FORT COLLINS — A business administration major, Colorado State offensive lineman Jake Gdowski still bumps into the man who recruited him.
Sonny Lubick.
Lubick, the most successful football coach in CSU history, now makes his home in the dean’s office of the business school there. His imprint goes from the students he mentors now all the way to the football field, where the last big class of Lubick’s recruits will be playing their final game for the Rams today.
“We look around, we know each other, our group as a whole the last under Sonny,” Gdowski said. “We all stick together, and we all play for Sonny. I see him around the business school all the time, and he’s always asking me how things are going. It’s kind of weird because he’s still there but he’s not there.
“We definitely as a group know that as his last group we want to represent him well. This is our last chance to show it.”
CSU will honor 15 seniors today. Among those are Lubick-recruits Gdowski, linebacker Mychal Sisson, tackle Paul Madsen, wide receiver Matt Yemm and safety Ivory Herd.
“It’s been a long journey,” Herd said. “We are the last people to represent Sonny here at this university. Obviously, it means a lot to him and to all of us to come out with a win. It’s been a long journey, it’s been a great journey, and it’s been a rewarding one.”
How much does Lubick still mean?
“There’s still people that have been recruited by Coach (Steve) Fairchild that talk to Sonny, get some of his knowledge about the game and learn from him,” Herd said. “People still see the same thing as we see — he’s a really great guy. This game means a lot for all of us.”
Fairchild had the unenviable task of trying to get players he didn’t recruit on board with his program. Many of those players gave him no problems.
“They hung in there,” Fairchild said. “Guys like Myke Sisson played in that bowl game year (2008). Some have played a lot of football and some haven’t, like any senior class. But it’s been good leadership, guys that work hard, good examples. Can’t say enough about guys like Matt Yemm. They just play hard every day. We’ll miss these guys.”
When Yemm was in second grade, he wrote a letter in class about his goal — to play football for CSU. Now he’ll walk out onto a frigid Hughes Stadium turf today, a senior in his last game, having fully realized that dream.
“That is cool,” Yemm said. “God really blessed me with giving me the ability to go after my dreams and actually accomplish them. So that’s been really cool for me. It’s been good for my family to come watch me every week. That’s been special for me.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Three questions for Colorado State
1. What does Colorado State RB Chris Nwoke have for an encore? The sophomore running back has gotten better and better over the course of the season, reaching 269 yards last week against Air Force. The Rams will need to run the ball effectively in subfreezing temps and snow expected for the game.
2. Can QB Garrett Grayson bounce back? Grayson struggled in CSU’s loss to Air Force, a week after he played so well against TCU. Back at work this week, he’s focused on getting back on track, playing well and sending the seniors off in style with a victory.
3. Is this the day for CSU? The last time Colorado State won was in September, when the Rams danced off the field and sang the fight song at the top of their lungs after beating Utah State in double overtime. Seems like an eternity ago. And yet, beating archrival Wyoming could take some of the sting away. Do the Rams have one, big effort left in them?
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
