Steve Atwater

Growing up in Hawaii, his dream was to play football at Notre Dame like his dad. That dream was crushed when the Irish sent him a rejection letter. Brian Cabral then turned to a school where he would spend decades of his life.

He was a stellar linebacker and team captain for the University of Colorado. Nearly 50 years after he played, Brian’s name is still on the top 20 list of the Buffs all-time tacklers. A list that also includes 10 names he would eventually coach.

After graduating from CU, Brian was a 4th round draft pick. During his first few seasons, he dealt with injury, a trade and being cut. After he was released from the Packers, he thought he was done, but a higher power did not. On his drive to Boulder from Wisconsin, Brian prayed and left his future in God’s hands. When he pulled into his driveway, his wife Becky ran out to tell him the Bears had been calling. After six seasons in Chicago, and a Super Bowl championship, Brian retired and went into coaching.

Bill McCartney brought him to CU on as a Graduate Assistant and he quickly became a linebacker’s coach. Coach Cabral’s ability to connect with players was undeniable: he remained on the Buffs coaching staff through FIVE head coaches. He was also an interim head coach twice and felt he was ready to lead his alma mater. When that opportunity went elsewhere, Coach Cabral left Boulder for a few years. A few years after he returned, the CU Athletic Department reached out and created a position for him as a Character Coach. Today he works with all CU student athletes and loves being back with the Black and Gold.

His small Ohio town didn’t offer football until the 9th grade. Because of that, Randy Gradishar fancied himself more as a basketball player because he’d spent far more time on the court than the gridiron. Thankfully college coaches didn’t feel the same way.

Randy was courted by a number of colleges, which caught him off guard because he had never planned on attending college. His parents couldn’t afford it and he figured he would start working after high school like everyone else he knew. Instead, Woody Hayes connected with Randy and as importantly, his father and off he went to Ohio State.

His success as a Buckeye caught the eye of NFL Scouts, so much so that he was the 14th overall pick by the Brocos in 1974. Being his unassuming self, Randy didn’t know he was a first rounder or even where Colorado was, he just knew he needed to get to Denver after head coach John Ralston called him.

His 10-year NFL career in Denver was spent immersed in the Orange Crush Defense, multiple Pro-Bowls, a Super Bowl appearance, NFL Defensive Player of the Year and much more. So much more that after 35 years of retirement from the game, he was finally voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

His heritage in Colorado dates back five generations. So, it made sense when Mike Newell graduated from Littleton High School that he wanted to stay in Colorado despite football scholarships from many other schools.

He quickly became Colorado State’s starting center and along with being part of an offensive line that did not allow a sack for two straight seasons and a Holiday Bowl win over Missouri, Mike racked up a number of impressive accolades. He was eventually inducted into the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Along with Mike’s great play, came some injuries, including a misdiagnosed back injury his senior season. Mike needed surgery and instead of going to the Senior Bowl and NFL combine, he went under the knife. Thankfully, the pain was gone after surgery, but a tough physical and mental road laid ahead as an undrafted free agent in the NFL.

Over the course of 5 seasons, Mike was with the Packers, NFL Europe, Rams and Texans. The grind was real, and yet he never played a down in a regular season NFL game. When his career was over, he was relieved.

Today, Mike still lives in Colorado, is an elementary school PE teacher and father to three very active teens. He continues to support the Rams and barely recognizes the guy who used to play center for CSU.

From a very young age, Colorado native Ben Garland knew he wanted to attend the Air Force Academy. He researched what the Academy wanted in a cadet and joined countless clubs to show his dedication to service and community. He also played some impressive football at Central High School in Grand Junction. Ben lettered all four years and was first team All-State his senior season.

He had full ride offers to several schools, including the Academy, but stayed with his goal and went for the grind in Colorado Springs. The days were tough between practice, marching, drills and an intense curriculum, but Ben loved it. He started 34 of 39 games as a Falcon and got noticed by NFL Scouts.

Ben was hoping to get drafted and applied for a deferment for his required active duty. He was denied and his draft stock fell. The Broncos still brought him in as an undrafted free agent and placed him on military reserve. After Ben served his 2-year commitment, he returned to the NFL and played for 11 seasons with the Broncos, Falcons and 49’ers.

These days, philanthropy is at the core of Ben’s world with his latest venture being The Hero App, which helps non-profits fulfill their needs.

One grew up in Colorado, the other in Illinois. Two redheaded offensive lineman. Both received $2500 scholarships to play Division II football. Ryan Jensen headed south to CSU-Pueblo and Garrett Gilkey played for Chadron State. Their schools were in the RMAC and they quickly learned about one another.

The competition grew between the two, especially as Ryan and Garrett began getting noticed by national D2 publications and NFL Scouts. It continued after college: Garrett was invited to the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine and in the 2013 Draft, Ryan was picked one round ahead of Garrett. They still jab each other about it.

Their pro careers eventually led both to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Garrett was out of the league and getting his MBA as Ryan was getting a mega contract with the Bucs, being Tom Brady’s center and winning a Super Bowl. They stayed in touch and when Ryan was looking to build a house on some land in Colorado, he contacted Garrett to help with the process. Now the two are in business together with Gilk.

Being a college football coach is all Mike Sanford has ever known. After all, his father, Mike Sanford Sr., was a college coach before Mike was even born.

Not only did Mike grow up moving from city to city with his father’s career, when he went to Boise State, he was the backup quarterback where he got used to a headset and clipboard. He didn’t mind either one, in fact he loved it.

As soon as Mike graduated, he got on as a GA with his dad’s staff at UNLV. He didn’t stick to Mike Sr.’s tree for long. His career took to him to stops with Standford (twice), Yale, Western Kentucky (twice), Boise St, Notre Dame, Utah State, Minnesota and finally the University of Colorado. He was hired to be the Offensive Coordinator for Karl Dorrell in 2022, but when Karl got fired after an 0-5 start, he became the interim head coach.

When he wasn’t retained by the new staff at CU, Mike and his family decided to grow some roots in Colorado and give coaching a break. He’s taken time to reflect and is starting to find a new passion for being on radio and TV as an analyst.

SPECIAL EDITION: CTFR episodes are typically with athletes and coaches from the past. This episode contains Susie Wargin’s pregame features from the Broncos Radio Network with Broncos players from the 2023 season. Each feature has a topical theme with multiple players putting aside the X’s and O’s to have fun and shed light on their past, causes close to their heart and teammates.

Thank you to Alan Jackson for producing all of these features and being our amazing producer for Broncos games. Enjoy!

His high school is known for having one of the best programs in the nation and producing more NCAA and NFL players than any other high school. Needless to say, there were no “off” days for Jimmy Spencer at Glades Central in Florida, which was fine because Jimmy knew he wanted to play in the NFL since he was 7.

He had his choices of colleges and was being looked at as simply an athlete. He played quarterback at Glades Central, but his speed caught the eye of scouts. Jimmy opted for the University of Florida and skipped his senior season to enter the NFL Draft.

The Washington Redskins took Jimmy in the 8th round and he spent his rookie season on the practice squad. The next season, he was with the Saints, where he was taught technique and thrived at defensive back. He also thrived at having too much fun and when he was given a chance to re-sign in the Big Easy, he credits God for showing him a different path. He took an offer with the Bengals instead.

After Cincinnati, he went to the Chargers, then finished his career with the Broncos for three years, including the final year serving as a player/coach, something that hadn’t been done since 1972. These days he’s a husband and dad to four and coaches one of his sons at Cherry Creek High School.

He’s the only person who played high school, college and professional baseball in the state of Colorado. After graduating from Northglenn High School, a suburb north of Denver, Mark Knudson went straight up I-25 to Colorado State University where he majored in journalism and pitched for a baseball program that was dissolved a decade after Mark left for the pros.

Mark was drafted by the Astros in 1982 and credits his college ball for giving him a fast track to the majors: he debuted in single A and just 3 years later, he made his MLB debut. In 1986, Mark was traded to the Brewers which stung, but he made the most of it and became their Opening Day starter in 1991. Unfortunately, the next day he came down with a virus and was never the same that year. He was sent to their AAA team (the Denver Zephyrs) where he helped win a championship and then was released when the Brewers weren’t going to bring him back to the show.

Mark kept a home in the Denver area while he was playing and in the early 90’s was “enlisted” to be a spokesperson to help bring Major League Baseball to Denver. In his final year in the pros, Mark played for that team and was the first Colorado born player to be on the Rockies roster.

The day after Mark retired, his wife had triplets and they would later add another daughter. In retirement, he’s worked in numerous mediums in journalism and continues to do so between writing, radio and podcasting. He’s also a high school baseball coach for Prospect Ridge Academy in Broomfield.

He moved from Ghana to the United States when he was 7. Ebenezer Ekuban didn’t know anything about football and had no aspirations of playing the game because he was focused on academics. When his father told him he needed to do something outside of school, Ebenezer decided to try football his junior year of high school. He became a quick learner on both sides of the ball, playing tight end and defensive end and after just two years of high school ball, he turned some heads and had a number of offers to play in college.

He opted for the University of North Carolina where he played tight end sparingly for two years, then was switched to defensive end and thrived. So much so, the Dallas Cowboys moved up to draft him in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft. At that point, Ebenezer became the first Ghana born player in the NFL.

Injuries crept in during his 5 years in Dallas and he dealt with three different head coaches, including Bill Parcells. It didn’t take long for Eb to realize he wasn’t a “Parcells Guy.” He signed with the Browns as a free agent and then the next season was traded to the Broncos where he fell in love with Denver. After 10 years in the NFL, Ebenezer and his wife Karen made their home in the Mile High City where they are raising four children.