union High School in Santa Paula, Calif., was Ed Gomez.

Personal: The son of Debra and William Wadkowski, he was also recruited by Texas A&M and San Jose State. Wadkowski is majoring in business administration.