At fourth position in four years, local kid lives his dream with Boise State football

When he grew up watching Boise State football games near the south end zone of Albertsons Stadium with his family, Garrett Collingham would imagine himself being a Bronco one day.

After graduating from Mountain View High, that became a reality when he joined the team as a walk-on three years ago. But like so many kids in those stands over the years, there was one thing he visualized more than any other — and it happened last Friday night.

Collingham scored his first career touchdown on a 4-yard run in the third quarter against Colorado State, and he did it in the south end zone, not far from those seats he sat in growing up.

“It was a dream come true, to be honest, always dreamed of it growing up, watching over there in the stands, (thinking) ‘I want to score on the Blue,’ ” Collingham said.

The touchdown would have been cathartic enough, playing in his 28th game in his fourth season with the program, facing the grind of a walk-on every step of the way.

But considering that tight end is his fourth position — not including his occasional scout-team appearance at punter — finally finding a place where he can thrive made the moment mean more.

“You go to each position thinking, ‘How can I get on the field?’ ” Collingham said. “I had multiple people in my ear saying ‘I would have transferred by now,’ but I wanted to stay here, find my spot. A big part of it was I knew I could do it, and do it at Boise State. I wasn’t going to be a quitter, I was going to stick it out.”

The 6-foot-4, 229-pound Collingham took Mountain View to its first state championship appearance in 2014, throwing for 1,655 yards and rushing for 958 that season, accounting for 23 touchdowns. He spent his redshirt year at quarterback, but fellow freshman Brett Rypien emerged as the starter.

Collingham moved to wide receiver in 2016, a solid fit for his size, but the position was fairly deep. So, he moved to defense and played outside linebacker last year. Again, he had some talent in front of him, while continuing to be a special teams contributor. But there was one spot he seemed to fit, and it finally happened this spring.

“I’ve wanted to see him at tight end for a while. I always felt he had the frame and athleticism,” Rypien said.

Said senior wide receiver A.J. Richardson: “I’m actually really happy for Garrett. When he left the wide receiver room and went to the defense, it was kind of questionable. We’d always hint to him: ‘What about tight end? You’d be a cold tight end.’ ”

The tight ends haven’t been used a ton this season, but Collingham has three of his four receptions the last two games, including a 26-yard pass from Rypien on a third-and-20 against Colorado State.

So, that begs the question — what took so long?

Tight ends coach Kent Riddle noted that Collingham came into the program at 200 pounds, and his athleticism was useful. Collingham said working multiple positions has let him have a unique perspective of how a quarterback thinks, how routes are run, and what a defense is trying to accomplish.

“What’s impressed me is his willingness to work,” Riddle said. “... It was something we were counting on. We needed that from him.”

At Mountain View, Collingham also played receiver, kicked and punted in addition to playing quarterback. Moving from one of the state’s best players to a walk-on just finding his way onto the field “was tough on him,” his older brother, Kade Kalivas said. But it all led to a moment like that touchdown on the end-around.

“It was a long time coming, but after all he did to get to that point, you just have to think it was well worth it,” Kalivas said.

Collingham showed as a youth that he had the maturity to put in the effort and the willingness to move around the field. That attitude was fostered growing up as the youngest kid in the family, he said.

“My friends and I would of course pick on him a bit, because he was five-and-a-half years younger,” Kalivas said. “He hit this growth spurt in high school, then we started to regret that a little bit. Then it was like hanging out with a kid my age. You’d see him throw our 240-pound dad into the pool and think, ‘Yeah, I’m done bothering him.’ ”

It would seem moving a player around so much is a condemnation of his abilities, that the staff doesn’t know what to do with him, but beyond Collingham’s own work ethic, there’s a reason he’s still around — the coaches knew he could play, somewhere.

“That kid works his butt off ... a lot of people don’t understand, being that versatile on a Division I team, it’s hard to come by,” senior defensive end Durrant Miles said. “I’m glad he’s found his home.”

Said Collingham: “It’s been a journey, but I know it’s pretty unique, and I’m proud of that.”

Settled in, Collingham is excited to have another year and a half to grow in his position. His progress in just six games at the position has the Broncos just as happy.

“To see that pay off for him, it has been awesome. Perseverance — he could’ve given up the first time, he could’ve given up the second time,” Riddle said. “But he just kept going and going and going, knowing that somewhere ‘there’s a way I can contribute here.’ ”

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH GARRETT COLLINGHAM

What music gets you ready to play?

“Pre-game, on the bus ride to the stadium, I listen to some EDM (Electronic Dance Music), doesn’t get me juiced up too soon. Right before the game, though, rap always gets me going.”

If you could time travel to any event, what would it be?

“I’d say the (1992) Olympics to see the original Dream Team. That must have been amazing to see. I’ve become a pretty big basketball fan, really a big fan of LeBron James.”

You have a Boise tattoo on your left arm. What’s the best thing about it here?

“The people, and the amount of stuff you can do. Some might say there’s not that much, but if you just go outside, there’s so much. It’s a half-hour to Lucky Peak, two hours to Lake Cascade in the summer, less than two hours in the winter to ski or snowmobile.”

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?

“Being told you’re not good enough to play the position you want to play. It hits hard, but makes you work harder.”

If there’s a food you couldn’t live without, what would it be?

“You can’t go wrong with Mexican food. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life. They do breakfast, lunch and dinner well, so there’s always something good.”

[Related: Sports Pass subscription offers a year of sports coverage for $30; The 208 Podcast features Dave Southorn]

BOISE STATE AT AIR FORCE

When: 5 p.m. Saturday

Where: Falcon Stadium (46,692; FieldTurf)

TV: CBS Sports Network (Rich Waltz, Steve Beuerlein, Cassie McKinney); Cable One ch. 139/1139, DirecTV ch. 221, Dish Network ch. 158

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: BSU 5-2, 3-1 (won 56-28 over Colorado State on Friday); Air Force 3-4, 1-3 (won 41-35 at UNLV on Friday)

Series: Tied 3-3 (Boise State won 44-19 on Nov. 18, 2017, in Boise last meeting)

Vegas line: Boise State by 9 1/2

Weather: High 60s, clear