LARAMIE – Parker Christensen was the top-ranked in-state prospect during his recruiting cycle.
Sheridan High’s Swiss Army Knife – Christensen had 1,120 yards and 19 touchdowns rushing, 315 yards and two touchdowns receiving and averaged 44.2 yards on kickoffs with two touchdowns as a senior – to lead the Broncs to the Class 4A title game in 2018 after winning three state championships from 2015-17.
Despite the dominance on the prep gridiron, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year was only listed as a two-star prospect by the recruiting services, and 247Sports didn’t even bother adding a mugshot to Christensen’s profile.
“I was told, I don’t know how many times, you can’t win with Wyoming guys,” UW head coach Craig Bohl said. “If I got a quarter for every time, I’d be a rich guy. …
“Sometimes it takes a while. He’s a bona fide player, and we’re going to use him a lot this year.”
Christensen did not see the field as a true freshman in 2019. The 6-foot-2, 229-pound tight end/fullback said practicing against current NFL players like Logan Wilson and Cassh Maluia accelerated his development during that redshirt year.
“Honestly, I’ve talked to my teammates about this, scout team was the best thing that could have happened to me,” Christensen said. “I came from playing running back to putting my hand in the dirt. I never was able to do that in high school, so it was good for me to be able to do that.
“I’m watching those guys on Sundays now going, ‘I blocked Logan and Cassh, dudes like that.’ So it really helped me a lot.”
Bohl knew Christensen was going to be an impact player in the program last season when he caught a short pass and turned the corner with a burst for a 21-yard gain at UNLV.
New offensive coordinator Tim Polasek is planning to utilize the tight ends more in the passing game.
Christensen finished with only two catches for 28 yards in 2020. His classmate, Treyton Welch, led the tight ends with five catches for 95 yards.
The roommates are expected to be the top two tight ends on the depth chart entering UW’s opener against Montana State next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium (2 p.m., ESPN+).
“It’s real exciting to have the tight ends room be a big part of the offense this year,” Welch said. “It has been really fun to have the roommates be the two tight ends that are really going at it.”
Welch, a third-year sophomore, played in seven games in 2019. The 6-3, 233-pounder from Buffalo, Minnesota, didn’t catch any passes that season, but he was able to get on the field by making a quick transition from prolific high school wide receiver to effective college blocking tight end.
Christensen also did the dirty work in 2020 at tight end and from the fullback spot, where he had one carry for five yards but opened up some holes for Xazavian Valladay to rocket through.
“It was a really tough year, but it was a blessing in disguise,” Christensen said of the Cowboys’ 2-4 finish to the pandemic-shortened campaig. “It kind of opened a door for me and allowed me to get on the field and show some people what I could do.”
