FORT COLLINS — Every tattoo tells a story. But letap start with the newest one, the one that pops right after you shake Todd Centeio’s hand:
That giant B-plus.
The one inked in red, tucked between the thumb and the index finger.
“A lot of people are like, ‘Why do you have a grade on your hand?’” the CSU Rams’ senior quarterback explained. “And itap not.
“One of my coaches at Temple (was) Adam DiMichele … he would always talk to me and he’d be like, ‘Be positive, be positive.’
“And at practice, he would write a ‘B’ and a ‘plus’ sign on his hands. And I’m like, ‘One day, I’m going to get that tattooed on myself because itap a great reminder to be positive at all times.”
For a guy who’s never passed for more than 141 yards in a college game, almost every planet in Centeio’s orbit exudes positivity. Good throw, bad throw, No. 7 flashes the same smile. Same hope. Be positive.
New CSU offensive coordinator Jon Budmayr, who spent the previous six seasons as an assistant at Wisconsin, earlier this year likened Centeio to ex-Badgers great Russell Wilson. Rams coach Steve Addazio, who can be as blunt as a sledgehammer, has compared the Florida native’s traits to those of Tim Tebow and Donovan McNabb, two NFL quarterbacks he helped tutor at Florida and Syracuse, respectively.
And when a reporter last month asked The Daz about Centeio’s offensive numbers — 14-for-36 passing, 207 yards, one touchdown, one pick — during the 2020 season, the second-year Rams coach got borderline, well, defensive.
“You can tell that it kind of bothers me from the standpoint of, ‘What are we talking about here?’” Addazio countered. “He started (the 2020 opener) because he was the best leader and the best competitor and he had done the things necessary to be in that game. There’s a lot of things that go into playing quarterback. You know, everybody looks at one thing, a passing stat. Well, thatap part of it. But whatap the rest of the story on the passing stat?
“Toddy got hurt (at Fresno State) and really wasn’t able to play the next two games. That injury lingered. It was on his throwing hand. Then he had an ankle injury. We played four games …
“I’m so impressed with him right now in training camp … he’s highly accurate. He’s throwing the (crud) out of the ball right now. Never mind the fact that he can beat you with his feet. I think Jon Budmayr has done a fabulous job with Toddy Centeio. I see tremendous growth with him right now in a very short period of time.”
“Painful to throw”
In the moments when Centeio cracks a joke, or gets animated about a particular point, he brings his arms up from his lap. Thatap when you spot the matching ink across his lower thighs.
Another message. Another mantra.
Right thigh: GOD
Left thigh: SPEED
“Thatap the time that I’m on,” Centeio explained. “Just whatever speed God wants me to go about.”
We know about the legs. Coming out of Dwyer High School in West Palm Beach, Fla., the Rams’ quarterback clocked at 4.6 in the 40-yard dash while recording a 33-inch vertical leap. At Temple, Centeio scooted 21 yards on one play during a rout of ECU in 2018 and racked up 45 yards in one jaunt against UConn a year later. The legs, that speed, was never the question.
Now he’s on a mission to prove that the injury to his index finger last autumn — “It was painful to throw, but, you know, I tried to push through it,” Centeio recalled — was the root cause of those subpar passing numbers.
“I just feel like I can make a play (at) anytime in the game,” the Rams quarterback said. “I feel like I have a great relationship with a lot of people. I hang out with the linemen. I hang out with even the defensive (guys) … so I feel like we just built that relationship with everybody. Everybody trusts me and I trust them. Respect, it goes both ways.”
After falling short on his preparation — by his own admission — in 2020, Centeio doubled down on the classroom side heading into this year. And that cramming hasn’t gone without notice by his teammates.
“(Centeio) might see something that I don’t see, and he switches the protection, he might make an audible,” offensive tackle Barry Wesley said. “He’s a very smart guy, he’s very intelligent, he’s able to make those decisions at a very fast rate.”
“The sky’s the limit for us”
The left arm is devoted to faith. Across the forearm, you can just make out Isaiah 41:10: Do not fear, for I am with you.
Left bicep: A sacred heart.
“You’ve got the spirit wisdom,” Centeio continued. “And up here, it (reads): ‘The world is yours.’”
FoCo could be his, too, starting Friday night against South Dakota State. A game that comes with the rarest of gifts: a second chance to make a first impression.
“I’ll randomly walk by (teammates) and say, ‘Yo, whatap this?’ And see if they know (the play),” Centeio said. “And (I’ll) go, ‘Hey, good job, you know it, you’re really in the P.B., you’re really in the playbook, getting it done.’
“So thatap my focus. It feels like everybody, across the board, is just being prepared and playing relentless. The sky’s the limit for us.”
