BOULDER — When his Colorado teammates sit around and talk about last weekend’s NFL highlights, place-kicker Kevin Eberhart doesn’t have much to contribute.
You’ll have to excuse him from the regular crowd. His time is taken up elsewhere.
“Sundays are my catch-up day,” Eberhart said. “Other guys watch football on TV. I’ve got to study.”
These aren’t your everyday classes. Aerospace Mathematics. Gas Turbine Propulsion. Lunar Module Design. Environmental Impact Assessment.
All are graduate-level courses.
“It gets kind of rugged, along with football. Busy semester,” he said.
While Eberhart is considered a senior in athletic eligibility, he already has earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, receiving his diploma last May. He is on target to earn a master’s degree in the same field next spring.
“I’m telling you, the guy is always studying,” said senior tailback Byron Ellis, no slouch himself as a pre-med major in the field of integrative physiology. “We’re roommates for road games, and that’s when I like to kick back a little bit. But Kevin never stops studying.”
When your goal is to someday work for NASA, there’s little choice, Eberhart says. Kick the football, hit the books. Yes, he has heard a few “rocket scientist” jokes.
“To look at guys like Kevin and Byron, that’s inspiring to me,” said tailback Demetrius Sumler, a redshirt freshman. “I know what they’re doing isn’t easy.”
The seniors among CU’s football team are a particularly strong group academically. Like Ellis, fullback Samson Jagoras is a pre-med major. Linebacker Jordon Dizon and cornerback Terrence Wheatley, arguably the best players on the team, are majoring in economics. Three players are studying business management. Other majors include education, ethnic studies, geography and sociology.
It’s no coincidence, offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said, the seniors have become such good leaders this season. They will be counted upon Saturday when CU plays at Iowa State.
“We just heard last week that the two NFL teams that have the highest number of college graduates are the Colts and Patriots,” Grimes said, referring to pro football’s top squads. “Smart guys understand what it’s about. They see the big picture so they make the right decisions at the right time.”
Eberhart has always looked ahead – and beyond. The son of a Broomfield taxidermist, Eberhart would gaze into the star-speckled sky while sitting around an evening campfire with his dad after a deer hunt in the high country.
“Kevin liked to watch out for satellites,” Paul Eberhart recalled. “Even when he was just 5 or 6, if anything would distract him it would be a jet plane or something in the sky. He was one of those rare kids who always knew what he wanted to be.”
An All-Colorado kicker at Broomfield High School who also played defensive back, Eberhart investigated the aerospace program at CU and chose to become a Buffalo after strongly considering the Air Force Academy. Eberhart arrived on campus in 2003 along with another freshman kicker, Mason Crosby from Texas. With an eye on becoming the starter in 2007 after Crosby departed for the pros, Eberhart redshirted in ’04. Although he rode the bench for four years, Eberhart never considered transferring.
“The way I looked at it was, with Mason playing in front of me, I had a great opportunity to focus on the schoolwork,” he said.
On the playing field, Eberhart hasn’t been quite as consistent this season as he would have liked, going 14-of-21 on field goals, with a long of 54 yards. But twice he has been named Big 12 Conference special-teams player of the week.
His studies? He carries a 3.8 grade-point average in grad school.
“It’s all about time management,” Eberhart said. “For me, I think in some ways it’s easier. I’ve got a really regimented schedule. … It’s really a matter of staying awake after practice and doing as much studying as you can.”
Dizon finalist. Dizon was named one of three finalists for the Dick Butkus Award, which honors the top linebacker in the nation. Dizon is on the shortlist with Penn State’s Dan Connor and Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis. The winner will be announced in December.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
CU seniors
Name, Position, Major – comment
ALVIN BARNETT, WR, ethnic studies – has some interest in video production; could return for fifth year.
ALONZO BARRETT, DE, sociology – scheduled to graduate next month.
HUGH CHARLES, RB, sociology – after trying pro football, may pursue career in aviation.
TYSON DEVREE, TE, education – first-team Academic All-Big 12 as a junior.
JORDON DIZON, LB, education – second-team Academic All-Big 12 as a junior.
KEVIN EBERHART, K, aerospace engineering – working on his masters; has talked with NASA representatives.
BYRON ELLIS, RB, integrative physiology (pre-med) – plans to apply to medical schools next spring.
LIONEL HARRIS, S, sociology – undecided on career path; was age-group champion bull rider in Texas.
EDWIN HARRISON, OL, communication/ethnic studies — has worked in various youth service groups.
BERNARD JACKSON, QB, ethnic studies – if he wants to coach, he had a head start tutoring his younger brothers.
SAMSON JAGORAS, FB, integrative physiology (pre-med) – wants to pursue a career as chiropractor or orthopedic surgeon.
CHASE MCBRIDE, WR, geography – has minors in education and history.
TYLER POLUMBUS, OT, business management – first-team Academic All-Big 12 as sophomore and junior.
STEPHONE ROBINSON, WR, business management/sociology – member of the French Honor Society at Mullen High School.
JOE SANDERS, TE, ethnic studies – son of a pastor, he volunteered at a South African orphanage as a teen.
DUSTY SPRAGUE, WR, business management – three-time, first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection.
TERRENCE WHEATLEY, CB, economics – along with pro ball, he has an interest in weather forecasting.
Compiled by Tom Kensler from CU sports information department info
