Misjudged as a safety at SMU, Courtland Sutton now dominates as a Broncos' receiver, igniting their Super Bowl aspirations.
DALLAS - Courtland Sutton was All-Everything at Brenham High School, a star on both sides of the ball.
But when he arrived as a freshman at SMU, a member of then-coach June Jones convinced the boss that Sutton's body type didn't fit the receiver mold.
So - as incredible as that now seems - the Mustangs put him on special teams and decided that he'd be a safety.
What came of that? I'm told that almost every day at practice, he was making plays on the ball as a DB that no SMU receiver could match.
And shortly, thereafter, Sutton became a receiver - arguably the best in the country, with over the source of his final three seasons at SMU totaling 193 catches and 31 touchdowns.
The Denver Broncos took Sutton at No. 40 in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Fast-forward to this weekend, and the 6-4, 220-pound Sutton figures as a centerpiece when the Buffalo Bills visit Denver in a playoff game.
“It’s a blessing,'' Sutton said of being in the postseason. "I went around the locker room and told everybody congrats because it’s not every day that you get a (No. 1) seed.''
This year, Sutton totaled 74 catches for 1,017 yards and seven TDs for the 14-3 Broncos. ... and if now the Broncos have won their playoff game in OT over QB Josh Allen's Bills in a 33-30 OT thriller?
They'll go to the AFC Championship Game with Sutton as a featured player ... a far cry from when he was once briefly misjudged in an SMU uniform.
“For us to get this win and own the No. 1 seed and have the opportunity to have home-field advantage here at Mile High, it’s going to be a lot of fun,'' he said before the game.
And now the "fun'' in Denver continues.