Cowboys sign three JC transfers

Cowboys head football coach Dave Christensen announced on Wednesday that three junior college players have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Wyoming. The three players will join the football program beginning in the spring of 2010.

The players signed include DeJay Lester, a 6-foot-2, 200 pounds junior wide receiver from Columbus, Ohio (Snow College); Mazi Ogbonna, 6-1, 195-pound junior wide receiver from , Westbury, N.Y. (Snow College) and Nick Puetz, a 6-4. 305-pound junior offensive lineman from Salina, Kan. (Coffeyville CC)

Lester caught 27 passes for 456 yards this past season. In 11 games, he averaged 2.5 receptions per game and scored two touchdowns. He also returned kickoffs and had eight returns for 195 yards, which was an average of 24.4 yards per return.

Snow College finished 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the Western States Football League this past season. They earned a 41-37 victory over Grand Rapids to take the Zions Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl Trophy. Both Snow College and Grand Rapids finished in the top six in the final National Junior College Athletic Association poll. Lester was coached by Steve Coburn while at Snow College.

Lester spent two seasons at Snow College and will be a junior at UW this coming fall.

Ogbonna, who also attended Snow College, was named First Team All-Western States Football League as a wide receiver this past fall. He was also selected Second Team All-WSFL as a kick returner. In 11 games, he caught 36 passes for 721 yards (20.0 yards per catch average). As a kick returner, he averaged 30.3 yards a return with 21 returns for 637 yards. Ogbonna scored ten touchdowns, while averaging 3.3 receptions per game.

He helped lead Snow College to a 10-2 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the WSFL. They earned a 41-37 victory over Grand Rapids to take the Zions Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl Trophy. They ended the season ranked fifth in the final NJCAA poll.

Ogbonna spent two seasons at Snow College and will be a junior at UW this coming fall.

Puetz was a Second Team All-Conference selection while attending Coffeyville Community College this past fall. He helped lead Coffeyville CC to a 7-4 overall record this season, while ending the season ranked 12th in the final NJCAA football poll. The team also won the North Star Bowl against Rochester (Minn.) by a final of 54-12. He earned the Wayne Hittle Memorial Award and the Pete Peltzer Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award.

As a junior, he was selected Honorable Mention All-Jayhawk Conference, along with earning Academic All-Conference honors. He was coached at Coffeyville by Darian Dulin.

Puetz spent two seasons at Coffeyville CC and will be a junior at UW this coming fall.