WINDSOR — In late July, Windsor High School linebacker-defensive end Corte Tapia — already the state’s all-time sack leader heading into his senior season — indicated he planned to sign a national letter of intent with the Colorado State Rams next February.
That removes some of the pressure.
“It’ll be nice knowing I’ve got it in stone, where I’m going,” the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Tapia said recently at a Wizards practice. “I can focus all my attention here, on the field at Windsor and go from there. I had gone through the process, and it was a great fit for me.”
Tapia’s father, Jay, now principal at Windsor’s Severance Middle School, played at Northern Colorado from 1984-86 and was a teammate of CSU defensive coordinator Marty English’s. So there was that family connection, and Rams coach Mike Bobo officially offered Tapia a scholarship in the Class of 2017 after returning from the Mountain West media days in Las Vegas last month.
“Everything worked out how I wanted it to,” Tapia said. “It was just perfect timing. I think it’s far enough away that I’d be on my own still. … I’d be kind of staying with the group that got me there, the people that supported me through high school and everything. It would be nice to see them at games and everything, and I’d still have that support system.”
Tapia was the spark as the Wizards won the Class 4A state championship a year ago, and he surpassed the state record of 38 sacks with one sack in the title game against Loveland. He moved past former Denver South star Calais Campbell, now with the Arizona Cardinals.
“It was nice to get it in the biggest game of the year, in the biggest stadium,” Tapia said.
How much can he add to that record this year?
“Hopefully a lot,” he said. “I hope to keep it a long time.”
The Wizards underwent a postchampionship change after head coach and math teacher Chris Jones in May accepted a teaching position at Rocky Mountain High in Fort Collins and stepped away from coaching. Windsor’s longtime offensive line coach Skyler Brower, a civil engineer who doesn’t teach at the school, took over as the Wizards’ head coach, at least for 2016 and Tapia’s senior season.
“His statistics kind of speak for themselves,” Brower said of Tapia. “He has great instincts, reacts really well to what he sees. He might not be the most athletic guy, in testing, compared to some other Division I athletes, but you put on the tape and his reaction speed is definitely what sticks out.
“Off the field, he’s more of a quiet guy, more of a lead-by-example guy on the field. He’s not a rah-rah, super emotional type of guy. The time you see him get excited on the field is when he’s protecting his teammates, which is good to see.”
Brower will keep the Wizards’ run-oriented offense. Tapia will be used some as a blocking fullback, but he won’t be a full-fledged two-way player.
“We dabbled with him on offense last year,” Brower said. “And really, it was wherever we needed him. That’s another great attribute about Corte is that he’s willing to help out the team, and last year that was at tight end, a blocking tight end. I don’t think we had any pass attempts to him specifically of maybe our 26 pass attempts for the year. He was at blocking wing, and he did carry the ball a little bit at fullback. We envision probably more of that same role this year.”
On defense, Tapia will work on trying to improve his rush techniques, looking ahead to most likely stepping in as a buck linebacker-type — an outside pass rusher who occasionally drops into coverage — with the Rams.
“Working on moves and speed is the big thing,” he said. “And kind of switching it up and not doing the same thing over and over again. Plus, it’s about learning the game more, about situations and what to look for and that kind of thing.”
Tapia’s mother, Shannon Courtney, is the athletic training program director at UNC and also has been the Bears’ head athletic trainer. The family lived in Greeley during much of Corte’s childhood, moved to Windsor seven years ago, then to Fort Collins, and back to Windsor when Corte was in the eighth grade. His brother, Payton, who recently completed his sophomore season as a UNC catcher, went to Fossil Ridge High in Fort Collins.
Tapia also has played baseball for the Wizards, as a third baseman and pitcher, and he plans to give high school basketball a try for the first time as a senior.
“Might as well,” he said with a smile. “A lot of my friends play basketball, and I used to play basketball with them until freshman year.”
After his busy senior year, it’s on to CSU.
Class 4A
State championship scores from the last five seasons:
2015: Windsor 35, Loveland 14
2014: Pine Creek 45, Longmont 20
2013: Pine Creek 49, Montrose 14
2012: Monarch 17, Denver South 14
2011: Valor Christian 66, Pine Creek 10
