Mike Pagnotta

Height:
6-0
Weight:
198
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Cave Junction, Ore.
High School:
Illinois Valley

Mike Pagnotta returned to the CSU football program prior to 2011 spring practice and continues his first full season on the Rams[apos] staff as a quality-control defensive assistant.

CSU[apos]s all-heart starting strong safety for three years (2006-08), Pagnotta likely would have been a 2008 all-conference selection until shoulder surgery seemingly ended his college career, but he made a recovery that shocked team physicians and started the New Mexico Bowl to conclude a remarkable CSU tenure.

Pagnotta, 25, played running back, quarterback and defensive back at Illinois Valley High School in Cave Junction, Ore. A three-time letterwinner in football, he was a two-time all-state performer, team captain and team MVP. He also competed in wrestling and track (4x100, 4x400, long jump, triple jump) and earned his league[apos]s 2003 Wrestler of the Year award.

Born in Palm Springs, Calif., he graduated from CSU with a history degree in December 2008, on the same day he returned to action in the New Mexico Bowl.

Following graduation, he worked for San Diego-based Global Leadership Adventures, which sent him to Africa to help with orphanages and schools, in addition to building soccer fields.

He spent the fall of 2010 coaching defensive backs at La Miranda (Calif.) High School.