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“I don’t want you to look back on this in 5 or 10 years and wish you would have tried to play baseball.” What if Jeff Huson’s dad hadn’t said that to him as he walked out the door to start school with his friends at the University of Arizona? Chances are very likely “Huey” would have missed out on a 15-year baseball career between college and the big leagues. He would not be in the Glendale Commun...

Raised by his grandparents and later foster parents, Rick Upchurch had his share of ups and downs growing up, however there was no denying the love and support he received from his family and his community in Holland, Ohio. From his grandparents passing away, being held back in the 6th grade, getting his GED and going to junior college hours away from his hometown, Rick learned how to persevere. T...

Despite playing basketball at three different high schools, Bill Hanzlik still stood out and had many options for playing at the next level. He chose Notre Dame where he played for four years and earned an engineering degree. Bill helped the Fighting Irish get to their first Final Four where they lost in the semifinals. He was also part of the 1980 Men’s Olympic basketball team that never made it...

He estimates he played on 40 teams from T-Ball to the Big Leagues and was the best player on about 10 of those teams. If that’s the case, how did Ryan Spilborghs make an MLB roster and spend over a decade in professional baseball? Because he just kept chasing the dream. He knew if he kept going, others would fade away and he’d still be there. “Spilly” was born in Santa Barbara and stayed close to...

He didn’t make varsity on his high school basketball team in Batavia, Illinois until he was a junior. A huge growth spurt from 5’11” to 6’8’ helped, as did his high school coach who took the time to help make Dan Issel a future icon at the University of Kentucky, the ABA and the NBA. Dan still holds the record as the all-time leading scorer at Kentucky, a record he set in 1970 that will likely nev...

He is the only coach in NCAA hockey history to win a Division I National Championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He’s coached in a Stanley Cup Final and led a high school team to back-to-back state titles. George Gwozdecky has also been fired, when he least expected it. “Gwoz” grew up living and breathing hockey in Canada. In college at Wisconsin, he was part of the 1977 NCAA Cha...

Mark Jackson grew up in a rough part of Chicago as the youngest child of a single mom. He thought ducking when hearing gang gunfire was normal. Playing in the NFL was never a dream, in fact, he quit football for a year when he was at Purdue. Despite being shorter than most and claiming very little talent, Mark was drafted by the Broncos in the 6th round of the 1986 draft. His career was on the fas...

For every marquee name in the NFL, there are thousands of names who never see their name in lights. They are the ones who keep trying and trying (and trying) to live the dream. They are the grinders. That’s Chad Friehauf. The Morgan County product from Brush had every reason to dream big: he helped turn around a football program and culture at Colorado School of Mines, a school known more for engi...

He was on the Broncos Offensive Line for three different stints during his 10-year NFL career. His final tenure in Denver included a victory in Super Bowl 50. Ryan Harris grew up in the Twin Cities and was inspired to play football after attending a Vikings game as a "chubby kid." He was the big lineman and knew he had a place in the game. Over time he acquired the skills and speed to get noticed...

He grew up in a very small town outside of Boise and had athletic competition from day one with two older brothers. Jake Plummer played just about everything growing up including football, basketball and baseball. It was his talent at quarterback that earned him a full ride scholarship to Arizona State in the early 90’s where he set numerous records on the field and was a two-time Academic All-Con...

There's a reason running backs have the shortest "life span" in the NFL: the position is brutal on the body. When they get the ball, they either to try to run through massively built men or cut to one side or the other and make them miss. The hits take a toll and the cuts are knee killers. But when running backs are healthy, they can be special. Colorado native Kevin McDougal was special. When the...

He knew he needed a scholarship if he wanted to go to college. Gus Frerotte grew up in a blue-collar Pennsylvania home steeped in hard work and toughness. He played 3 sports in high school and despite being at a small school with barely enough boys to play football, the quarterback position gave him a full ride to college. He was recruited by many and opted in to Tulsa where he played as as redshi...

"Good luck with that." Nick Ferguson vividly remembers hearing that when he was trying to catch on at Georgia Tech after playing at Division II Morris Brown College. He not only made the Yellow Jacket's team, he also made it to the NFL. Like college, Nick made the next level transition the hard way: as an undrafted free agent. Impressively, he stayed in football between the NFL and CFL for 14 seas...

Bill Romanowski was a polarizing player: if he was on your team, you loved him, if he wasn’t, probably not so much. From an early age, Romo set goals and every time he achieved a goal, he set his sights higher. He won awards as both an athlete and a student during his college years at Boston College. He was drafted by the 49'ers and won Super Bowl rings his first two years in the league. From San...

Greg Myers prefers to stay out of the spotlight, however he has accomplished just a little bit too much and his story should be told. A graduate of Windsor High School where his #3 football jersey is retired. A stand out student athlete at Colorado State University where his football skills earned him the Jim Thorpe award in 1995 as the nation's best Defensive Back and in the classroom he earned t...

He was a walk-on quarterback at Tulane University with no aspirations to play in the NFL. In fact, when the Broncos came to New Orleans to work him out, Steve Foley declined and said he wasn't interested. The Broncos drafted him anyway. Under Defensive Coordinator Joe Collier, Steve was converted into a defensive back and eventually a safety. He became a hard hitting force on the Orange Crush Defe...

Sonny Lubick is an icon in Fort Collins, Colorado. The football field at Colorado State University has been in his name at two different stadiums. His first stint at CSU was as an offensive coordinator under Leon Fuller in the early 80's after he was fired from Montana State. He left Fort Collins then when Jack Elway asked him to be on his coaching staff at Stanford. That lasted until Jack and his...

Sonny Lubick is an icon in Fort Collins, Colorado. The football field at Colorado State University has been in his name at two different stadiums. His first stint at CSU was as an offensive coordinator under Leon Fuller in the early 80's after he was fired from Montana State. He left Fort Collins then when Jack Elway asked him to be on his coaching staff at Stanford. That lasted until Jack and his...

His three tenures with the Denver Broncos totaled 14 years and brought the city back to back Super Bowl Championships. Mike Shanahan's other 24 years of coaching had stops in Oklahoma, Eastern Illinois (D2 Championship), Northern Arizona, Minnesota, Florida, LA Raiders, San Francisco 49'ers (Super Bowl XXIX), and (then) Washington Redskins. In the college ranks, Mike moved up the ladder with ease....

He loved playing basketball Thomas Jefferson High School, but football got him to the University of Colorado where he won the Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end. In 2002, after his stellar college career, Daniel Graham was drafted 21st overall by the New England Patriots where he won two Super Bowls. He tested the free agent market after four years with the Pats and landed back home in De...

He was told he was too slow, so he trained with his college track team. He wasn't drafted by the team he thought would draft him, so he went to their training camp and made the team as an undrafted free agent. Over the next several years, Steve Watson would endear himself to Broncos fans catching anything throw his way by Craig Morton, John Elway and others. He earned the nickname Blade. In 1989 h...

For all the years Gary Kubiak has been in the NFL as both a player and coach, it's hard to believe he's only been fired once. Then again, Gary is once of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and his football IQ is through the roof. Gary knows how success feels: he was the Broncos head coach for their Super Bowl 50 win and an offensive coordinator under Mike Shanahan when they won Super Bowls 32 &...

Morgan County Colorado has produced some pretty impressive NFL talent and Joel Dreessen set that stage. Players who came after Joel from the rural area include Ryan Jensen, Dalton Risner and Trey McBride. These are small town, no BS guys and they are raised with one basic concept: work hard, always. Joel was a standout tight end for Colorado State University and is a member of the CSU Athletics Ha...

Gary Barnett was a football player long before he was a coach. He started playing and loving the game from the age of 5 and played through high school and college at the University of Missouri. After college, he was a high school football coach and counselor and thought he’d made it… until the college ranks called. Eventually he became the 22nd head coach for the University of Colorado. On the fie...

He is one of only three people who have been drafted by the NBA, NFL and MLB. Dave Logan was a super star athlete growing up in Wheat Ridge and eventually landed at the University of Colorado for football. His good fortunes continued in the NFL where he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. As a member of the "Kardiac Kids" Dave played for the Browns for 8 seasons. Then came a trade to the Broncos...