Centeio Continues to Grow as a Quarterback

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – As advertised, he's the guy.

Colorado State coach Steve Addazio made it clear before the season ever began he had full confidence in Todd Centeio as his quarterback. The guy who had made all of one start in his career at Colorado State, and a gimmicky one at Temple. He saw some spot-time there, a bit more in Fort Collins.

Addazio loved Centeio's leadership, appreciated his drive. So did his teammates. They were more than ready to roll with the kid. That also meant rolling with the punches.

Centeio missed some deep balls early, and the fans groaned. The team did not. He misread some plays, and the fans groaned again. The coaches just guided him.

He doesn't get down. He gets down to work.

"He keeps it cool, calm and collected every day," receiver Ty McCullouch said. "He comes in here and it's a good thing for us to see, because sometimes guys come and they're down or hurt, and then we see him and we're like, 'yeah, let's get this.' He's always there to motivate us."

There was no reason for anybody to expect Centeio to be completely polished at his position in the season opener. What he showed on the field last year didn't excite people, but they were also seeing an injured version of the player, and what ailed him was his throwing hand.

But as a quarterback, all eyes are on you, regardless of where you are in your career, and Centeio is fine with the burden he is required to carry.

"Everybody is leaning on me. I've got to be the guy to make plays for everyone and execute the offense as best I can," he said. "I like that pressure on me. It's raising my level of leadership, raising my level of play. I just want to go out there and be the best representation of a Colorado State football player.

"You've got to embrace it. If you don't, it will eat you up. You embrace it, then you go out there and feed off of it."

What his head coach sees is a young man growing into his role. He has now made nine career starts – not even a full season – and his progression is what has Addazio excited and makes Centeio a bit proud. When he was a backup at Temple, he didn't take many reps. He started to get more at Colorado State, and now being the starter, he gets the abundance of them at practice.

For him, they're starting to add up to better play.

"I think what you're seeing right now is a guy who is starting to play more football and getting better," Addazio said. "That's usually is the case with guys who have ability and work at it hard. I really think (offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach) Jon Budmayr is doing a really great job with him."

Centeio has completed 60.8 percent of his passes this season, good for 1,886 yards and eight touchdowns against just two interceptions. His ability to run has extended plays, but also given the wrinkle of designed runs for him as he stands as the Rams' second-leading rusher with 329 yards and a score.

He's good with the progression and his growth, but he knows there's more in the tank, and each and every thing somebody points out to him as a weakness or a flaw, he works on the remedy.

"I feel like I'm a pretty coachable player. If they tell me I've got to do something, get it right, I want to make sure I get it right for the next day," he said. "I remember two weeks ago I messed something up they tried to correct, and I was mad at myself the next day. So I studied it some more, played it over in my head and ended up getting it right. I pride myself on being coachable, especially at my other school, I didn't get all the reps, so you have to take the tips as they come to you and you have to save them up and apply it to your game.

"That's what it is. From the Tuesday practice to the game, it's a drastic build up. I'm loving the process and I keep trusting it."

Like his teammates always trusted him.

They did, because they took note of what was happening outside the view of the public eye, the plays he was making in practice. Eventually, McCullouch said, he would hit them on game days. He knew this from what he witnessed week by week. His quarterback was getting better with his keys and his ability to read a defense – all the things McCullouch is grateful he doesn't have to consider.

When the outside chatter said Centeio couldn't throw the ball effectively, he scoffed at it as nonsense.

"He's always had this. It was just a matter of when we could translate it to the game field," McCullouch said. "Last year he had his hand injury on his throwing hand. He battled through a lot of injuries last year, so nobody got to see what I saw in practice and preseason. Now everybody is starting to see he can do these things.

"None of the receivers were concerned. We know Toddy. He can throw."

Through all the growing pains for Centeio and the offense as a whole, they were sure of one thing: He was the right guy to lead them through it.

It was the way he carried himself and the way he uplifted others. He worked on his mistakes, and helped others correct theirs. He was who Addazio said he'd be from the start.

"He's been more than a leader," McCullouch said. "He's been like a big brother to all of us. Every day, he's, 'let's go, man in the arena.' He's great. That's all I can say. He's great."

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