This story originally appeared in Mile High Sports Magazine. Read the full digital edition.
Each month Mile High Sports Magazine sits down with an important figure in Colorado sports. For January, Doug Ottewill spoke with CU senior quarterback and captain Sefo Liufau. Here’s what Liufau had to say about his historic senior season and more…
I think we’ve done a lot for this program and we’ve really turned it around. We are in a better spot than before. Every game mattered this year.
I think a lot of people won’t understand how much effort, time, and the details you have to focus on. I don’t think they’ll appreciate it, or they’ll ever understand it. I’ve been in this process of this for a long time now and a lot of it comes from behind the scenes with the coaches and players and all of the work they did to produce a season like this. People only get to see us on Saturday or a Thursday. They get to see the finished product, but we’ve been working tirelessly year-round to put ourselves in that position. That’s what people will never see, or understand for that matter.
[Success] was few and far between in my first three years. It was really frustrating, but we were confident [we had] a little improvement every day, or every couple of weeks. All we could hope is that something could change before I was gone. To be able to finish like this was night and day to what we were used to.I started [to think we could be good this year] at the summer workouts in June or July. We were running sprints up and down the field and we ran a few extra, because someone missed a line or something small like that. Just to see people pick each other up like that and pushing, and everyone being okay with that – that really showed the maturity of the team and how much we grew. In fall camp, seeing the progress of the team in all phases it just showed us that we could be something really special.
[Sefo the senior] is a little more calm [than Sefo the sophomore]. There have been a lot of different scenarios this year that really could’ve put a hole in the team, and just be able to stay calm – there were a couple times where I was frustrated with how things were going – but I stay calm and rally the guys and lead by example, and if you have to, really get into guys and get them focused and going. That’s something that “Sophomore Sefo” wasn’t going to do; he was really quiet.I don’t have a single personal highlight; the season as a whole is the highlight. Because in my mind, I really wasn’t supposed to be here. I think that I was pretty lucky, fortunate and blessed to be able to play after breaking my foot. It’s all been a roller coaster and gone by so fast, so I think that the whole year is the highlight and I’m just so thankful to be a part of it.
Maturity helps a lot, everyone being calm and being able to get close when times get tough.
I don’t really like playing the “what if” games. I wish I could have finished those games. I wish I wouldn’t have gotten hurt [against Michigan and Washington], but things happen. You just have to be able to learn and grow from it.
[Offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini impacted me] a lot. Just to be able to always be honest with me; he never let me settle. I think he really pushed me to be as good as I was this year.I have a very good relationship with Steven Montez. The sky is the limit [for him]. We’re basically the same quarterback, and I think he has a little more room for more improvement. I think they should be really excited. There are a lot of good guys on offense, a lot of guys returning. Were going to have a lot of receivers back – a lot of weapons – so next year should be exciting.
My “senior advice” for Steven would be just lead the guys and do your job. I think that is the biggest thing. I think a lot of times quarterbacks try and do something and try to win everything with one play. Just go out there and do your job and just get the ball out to the playmakers. It’s the biggest thing and the biggest focus for the quarterbacks.
[Heading into a bowl game] you’re definitely still in practice mode. I think there is a lot more for us to accomplish and still a job at hand for us. There is a lot more for us to focus on, there’s one more goal that we’ve got to accomplish. Then we can sit back and really marvel at what we have done.