Navi Bruzon finds second chance at CSU Pueblo as one of the best quarterbacks in the country

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO)-- A year ago, Navi Bruzon wasn’t sure he would ever play college football again.

Now, the CSU Pueblo sophomore quarterback is leading one of the best offenses in Division II and has emerged as one of the nation’s top passers.

“Navi's journey here, it's not been, I would say, normal,” CSU Pueblo head coach Phil Vigil said.

That might be putting it lightly.

Bruzon arrived in Pueblo after a football journey that took him from being one of Arizona’s most decorated high school recruits, to a scout-team quarterback at Arizona State, to Highlands Community College and eventually to the point where he considered walking away from college football altogether.

A torn ACL helped bring him to that crossroads.

“About six weeks from there, I was really about hanging up my cleats,” Bruzon said. “I was like, ‘I'm done. I'm not going back to junior college.’”

Instead, the injury became a turning point.

More than a year later, Bruzon can look back at the setback as an experience that helped him find his way to CSU Pueblo.

“You learn a lot,” Bruzon said. “I went through a lot. You have to fight your way back up. So, my injury was probably the best thing that could have happened to me.”

Bruzon's road back wasn't immediate.

Vigil said the quarterback wasn't able to get on the field until fall camp as he continued his recovery from the ACL injury. But even before Bruzon could show his teammates what he could do with the football in his hands, Vigil saw him making an impression.

“He earned the respect of his teammates really quickly without being able to step on the field,” Vigil said.

Once he finally did get onto the field, Bruzon flourished.

He's also found something in Pueblo that goes beyond statistics and wins.

“Brotherhood,” Bruzon said. “We have 150 guys every year, so it's like your friends. You can't complain.”

For a quarterback looking for another opportunity, CSU Pueblo has proven to be quite the place to get one.

The ThunderWolves are undefeated and among the top teams in Division II, while Bruzon has transformed himself from a former scout-team quarterback and a player questioning his football future into one of the nation's leading passers.

It's a reality that would have been difficult for him to envision just one year ago.

“I can't even imagine, you know, rewinding back a year,” Bruzon said. “If this didn't pan out, where I would be.”

Instead, Bruzon knows exactly where he is now: back on the football field, leading an undefeated team and making the most of a second chance.