By Rick Figurin
pigskinpress.com

It wasn't long ago that the unspeakable happened on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Ft. Collins, Colorado. A talented tight end who was on his way to a being a sure-fire NFL draft pick took the field against the highly tauted California Golden Bears. It was a Saturday like any other, until the catch. Just one five-yard catch, and one "snap" after the ensuing hit that would force him to start over, work harder, and climb the ladder again to impress the NFL scouts that once drooled over his potential, and maintain his sanity as his football career seemed to be passing him by.

That player is Colorado State's Kory Sperry. After a nasty ACL tear, the tough-as-nails tight end is back for one final chance at success in 2008, and ready to have a staring contest with adversity.

And you can probably figure out who's gonna blink first.

The 5th year senior took time out to talk with us about the importance of leadership, parting ways with legendary coach Sonny Lubick, and dealing with all types of changes in his final season at CSU.

Pigskinpress.com: Talk a little bit about how you ended up at CSU? You grew up near Pueblo. Had you always hoped to stay in-state?

Kory Sperry: “I’m from Vineland, which is east of Pueblo. I’m real family oriented and I wanted to stay close to my family. I had been coming to the basketball camps at CSU since I was little. I got the chance to come up and play behind an NFL-bound tight end, Joel Dreesen, and I liked the facilities and loved Coach Lubick and Joel was a big reason too why I came here. It was everything I wanted and needed; I was close to my family and at the same time had a good coaching staff and a good team to play with and learn from.”

PP: You played some QB in high school? How difficult was the transition to tight end?

KS: “Not too bad. They recruited me as an athlete, so I had no clue where I was playing when I got here. I knew I wasn’t a fan of being a quarterback. In high school you have to know some stuff, but coming up here you have to learn a whole new system. It wasn’t difficult to adjust at all, but it was tough to put the weight on because when I came in I was 185 and that wasn’t gonna’ cut it at tight end. But with our strength coordinator and Joel helping me out they really got me going pretty quick.”

PP: Last season, there was a lot of buzz surrounding how much you had developed in your three years at CSU, not only as a receiver but as a blocker. Then, you tear your ACL against Cal. Talk about the mental anguish of dealing with a situation like that?

KS: “The mental anguish was intense. I come out figuring it’s my senior season and I’m hoping I’ll have a chance to play beyond that, then all of a sudden, one hit and your seasons done. At first it was hard because I didn’t know if I could get my redshirt. But it gave me another year in college to adjust to get my body right and get smarter. At first it was brutal; everything gets dark and you think your whole world is gonna’ end. But now that I’m working through it, and Kyle Bell was helping me with his injury as well, now it’s a whole new level of being stronger and smarter.”

PP: It’s a new year, you get a fresh start. How was it taking the field in the spring game, and how well have you recovered from the injury?

KS: “Right now I’m 100%. I’m stronger and it feels better than before I hurt it. It’s a relief to go out there and not even think about my knee anymore. After watching my team for 10 games that I didn’t get to be a part of, spring ball was a blast. I actually got to be part of the team again and go out and play. Seven months of not being able to suit up and play is terrible. Some people think it’s the end of the world, but if you go and rehab correctly you come back stronger and that’s where I am now.”

PP: On top of the injury, you’ll be dealing with a new starting quarterback next season as well as a new head coach. Is there a trick to staying positive when you’re facing all this change at once?

KS: “Not really, Coach Fairchild is a nose-to-the-grindstone, let’s-get-started guy. He’s pushed us hard from day one and that’s what we needed because he broke us and knows the ins-and-outs of the whole team. He’s got us playing harder and better. The quarterbacks right now, Grant Stucker and Billy Farris, the way they are running the team it’s like we haven’t missed a beat at all. If anything we’re getting better and building team chemistry….I know right now it’s exciting because Coach Fairchild came in here and completely turned us around.”

PP: There were a lot of fans who were a little ticked off about Sonny’s departure including former Ram Joey Porter, and some that were okay with it. What was your initial take on the situation?

KS: “We as players didn’t get the full story; we really don’t know what happened. It’s heartbreaking because he’s (coached) so many seasons and he recruited all of us. The whole team took it in a negative light; a lot of us think the way it was handled was wrong and it was a situation that we didn’t expect to come so quickly. To the players it came out of the blue because we didn’t hear anything and then suddenly we don’t even have a coach. We were lost for a while, but that’s where Coach Fairchild stepped in. As soon as he got hired he called a couple of us and told us what he wanted to do. That gained a lot of respect from all of us. I’m excited for next year because of Coach Fairchild.”

PP: What is the biggest difference between Coach Fairchild and Coach Lubick?

KS: “Sonny, during practice, he just walked around and just took everything in and then in meetings he would correct us. With Coach Fairchild, if you make a mistake he will let you know. He does not like any mistakes-no balls on the ground. He does not accept mistakes at all. It’s tough to compare the two because Coach Fairchild is offensive minded where as Coach Lubick was defensive minded.”

PP: You guys open with CU.  Is that a game that you’ve really circled on the calendar considering it’s your last game against the buffs?

KS: “It’s always circled; it’s just a rivalry. It’s big for us because it’s our in-state rival and its at Invesco Field. There’s no better place to play, especially this year on a Sunday with that stadium, that grass, that atmosphere-it’s crucial.  I think that’s what we did last year, we looked at a few teams and slipped-up big-time in conference and in our non-conference schedule. I know it sounds cliché, but this year we are taking it one game at a time and that’s what Coach Fairchild wants us to do. It should be a fun game as usual.”

PP: In your eyes, which rivalry is bigger- CU or Wyoming?

KS: “In my eyes it’s CU. You here a lot of hype, some people say this is our Super Bowl. Some people see the game as a joke but it’s not. We’ve been in the games a lot of the time; we haven’t got blown out. It’s big for us because everybody automatically puts us down; were used to that, but Coach Fairchild has come in and changed us completely and now our attitudes are completely different.”

PP: Damon Morton, Johnny Walker and Luke Roberts are all gone. That makes you the old-man of the pass-catching core. Any added pressure there?

KS: “Not really. If I go out there, single team, double team, whatever they do I have to take in stride. Last year we had a great receiving core and during that CU game you couldn’t isolate on one guy. But this year, not a lot of people know our receivers and that’s a great thing because teams will underestimate our receivers and that’s gonna’ bite them in the end.”

PP: As a veteran on this team. What is your relationship with the younger tight ends and receivers?

KS: “I’m just trying to get them to play and do what they can for the team. Some are better at pass-catching, some are better at blocking. As an older guy you have to take responsibility because the coaches can’t be there all the time and they don’t see a lot of things. It’s just like what Joel did for me; I just break it down and make it easier for them and try to be there when they have questions. As for the receivers, Dion Morton is gonna’ be one of the guys that surprises a lot of people this year, and the older receivers are just trying to take control of their unit. And that’s what Chris Kawulok and I are trying to do with the Tight Ends.”

PP: Let’s be honest. A lot of writers and so-called experts have predicted a pretty tough year for the Rams. What do you say?

KS: “I don’t know about that. In our conference it’s up and down. I know it’s gonna be a tough year, but I don’t listen to what they have to say. I learned when I was a freshman not to read that stuff, it does nothing but irritate you. When it comes to that, I don’t pay attention, but I’ll tell you that this year will not be like last year at all.”

PP: Looking back at your CSU career, what was the most common misconception that you had about what it’s like to play division-1 football?

KS: “The hitting. In high school you take hits, but that first day of practice I got hit by a cornerback and I had no clue a corner could hit that hard. These aren’t high school kids, some guys are 22 or 23. They’re moving as fast as high-school kids but at 260 pounds. Like everything, you have to start at the bottom to get to the top and that’s what I learned very quickly.”

PP: The Mountain West is not a BCS conference. Do you think that’s appropriate?

KS: “Like any non-BCS conference you want to be one, but our conference is so balanced you don’t have a team that dominates every year. The whole BCS thing is confusing to me. One week a team is number one, and then next week they win again and drop to number two. For me, I just go out and play hard and hope we make it to a bowl game.”

PP: Let’s fast forward to next year’s draft. If I’m a NFL GM looking for a tight end in the early to middle rounds, convince me why I should take Kory Sperry over the other guy?

KS: “I try to be a complete tight end. A lot of guys trying to go to the NFL are really great blockers or ridiculous route runners, but are a little light. With me I’m trying to stay in-between to be a pass threat and a blocking threat. A lot of people say you’re a (former) quarterback you can’t block, well I’d like to invite anybody to come to the game and tell me I can’t block. I just want to be a complete tight end. I don’t want to be one dimensional.”

Colorado State kicks off its 2008 camapaign against the Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday, August 31st. The game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports Net.