Flying High - The Broncos Get Their Wing - Boise State University Athletics

When Chris Wing graduated from Redmond (Wash.) High School in 1989, few imagined he would go onto be a record-setting pass rusher at Boise State and play professional football.

"I was not a very good student coming out of high school," Wing said. "My dad and uncle served in the Army and my grandfather was a West Point graduate. So, my family had a military background."

Wing's father took him to a nearby Marine Corp recruiting office, but Wing did not think it was a good fit.

"After we visited with the Marines, we spoke with the Air Force," Wing remembered. "The recruiter was smooth and a good salesman, so I signed up."

Four years after enlisting in the Air Force, Chris Wing took a step that would allow him to follow his grandfather as a man who served his country in the military and went on to athletic success.

Wing's grandfather graduated from West Point in 1930 and was a member of the polo team at Fort Bliss, Texas. He joined the U.S. Army show jumping team after a transfer to the U.S. Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kan.

General Franklin Fearing Wing, Jr., became a two-time Olympian as a show jumper, finishing fourth at the 1948 Olympics in London. He was a member of 18 Nations' Cup teams from 1937-49 and became the first U.S. rider to win the prestigious Grand Prix of Aachen, accomplishing the feat in 1948.

"I walked into (Boise State Assistant Coach) Tom Osborne's office and told him I wanted to play football for the Broncos," Wing said. "I knew a little about Boise State from Scott Russell and Greg Erickson, two guys I played with at Redmond who also played for the Broncos. And I liked the idea of playing on The Blue."

Osborne was in his first year at Boise State under Pokey Allen and served as the team's recruiting coordinator in the days before such titles were official. Three weeks after Wing and Osborn met, Allen called Wing and offered him a spot on the team.

"I was only a partial qualifier, so I had to sit out the 1993 season," Wing recalled. "I was allowed to work out in the weight room and in 1994 I was a walk-on."

Wing was listed as a linebacker on the 1994 Boise State roster, a position he later played in the NFL and NFL Europe, but did not appear on the Broncos' depth chart at the start of the season.

He began the season on special teams, recording his first-career tackle on kickoff coverage in the season-opener against Northeastern.

In the fourth game of the year, Wing was credited with a half sack late in the third quarter in a win over Liberty that improved Boise State to 4-0.

After the game against Liberty, Wing became a pass rusher in Boise State's nickel package. He finished the season with six sacks.

In the final game of the regular season, Boise State knocked off archrival Idaho 27-24 to break a 12-game losing streak against the Vandals and capture the Big Sky championship.

Boise State defeated North Texas 24-20 in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA (current FCS) Playoffs with Wing recording a sack (postseason statistics did not count toward season or career totals at the time).

After a 17-14 victory over Appalachian State, the Broncos edged Marshall 28-24 in a semifinal matchup with Wing contributing a sack on the Herd's final drive to help preserve the win.

"When we beat Marshall, I cried," Wing said. "There was so much emotion. It was overwhelming. That team was special. We had a little extra love for each other and it showed when we went on the field together."

The Broncos finished as national runner-up, losing to Youngstown State 28-14 in the title game, but the Broncos were just getting started.

"Pokey Allen molded us into a machine," Wing stated. "I feel like he set the table for the trajectory of Boise State football."

After a six-sack season in 1995, Wing and the Broncos moved to the I-A (now FBS) level in 1996. Since the transition, Boise State has been the most successful Group of 5 school with the three Fiesta Bowl wins among the highlights. In the offseason between his junior and senior year, Wing had a breakthrough.

"Our strength coach Joe Kenn was the man," Wing said. "I weighed 215 pounds when I got to Boise State and I was at 235 by my final year. He helped me get really fast and strong. But what really clicked for me was the mental aspect of the game; the film studies, picking apart my opponent, the tendencies of the offense, the strengths and weaknesses of the O-tackle."

Wing credits his time in the military for helping him pick out things during film study. His first squadron in the Air Force was the 7426 TRISS (Tactical Reconnaissance Intelligence Support Squadron).

"We flew in F-4Cs and had to analyze pictures to provide intelligence for the pilots," Wing said. "It really taught me to pay attention to the details when studying pictures."

As a senior defensive end, Wing set the Boise State single-season sack record with 20 and finished his career with 32, still the third-most by a Bronco. He was named All-Big West.

Wing was a business major with an emphasis in human resources and earned a degree from Boise State in 1997.

That year, he signed with the New England Patriots in Pete Carroll's first-year as the franchise's head coach.

After playing in some preseason games, Wing was cut by the Patriots. A tryout with the Washington Redskins did not go well, but the next day he worked out for the New York Jets.

Upon seeing head coach Bill Parcells, Wing walked up and introduced himself to the Pro Football Hall of Famer.

"When I was in New England, I didn't think I should have been cut," Wing said. "But I learned you have to stand up for yourself. Parcells was friends with (Youngstown State Head Coach) Jim Tresell, who had good things to say about me from the (1994) national championship game. Parcells sat down and watched film with me. The next day he called my house and talked with my stepdad. The day after that I was on a plane to sign with the Jets."

Wing was activated from the practice squad for two games as a rookie in 1997, the first of which his dad and stepmom were able to attend because they happened to be in New York for the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden.

In 1998, Wing was cut by the Jets after suffering a back injury. A year later, he was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Europe Draft by the Amsterdam Admirals and recorded 5.5 sacks in 1999. He returned to the NFL for a couple of workouts in 2000 before retiring.

He returned to Boise later that year and began working at Lamar Advertising. He currently works in sales for the company. His boss is Larry Alder, a free safety on Boise State's 1980 team that won the I-AA national championship.

Along his journey, Wing met his wife, a seven-year veteran of the Air Force who now works as a nurse, and the couple has two athletic boys.

"My Boise State story started with kindness," Wing said. "Pokey Allen was a players' coach and a very kind person. Sometimes people need a chance in life and I am so grateful that he gave me a chance. That was a guy you run through a wall for."

Boise State Athletics thanks Chris Wing as it honors him and all the veterans who have served our country with military service.

Flying High - The Broncos Get Their Wing

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