Colorado State University Athletics
CSU lands Serowski on eve of camp
8/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 3, 2011
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - One day before opening fall practice, Colorado State has signed Derek Serowski to a financial-aid agreement. Head Coach Steve Fairchild made the announcement Wednesday.
A 6-foot-4, 187-pound wide receiver from Moore, Okla., Serowski (serr-OW-skee) will have three years of eligibility beginning in 2012, after practicing with the Rams in 2011.
Serowski, the fifth significant addition to the Rams' roster this summer, originally signed a National Letter of Intent in February 2010 to play football at Central Oklahoma. But later that spring, after winning four Oklahoma state track championships (individually in the 100 and 200 meters, and on the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams), he drew interest from several schools, including Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Arkansas.
Central Oklahoma would not release him from his NLI commitment, the reason he is ineligible for competition in 2011, so he walked on for a month in the fall of 2010 at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in Miami, Okla. He then went home to stay in shape, working out at his alma mater, Southmoore High School in Moore, Okla., before returning to Central Oklahoma this past spring to take classes.
Teaming up with offensive lineman Mason Myers, who joins him at CSU, Serowski helped guide the Sabercats (11-1) in only their second season of play to city, district and regional championships, and the semifinals of the Oklahoma 6A playoffs. The team that beat Southmoore, Jenks, advanced to the championship, where Jenks lost to Union and Blake Jones, a 2011 CSU signee.
As a senior in 2009, Serowski refused to sit out despite playing four games with the H1N1 virus. Somewhat limited by the ailment, he still started all 12 games and caught 28 passes for 543 yards (19.4 avg.) and seven touchdowns.
The year before, he was Southmoore's go-to receiver as a junior, catching 45 passes for 728 yards (16.2 avg.) and eight scores.
An all-district wide receiver and honorable-mention all-state selection, he was the team's primary punter in 2008 and part-time punter in 2009. He also returned punts his final two seasons and served as an occasional kickoff-return man. As a defensive back in 2008, when the Sabercats were 2-8 in the program's first campaign, he intercepted a pass and collected a handful of tackles.
The oldest of eight children, he had never participated in track until that impressive 2010 spring at Southmoore, and he led the Sabercats to the state team championship. His personal bests are 10.38 seconds in the 100 and 21.10 in the 200. Serowski, who runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, is expected to run track for the Rams in the spring.
He drew recruiting interest in high school from Air Force, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa, among others. Undecided on a major at Colorado State, he's interested in pre-law or pre-med.
