Buffs LB Van Diest Ready To Roll As CU Set For Opener Vs. CSU
August 27, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado sophomore linebacker Jonathan Van Diest is ready.
Ready to step on the field Friday night at Broncos Stadium at Mile High. Ready to get his first taste of starting as a college player. Ready to get a real taste of the Colorado-Colorado State rivalry.
But most of all, just ready to play. It's been a long road for the redshirt sophomore, but his dedication, work ethic and refusal to accept setbacks are about to pay off.
"Honestly, I don't know what it will be like exactly when I walk out there for the first time," Van Diest said after Tuesday's practice. "It will be a mix of excitement and nerves, but also a feeling of being prepared and ready to play."
The last couple of years haven't been easy for the former Cherry Creek High School star. He redshirted his first year in Boulder (2017), but suffered a torn ACL in November that year, which not only ended that season early, but also forced him to miss 2018 spring ball.
He did return last year, but was still getting back to 100 percent for much of the season. He dressed for 12 games and played in six, mostly on special teams, and his time on defense was limited to 23 snaps in two games.
But Van Diest never quit working. He never even thought about it. Now — even after some momentary setbacks in camp this year — he is ready to enjoy his first college start, set to line up alongside junior Nate Landman at inside linebacker on Friday (8 p.m., ESPN).
"It goes past football," Van Diest said of his determination to return from the knee injury, as well as other less serious injuries. "I think about it in the sense that if I quit, I'm going to be that person who quits when life gets hard. I want to push through in football as my career, but it's also as a way to train myself to be ready for life — a dad, a husband, those things. I want to show everyone that I'm not going to give up."
That attitude has quite clearly caught the eyes of his coaches.
"Jon's a tremendously hard worker," defensive coordinator Tyson Summers said. "Football means a lot to him. Obviously being a Buff means a lot to him as well. Very intelligent guy. I think he's worked every inch of it. He's had some ups and downs through his career and we're excited about seeing him on the upswing of that. Not a harder worker, not a smarter guy, and I think he and Nate play well together, I really do."
Van Diest, a Colorado native, is well-acquainted with the CU-CSU rivalry. He grew up following the series and knows what it means to the state's residents.
"Growing up here, you hear about the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the rivalry between CU and CSU," he said. "All the families from Fort Collins and Boulder and everyone's roots wherever you are from. It's pretty competitive and everyone is choosing a side. It's pretty exciting."
Van Diest did get a small taste of the rivalry last season, playing four defensive snaps in Colorado's 45-13 win. But he's aiming for much more than a taste this time around.
"It's been a long time since I played in a full game," he said. "It's coming together — and I know there's a lot more to go."
PERFECT RECORD VS. RAMS — Not a single player on Colorado's roster has ever played in a loss to Colorado State. The Buffs have won four in a row in the series (their last loss came in 2014), meaning even the fifth-year seniors have a perfect record against CSU.
Friday, CU senior and starting center Tim Lynott will play in his fourth game against the Rams, and he said the win streak is important.
"That's really special to me," Lynott said. "We always talk about how big of a rivalry it is. For me, it's just the next game, but it's honestly also something that's big for me. You never want to lose against them, just like you never want to lose against Nebraska, Air Force, any of those guys. But playing the guys up north, you always want to win. You want to be the big dog in the state. It's definitely big for us."
POSSIBILITY OF RARE 5-0: If the Buffs can get a win Friday, it will mean that CU senior punter Alex Kinney will put himself in a very rare — if not unique — place in CU history.
A win would mean Kinney — a Fort Collins native, by the way — will have played in five wins over the same opponent. He has been the starting punter in each of the last four seasons, each of which produced a win over CSU, and he earned another year of eligibility this season after an injury in 2018 limited him to just four games.
SOLID PRACTICE TUESDAY: The Buffs were in full pads Tuesday morning and put in what head coach Mel Tucker termed a "good day's work."
"I'm really impressed with the focus from our players, just the attention to detail," Tucker said. "Very deliberate about the work that we had to do today. Really good energy. I talked to the guys about taking it one day at a time, their preparation, just looking for improvement. What do I have to do to get better, how can I get better, am I doing it, did I do it yesterday, will I do it tomorrow? And staying neutral in the situation — just taking it one day at a time, one moment at a time, figuring out what do I have to do to play well."
The Buffs spent most of the morning continuing to work on their game plan installation. That meant working against the multiple-look offense they expect to see from the Rams as well as getting a look at CSU's 4-3 defense from the CU scout team.
"I feel like the game plan is unfolding and guys are really starting to really have a good understanding of what they need to do in the plan and then what our opponents are going to do and what we've seen them do," Tucker said. "That's been really good."
COACHES SHOW: Tucker will make his debut Thursday with his weekly radio show, "Buffs Prime Time With Mel Tucker."
The show will originate from the Post Brewing Co. in Boulder (2027 13th St.) from 12:30-1:30 p.m, with fans encouraged to attend. The show will be hosted by Mark Johnson and it will air on the CU Football Radio Network that evening beginning at 7 p.m.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
