Former Pueblo County standout Jonah Stupar a fixture in CSU Pueblo offensive line at center

Jonah Stupar vividly remembers the moment he felt he belonged in college football as a member of the Colorado State University Pueblo football team.

"It was my first couple days practicing in full pads," he recalled about his freshman season. "I was going up against a (defensive) guy named Deyon Sizer, who played in the NFL. 

"I didn't beat him often. One play. I don't know if you can call it a win, but I didn't get beat. It was a stalemate and I thought maybe I can do this.

"From there, the confidence just built. Having more confidence as a player and my ability. I was a big strong guy and once you know what you are doing, just go out there and do it. I'd say that first play against Deon was when I knew I could do it."

Stupar has been in the program since 2017 when he redshirted after a stellar career at Pueblo County High School, where he was a two-time all-South-Central League selection. He made the all-Chieftain team and was named all-state honorable mention his senior season.

He played in 10 games as a redshirt freshman at CSU Pueblo in 2018 and in 2019 moved into the starting lineup at offensive guard, where he was an all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference second-team selection. He also was named to the NFFCC all-Colorado honorable mention team that season. 

There was no season in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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This season as a junior, Stupar has been moved to center, and that's been a transition.

"Inside interior o-line is interior o-line," he said about the change. "You have to be physical, you can't make anything look pretty. You have to be a big pig in the middle."

"The transition of snapping the ball, you have to get used to that. The nice thing is all the plays go hand in hand so if you understand the playbook at guard, you can play anywhere in the line."

Playing center comes with more responsibility as he's the leader in the middle and looked upon to make the offensive line calls.

"I like to say I'm the captain of the offensive line," he said. "I'm sure I'll have some guys who will disagree with me. You are calling out fronts, calling out blocking schemes. That's the way we do it."

Stupar talks about the journey of how a hometown kid has made good on his football potential at the local university.

"I think a lot of people take for granted how hard it is to play here," Stupar said. "They see Division II and maybe they don't think of it as highly (competitive). You come in here and stack up against all these guys and you realize you have to be a player to play here.

"Being a hometown guy, the greatest gift I have is having my parents watch every game. I'm lucky enough being one of those guys from the time I was a little kid they always came to watch me. Giving them that opportunity to see me play, I enjoy that, it's something I can give back to them.

"Being a Pueblo guy, I enjoy it. Some people may say, 'why didn't you go somewhere else?' But I love Pueblo. I've lived here my entire life. It's what I know, what I enjoy. I don't regret it at all."

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Pack head coach John Wristen has nothing but praise for Stupar and his work ethic to go from redshirt freshman to starter.

"He's a guy who just goes to work, is physical, a guy you can count on, doesn't say 'boo'," he said. "Just puts his head down and has really developed into an elite offensive lineman. I just love his attitude."

Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky