Durango star QB Woolverton bets on himself as CU preferred walk-on
BOULDER, Colo. (BVM) — As a Class 3A football program, Durango High School doesn’t play the highest level of competition in Colorado. That’s undoubtedly one of the reasons why the top quarterback in 3A was somewhat overlooked by Division I colleges.
“It’s tough for a [college] coach to really know what I can do,” said Jordan Woolverton, the CHSAA Class 3A Player of the Year who led the Demons to an 8-0 season and their first state title in 66 years last month.
Woolverton has been Durango’s starting quarterback since midway through his freshman year. Over three and a half seasons, he completed 70% of his passes while racking up 5,535 yards and 59 touchdowns and throwing only nine interceptions in 39 games. He also ran for 1,635 yards and 28 TDs as a hard-nosed, dual-threat QB.
“He’s what I call a football player,” Durango head coach David Vogt said. “He’s tough as nails. He never runs out of bounds and always runs people over, which makes him super dangerous because he’s also smart and he can throw the ball. Just being in our system for four years and starting for four years has really enabled him to grow as a football player.”
Woolverton’s performance earned him scholarship offers from some of the top Division II college programs, but he turned all of those down to follow his dream: a chance to play for the University of Colorado. While the Buffaloes couldn’t offer Woolverton a scholarship, they did present him with an opportunity to earn a scholarship with CU as a preferred walk-on. And it was a chance he couldn’t pass up.
“It’s been a dream of mine to play for the University of Colorado since I was a little kid,” Woolverton said. “I think you could talk to anyone in my family and they could tell you I’ve been talking about the Buffs for a long time, just wanting to play for them… It was a full family decision and we felt that I could go up there and show them what I could do. I’m super happy with where I’m at and I’m stoked to get up there and get to work.”
And Woolverton knows how much work is ahead of him at CU where he’ll be competing with QBs who already hold scholarships with the Buffaloes. But Woolverton isn’t lacking confidence in himself, nor is he one to shy away from a challenge. And he’s ready to prove himself in Boulder.
“Every level I’ve played I’ve had to prove myself,” Woolverton said. “I know what I can do and I’m super stoked to get up there and show what I can do. It’s going to be a learning experience for sure. I’m excited to get to work with some other guys of that caliber too that have scholarships. They’re going to be very good and I’m going to be able to learn so much from my peers and fellow quarterbacks up there along with (quarterbacks) Coach (Danny) Langsdorf and (head) Coach (Karl) Dorrell. I’m super excited to get up there.”
