CHEYENNE EAST HS

CHEYENNE, WYOMING

SENIOR

Height: 6-FOOT-3

In its 36th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Graedyn Buell of Cheyenne East High School as its 2020-21 Gatorade Wyoming Football Player of theYear. Buell is the fifth Gatorade Wyoming Football Player of the Year to be chosen from Cheyenne East High School. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Buell as Wyoming’s best high school football player.

Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award to be announced in May, Buell joins an elite group of past state football award-winners, including Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fla.), Matthew Stafford (2005-06, Highland Park High School, Tx.) and Christian McCaffrey (2012-13 & 2013-14, Valor Christian High School, Colo.).

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior quarterback passed for 3,065 yards and 38 touchdowns this past season, leading the Thunderbirds (11-1) to the Class 4A state championship. Buell completed 199 of 293 passes, throwing just five interceptions, while also rushing for 968 yards and 15 touchdowns on 144 carries. The two-time Casper Star-Tribune Super 25 Offensive Player of the Year, he was also the Class 4A Offensive Player of the Year.

Also a basketball standout, Buell has volunteered locally on behalf of the Special Olympics, youth sports programs and a children’s literacy initiative. “Graedyn Buell is probably the most accomplished quarterback to come out of the state of Wyoming in a long time,” said Mark Lenhardt, head coach at Rock Springs High School. “There’s no one who compares to him in terms of impacting a game.” Buell has maintained a 3.32 GPA in the classroom.