CSU Coach On Stevens Pushing For Broncos QB Spot: 'No Question'

By Zack Kelberman

(247 SPORTS) - Not that we'd expect anything otherwise, but Nick Stevens received an endorsement from his college coach.

In an interview with 104.3 The Fan on Thursday, Colorado State head man Mike Bobo praised the new Denver Broncos quarterback, saying he feels Stevens can stick as a backup.

"There's no question," said Bobo.

Stevens walked into an untenable situation for CSU, replacing all-time leader passer Garrett Grayson in 2015. But he was productive during his three starting seasons with the Rams, earning second-team All-Mountain West honors as a sophomore and a first-team All-Mountain West nod as a senior in 2017. All told, he completed 638 of 1031 career passes (61.9 percent) for 8,554 yards, 70 touchdowns and 27 interceptions -- good for a passer rating of 148.7.

He was a good player on the field and a better man off it, widely respected by teammates and coaches alike.

"[Stevens] was an absolute joy to coach," said Bobo.

Despite possessing intelligence, natural leadership ability and plus accuracy, Stevens went undrafted due to lackluster arm strength and concerns over his 215-pound frame. He attended rookie minicamps in Washington and Green Bay before signing an undisclosed deal with the Broncos.

"He lacks the build and arm talent of a draftable quarterback, but he does check the accuracy box. He should make it into a camp where he has an outside shot of landing a QB3 spot if he finds the perfect fit," his NFL.com scouting report reads.

His addition to Denver's QB room comes as a surprise after general manager John Elway said he doesn't anticipate bringing in a fourth arm behind starter Case Keenum, and backups Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly, both of whom are competing for No. 2 duties.

"With Paxton, we still think he is young. We are not kicking him to the curb," Elway said following last month's draft. "He can still develop. When we drafted him two years ago, as I said, we knew it was going to take some time. Paxton is going to compete with [QB] Chad [Kelly] for that backup spot. We are not going to bring another one in for OTAs. We will take a peek at that. It will be those two and [QB] Case [Keenum]. We are going to OTAs with those guys and go from there."

The Broncos are scheduled to hold Organized Team on May 22-24, May 29-31 and June 4-7. A mandatory three-day minicamp then takes place from June 12-14, and training camp kicks off in late July.

Barring a stunning development, Stevens will be little more than depth on the 90-man offseason roster, as the club likely won't carry four signal-callers into the regular season.

But Bobo knows first-hand what they're getting, for however long they have him.

"You'll find a guy who's going to come out and compete every day," he said.