With three top players departing after their senior seasons in 2016, there certainly will be added pressure on Colorado Mesa University's offensive line in 2017 to open holes for new runners and protect a new passer.
Looking to defend their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference crown, Grand Junction-based CMU is already addressing that need and last Wednesday afternoon scored a commitment from Bayfield High School's burliest beast, senior center and nose guard Sam Westbrook.
"Well I decided on Mesa because, first off, its football program," he said at a ceremony held inside the BHS gym. "This last year they actually won their conference, which was impressive to me and attracted me." He noted interest had also come from RMAC members Fort Lewis College and CSU-Pueblo (the 2014 NCAA Division II National Champion).
"We went up to watch one of their football games this fall," he said. "I got there, and halftime had just started. The band was playing, the stands were packed full on both sides and they were all Maverick fans. It was loud, a great atmosphere; the community supported the football program a lot."
"I'm totally excited, completely excited about this," father Mark Westbrook said. "We're very proud of him; he's worked very hard to get where he is. I think he'll excel at the next level."
BHS Head Coach Gary Heide is proud, as well.
"When it all first started, I knew he wanted to stay somewhat close to home," Heide said. "And we didn't know how that would work out - he was in control of that, of course - to play Division II or a higher division. He had always talked about CMU, liking that school just in general. Then as the process went forward, he ended up going to CMU and I'm really excited because I know that was kind of his goal to begin with!"
Westbrook said he was offered a scholarship, "and I learned of their criminal justice program, which I did not know of until the visit. That definitely interested me a lot."
"I met their coaches, all their coaches, and they're all a bunch of really good people," he continued. "I got to hang out with their players one of the nights I was up there; they're pretty cool guys too. So I think it will be pretty good."
"He's a multi-sport athlete, which I think is a great thing," said CMU Head Coach Russ Martin, "and I think his top end is going to be huge."
The Mavericks had a 9-3 overall (8-2 RMAC) season last fall, including a finalizing loss at #8-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce in the D-II Playoffs' first round. During the season, CMU gained 2,893 net rushing yards with 35 touchdowns, along with 3,155 yards passing and another 20 touchdowns, against 12 total interceptions and only 26 sacks.
On Oct. 29, 2016, at New Mexico Highlands University, CMU set RMAC single-game records with 10 rushing and 12 total TD, 708 rushing yards and 933 yards of offense in an 87-14 destruction of the Cowboys.
Mesa has numbers any college-hopeful lineman could appreciate and wish to at least approximate, particularly with a position coach such as Mike Chavez
Chavez has mentored New England guard and Super Bowl XLIX winner Dan Connolly, listed as a Westbrook-comparable 6'4", 305 pounds.
"Those are actually the main two that I have talked to through this entire endeavor," said Westbrook. "I really like Coach Martin; he's a man of his word, seems like an honest guy and I really like that about him. And Coach Chavez, he seems really stern but he obviously has experience to back it up. I think it's going to be a really good ride."
"They are actually recruiting, as I've heard so far, at least three to four other linemen as well. But all they've told me is they're putting me on the O-line, and they want me to be flexible and play pretty much anywhere, any position, they could put me in."
Heide and others don't foresee that to be a problem.
"I remember at CSU-Pueblo this summer, at some point where their group of linemen were practicing, I looked at Sam and I thought, 'Sam could go right in there and fit right in with those fellows right now,'" recalled the Wolverines' coach. "Sam's a guy that could go in with a group of people and come out on top just because of his work ethic. And his family support, his background and mentality, a workhorse-a guy that will just go there and work and work and work, and outwork his competition for position."
Bayfield line coach Frank Hawkins said, "it was fun to watch him move so quick, get better and better; he's always had the heart, motor and athletic ability. I was thinking D-I, but I'm happy that he's here, you know, playing close to home."
BHS Defensive Coordinator Mike Wnorowski agreed Westbrook's work ethic will serve him well at CMU.
"Attitude, determination, footwork, length, good hands, speed," Wnorowski said. "Hash mark to hash mark, sideline to sideline, he's going full speed, running down quarterbacks when they're rolling out. That's irreplaceable and almost un-teachable in somebody with his size. But it was more about his belief in what he could do and his determination. And he was not going to lose - that was his attitude."
"I think the future for him is unlimited as far as what he can attain," Heide said. "I can only imagine what Sam Westbrook will look like a year and a half from now!"
"I am really excited," said Westbrook. "I've come a long ways, but I still have a long ways to go, and I am excited to see just how far I can push myself, how far I can develop."
Colorado Mesa's 2017 season opens Aug. 31 at home versus Western State Colorado University out of Gunnison. The Mavericks then visit Chadron State in Nebraska on Sept. 9 before returning to host Colorado School of Mines on the 16th and FLC, including a few former Bayfield teammates, on the 23rd.
"I've never played against them," Westbrook said. "I've always played with them ever since we were little kids, you know? They were always a year ahead of me, but I played with them in a lot of my sports," Westbrook said. "But it'll be interesting and it'll be fun to play against them for the first time."
