Before he was a Colorado State offensive lineman and long before he was an NFL offensive tackle, Ty Sambrailo was a youth skier out of California who regularly performed flips on the slopes and won United States Ski and Snowboard Association titles in the Far West Division in the slalom, giant slalom and super G.
But on May 1, when the (No. 59) of the draft, his days of recreational skiing went out window. His new focus: manning the left tackle position left vacant by veteran Ryan Clady, whose season ended before it started because of .
Although a shoulder injury in Week 3 derailed the first half of Sambrailo’s rookie season, he hopes to return to the field Sunday when the unbeaten Broncos host the 6-0 Packers in primetime.
The 23-year-old recently spoke about his recovery, his transition to the pros, and his skiing days.
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Q. What did you do to rehab your shoulder?
A. First off, I worked on stability. Then I worked on strength around the injury to take pressure off of it. I stayed here during the bye, just to keep working on it. It feels good.
Q. What were you able to glean in watching from the sideline the past three games?
A. Being in the game and understanding the speed of the game, from that perspective it gives you a better appreciation from standing on the sideline watching. There are a lot of things you see that you can recognize and relate to now since you’ve been in games and know the speed. It was good to get another perspective, but I’m ready to get back out there.
Q. What has been the most and least difficult transition for you this season?
A. Mentally, this is just a whole other step up from college. There are little things that have to be adjusted based off everything that’s going on. Just getting that down and being able to play fast has been the biggest challenge. Just mentally knowing it well enough to play fast. Once I figured that out, it got a little easier and more comfortable.
As far as the easiest transition, nothing about this has been easy. It’s been a pretty interesting transition, but it’s been a lot a fun.
Q. Has your family attended many games?
A. They made it to two or three of them. They try to make it out to as many as they can. I think they’ll be here this weekend.
Q. Do you miss skiing?
A. A little bit. It’s kind of tough to think about when I was 12 years, “what could have been” and stuff, but I miss going out there and skiing once in a while. It was a lot of fun.
Q. But you do think about what could have been?
A. Once in a while, during ski season. My brother will send me a picture of him skiing. This is a much better career choice for me, though.
Q. When was the last time you were out there?
A. It’s been about two years.
Q. Could you still do a flip?
A. I could if I needed to. But I’m staying away from that.
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Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or @NickiJhabvala
Ty Sambrailo bio
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 315 pounds
Age: 23
College: Colorado State
2015 draft: 2nd round, No. 59
— Started 42 of 48 games at CSU; spent time at all five positions on O-line
— First-team All-Mountain West Conference selection as senior in 2014
— Named Broncos’ starting LT when Ryan Clady injured knee in offseason
