AT COLORADO: This Season (Jr.)-He solidified his hold on the starting spot at center with an excellent spring, and enters the fall firmly entrenched atop the depth chart.  He is one of 51 players on the official watch list for the Rimington Award, which is presented to the nation's most outstanding center.

2011 (Soph.)-He saw action in all 13 games at center, starting the last 10 after splitting time with Daniel Munyer to open the season.  He played 613 snaps from scrimmage, grading out to 81.6 percent on the year (exactly 500 plus plays); he had 14 great effort blocks, a team-high four direct touchdown blocks, and allowed just one quarterback sack and only two pressures.  His top game grade was 90.1 percent versus Arizona, one of six games where he graded out at 80 percent or higher.  He had entered the fall listed third at center, but quickly ascended into co-first team status by the start of the season after a great fall camp.  He ended spring ball at around 270 pounds, down 20 or so from the fall, but regained the weight by midsummer and played around 290 during the season.

2010 (Fr.-RS)-Did not see any action, but dressed for eight games (all six in Boulder, Colorado State in Denver and the Oklahoma game in Norman).

2009 (Fr.)-Redshirted; practiced the entire fall on the offensive line.

HIGH SCHOOL-He earned mention on Prep Star's All-Midwest Region squad and was ranked the No. 29 player from the state of Illinois by Rivals.com, coming in as the No. 7 offensive lineman on that list.  ESPN ranked him as the No. 52 offensive tackle in the country.  Projected as a center in college, lettered twice as an offensive tackle at Barrington High School under coach Joe Sanchez. His senior season, he was named first-team All-State by the Champaign News-Gazette and the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association, second-team All-State by the Chicago Tribune and All-Area by the Chicago Sun-Times.  He also earned first-team All-Mid-Suburban Conference honors and was named to the Great Northwest 2008 Football offensive squad by the Pioneer Press.  Barrington compiled a 9-3 record his senior year and he played in and started every game and also played every snap on offense.  He lists his most memorable games against Libertyville his senior season where Barrington won 21-14 to open the season and christen a new stadium.  He was named the team's offensive player of the week against Rolling Meadows in the second game of his senior season, a 20-13 win.  As a junior, started at offensive tackle for the 5-4 Broncos and played every snap on offense.  He earned the team's offensive player of the week honor against Conant in a 28-6 victory his junior season.  He also played on special teams on the kickoff return unit and hands team both his junior and senior seasons and occasionally saw action on the punt team, as well.  Also an honorable mention all-area performer in baseball, lettering four times; as a junior, he batted .330 and had 10 home runs and 30 runs batted in playing first base, third base and outfield.   

ACADEMICS-He is majoring in History at Colorado.  He made the high school honor roll each of his eight semesters as a prep, when he earned academic all-league honors in both football and baseball.

PERSONAL-He was born July 8, 1991 in Barrington, Ill.  Hobbies include producing and listening to music, working out and collecting Jordans.  His father, Fritz, played both football (nose guard) and baseball (1B, P) at Valparaiso.  A younger brother, Sam, is a freshman wide receiver at UCLA.  His uncle, Kurt Handler, played football at Ohio Northern and another uncle, Eric Handler, played football at Gettysburg (Pa.) and is the vice president of communications for the YES Network, which covers the New York Yankees and New Jersey Nets.  A cousin, Reid Handler, played baseball (pitcher) at Meridian CC and Keystone College.  One grandfather, Fred Handler, was the baseball coach from 1958 through 1982 at St. Bonaventure, where he was also an assistant basketball coach (1958-74); his other grandfather (mother's side) played basketball at Carnegie Mellon.