FORT COLLINS — Long before he was a Ram or could become the bell cow of the Colorado State defense, Evan Colorito was a platypus.
Seriously.
He was raised in Beaverton, Ore., where there is a split of fans for the Oregon State Beavers and the Oregon Ducks. There are also those who land squarely in between during the Civil War
“I was not on either side,” Colorito said. “When you’re both, you’re called a platypus.”
Heading into his senior season at Colorado State, he does find it a bit ironic that a team from his home state is coming to town to play the opener in the Rams’ new stadium. In the stands will be about 20 friends and family, some of whom are deep with their OSU ties.
Split or not as his loyalties were back home, now they are gone. He’s all Ram, through and through, and to defensive coordinator Marty English, he means all things for the team’s defense. Just sizing up his expectations for his buck linebacker gave English chills on media day.
“That guy works, man. He works and works and he’s tough and physical,” English said. “I expect him to be one of the leaders. That toughness that your defense needs sometimes, somebody always has to step up and be that guy and get everybody in behind him. I think he’s that guy.
“I expect huge things out of Evan. He plays so hard, and he’s a physical kid, and his motor goes. He’s probably got to be the bell cow of our defense, and I expect that out of him. I think it’s something he’s excited about having put on him.”
Colorito is thrilled, because first he had to work to reach his status, and to hear English — who is far from prone to hyperbole — come loose with such high praise means the world to him.
It means he reached a goal.
He’s been writing them down on paper ever since he came to Fort Collins. He wanted to play right away out of high school, then he took a look around and figured a redshirt year wouldn’t be so bad. But each year after, he wrote down starter for the defense, but it took awhile for him to make it a reality.
He played on special teams mostly his first two years, though he did get to see some time on defense as a redshirt sophomore. There was nothing statistically that stood out — he had just five tackles to his credit — but English saw a trait he liked, figured it would play out well as a buck and Colorito was asked to pack on some pounds, up to 250.
If that’s what the coaches wanted, Colorito was going to make it happen.
“Last year, I was like, there is nothing in the world that’s going to stop me from starting and being one of the best players on defense this next season,” he said. “I just worked my butt off in the weight room, doing everything I can. Come camp, I just went as hard as I could every single rep to earn that starting spot. I just think it was a long time coming. If it didn’t happen then, it was going to happen at some point in the season.
“I think I was born to play football, I was born to do this, so it was going to happen one way or another.”
He transformed his body and learned to play as a bigger athlete, adding he felt he became quicker in the process, making sure to become more flexible, as well.
By the end of the season, there wasn’t a defender who showed more growth and backed it with production, finishing fourth on the team with 63 tackles, sitting second with 10 tackles for loss.
As he was playing better, he started developing into a leader the unit could count on across the board. It’s the side of the ball which requires fire and passion, and Colorito is never one to allow it to wane.
“It’s that energy. Energy, energy, energy, energy,” linebacker Josh Watson said. “He’s a high-motor guy; his motor never stops. He plays 100 percent, 100 percent of the time, and it fuels us. When he makes plays, it makes other guys want to make plays. That brings up the defense.”
Some players take more time to develop, not just physically, but mentally. They also have to find the right spot, and Colorito changed positions right after Tyson Summers left and Marty English became the coordinator again. No where, however, did Colorito seek a shortcut or overlook a detail that could help him.
“Evan’s the type of guy that you look for in a program who is blue-collar, he’s tough, he’s unselfish,” Bobo said. “It was a position he hadn’t played, but he went there and he worked on his craft. He was diligent, trying to always get better. He improved as a player throughout last year and where he was a guy who would make tackles for loss last year.”
Colorito sat out during spring camp coming off a shoulder injury, but he was still an active participant, whether that meant he was learning something he needed or passing on knowledge to a younger player.
Back on the field, there is no change. You can’t go to practice and not see Colorito helping out a teammate, and much of his mentoring is directed at true freshman Emmanuel Jones.
Jones has been so impressive in camp, Bobo suggested that if Jones turns out to be one of the top 11 defenders on the roster, it could be Colorito that moves, as he knows the weak-side spot and the strong-side linebacker has many of the same tendencies in the defense as the buck.
“The reason why I do that, when I was a freshman, I really didn’t have a senior who really took me under his wing,” Colorito said. “The guys who played, they had guys take them under their wing. I think it’s really important. Jake Bennett for example. His mentor was Weston (Richburg). Now Jake’s one of the best centers in the country, and Weston is one of the best centers in the NFL. That didn’t happen by accident, so I want to help as much as I can with Emmanuel or any guy on the defensive line. I just think it helps so much because having a senior help out the younger guys, they can see what should be done and how it’s supposed to be done.”
There is the real irony. Colorito said he was raised that if he was in on something, he was to go all the way. So in high school, he was all about school spirit. But when it came to cheering for a college team, well, he was just a platypus.
Now at Colorado State, nobody questions what is important to him.
“He cares. He cares about the defense, he cares about the team, he cares about the coaches,” English said. “That guy is bought in. He’s all in, and it’s huge. It’s fun for me to have him in the room right now.”
Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard
