It often happens that when a sportsman plays well in games, we, as fans shower them with our love. While we forget the key element of their journey, the athlete we are going crazy about was once a clueless kid who was full of dreams but had a lack of direction. And that’s when the real heroes come. The coach has an impact on the player’s life even when they are out of the field.

One such great coach is Phil Loadholt, who aims to “guide greatness one athlete at a time.“ The now-Colorado‘s offensive line coach hails from Honolulu, Hawaii, and like the young kids he teaches today, he was also an aspirational football player back in his day. From knowing very little about the game to turning into a coach himself, his story must be an inspirational one.

What does Phil say about coaching the CU?

His happiness is reflected in what he says and he’s also thankful for the opportunity to be part of a team led by Deion Sanders.

Later, he mentioned the role of his fellow coaches, and he said, “I was fired up about it. You know, being in an analyst role, I got to work with some great coaches. I learned a lot from those guys and was able to pick something from each one of them, so I’m excited to do it.” There, he was talking about his Oklahoma staff. Such an amazing man who has a full work ethic and knows how to credit his fellow staff. That’s the storyline of him joining the CU and what he was doing before that, but the main part of the story is yet to come, as he was heroic during the days when he used to rock the gridiron.

Thriving days of Loadholt at the NFL 

It was an era of success for Phil Loadholt from 2009 to 2015 when the great coach was playing in the NFL. As a rookie, he appeared in 15 games and was honored among the NFL all-rookie team. Helped the Vikings rank fifth in total offense. He played consistently all these years, most notably in 2013, when he contributed to the Vikings’ rushing attack, ranking eighth in the NFL. 

After that, he never looked back. When the year 2014 came, he was recognized as one of the highest-rated offensive tackles. That happened after he sturdily played the offensive line, which resulted in no sacks in the opening season against the Rams. Loadholt got injured during many games; one of them was a torn Achilles tendon in 2015, which sidelined him for the season and led to his retirement in 2016. What a man, and what glorious days he has seen! Now it’s time to pass the torch to the new faces of the game, and everyone believes in him, including Coach Prime.