His biography is filled with basketball. What’s not in Ricado Patton’s bio is his childhood which included being raised by his grandmother after his mom left him and his sister when he was just 9 months old. His father wasn’t present either, so Ricardo figured out how to navigate life through basketball.  

His college career at Belmont kept him close to home in Nashville. After college, he stayed in the south for many years as a middle school and high school coach and assistant coaching jobs at Middle Tennessee, Arkansas Little-Rock and Tennessee State. Then came his trek to Colorado where he started as an assistant and three years later, got his break as a head coach.  From 1996 to 2007, Ricardo had three 20-win seasons and took the Buffs to the postseason six times. He also landed a huge recruit in Chauncey Billups who would go on to be a #3 overall draft pick.  

Ricardo left CU on his own terms and continued to coach here and there, including a return to the state of Colorado when he was an assistant for Chauncey’s brother Rodney at the University of Denver. It seems Mr. Big Shot is never too far removed from Ricardo.  

That trend continues today as Ricardo is now the Executive Director of the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy, where he loves the challenge of raising money to help young people from underserved communities become future leaders.

Charlie Blackmon had no illusions of grandeur once he realized his days as a left-handed pitcher were numbered.  He’d been a pitcher in high school and junior college and figured when he transferred to Georgia Tech he’d ride his time out on the bench, get a degree and find a job. Life worked out a bit differently.  

It all changed when Charlie spent a summer in the Texas Collegiate League and got some advice from Texas Rangers Hall of Famer Rusty Greer. Charlie went into the TCL with a bit of a fib: he told them he could pitch, hit and play defense. Truth be told, he hadn’t hit or played in the field since high school. Regardless, he picked up a wood bat and began to make contact, a lot. He also started to play positions outside of pitcher and Rusty told him he should consider giving up pitching and heading to the outfield. The self-admitted hardheaded Charlie eventually agreed.  

He had fairly quick success with his newfound skills at Georgia Tech and got drafted by the Rockies. He worked his way up every level of the minors and finally made his MLB debut in June of 2011. Within a month Charlie had his first hit, RBI, home run and broke his foot, ending his season.  
He used his rehab time to finish his degree in finance and found a new appreciation for baseball and the grind. He’d be up and down from the minors to the Rockies for another couple years and then became a staple at Coors Field until his retirement in 2024. Which didn’t last long: in 2025, the Rockies named Charlie a Special Assistant to the General Manager.  

Listen to Charlie’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.

In 2025, Lisa Van Goor will finally be inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. A long overdue honor for the first player in the history of the University of Colorado (man or woman) to score 2000 points and snag 1000 rebounds in a career. She also averaged a double-double for her career as a Buff, all of this despite missing several games due to injuries her junior and senior seasons.  

Lisa was born in South Dakota and after being named a Parade All American as a senior, she had over four dozen schools recruiting her. She thrived her first two years under head coach Sox Walseth, however when Ceal Barry came in, the injury bug hit and life got tougher physically and mentally. After graduation, (the WNBA didn’t exist yet), Lisa went overseas to play professionally for 7 years and became a 5-time All Star.   

After retirement, Lisa returned to Boulder unsure of what to do with her life. She wanted to be back in athletics and after getting turned down for a few opportunities, she got a job with a rental car company. Eventually she did get back into the CU Athletic Department helping to plan events. These days she’s out of the department, but still very involved with former student athletes, as the Executive Director of the non-profit Buffs 4 Life.  

Listen to Lisa’s story and conversation with @susiewargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. Links to listen on your favorite podcast platforms in the @ctfrpodcast bio!

Sometimes the road to professional football takes a non-traditional path. Colorado native Gabe Knapton knows that trail well.

After playing linebacker for his dad, who demanded a lot as the head coach at Skyline High School in Longmont, Gabe had his choice of many colleges to continue his playing career. It came down to Wyoming and Colorado State. He chose to be a Cowboy because of alumni in his family and most importantly, the coaches.  

During his time in Laramie, the staff switched Gabe from linebacker to defensive end. He made the transition look easier than it was because of his motor and non-stop hustle. In reality, it was difficult to learn a very different position and physically he was still more like a linebacker. Regardless, he had hopes of getting drafted in the NFL and while a few teams called during the draft, no one called his name or his agent. 

Unsure of what to do at that point, Gabe’s dad suggested taking a year off, working out and staying ready. So, he took a gap year before gap years were cool and eventually played indoor football with the Colorado Ice, then got his break with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. He would be named Montreal’s Rookie of the Year and go on to play for several years in the CFL between Montreal and the BC Lions. 

In retirement, Gabe is a busy guy: husband, father of two, owner of Different Breed Performance gym and a firefighter with the City of Thornton.  

Listen to Gabe’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. 

He thought he would be a basketball player and never considered football until high school where he learned the game on his 1A high school team. First on offense, then moving to defense. His team was good, regularly beating larger schools and garnering large home crowds. The college scouts didn’t stop by often, however Nate was still offered a few scholarships.  

He chose North Carolina State where he would become an All-American his senior year. An honorable feat by itself, but even more impressive considering he missed the year before recovering from multiple injuries sustained in a single car crash. Nate overcame a collapsed lung, separated shoulder, broken rib and a compound leg fracture.  

He was a 3rd round draft pick of the Broncos in 2011 and played in nearly every game his first three seasons. He started several games in 2014, until he was bit by the injury bug with a torn ACL. The Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl that year and did not sign Nate to a new contract in the off season.  

He signed a new deal with the Colts, but again found himself in the training room and after one year of his three-year deal, Nate was cut on the final day of training camp in 2016. Soon after, Nate decided he was at peace with his NFL career and walked away.  

Today, Nate is a director and manages 300 people at Anschutz Medical Center, is the Defensive Coordinator at Ponderosa High School and a proud girl dad to three little ladies.

Listen to Nate’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.

He’s not the typical professional athlete, but his resume reads like one: he was on the payroll of a professional team, he entertained fans and he performed athletic feats many would never dare. He also wore a mountain lion costume. Kenn Solomon was Rocky, the Nuggets mascot, for over three decades and while he kept his mascot code of silence when in costume, now he’s “just Kenn” and has plenty to talk about.  

Kenn grew up in Las Vegas and was self-taught gymnastics in his backyard. After seeing the San Diego Chicken at a minor league baseball game, he instantly had a career goal. He became his high school’s mascot and did the same at two colleges. At Utah State, as a communications major, Kenn came to Denver during a summer to intern at the Rocky Mountain News. He decided to cold call the Nuggets and strike up a conversation about him being their mascot. The Nuggets didn’t have a mascot, but they listened to his spiel. They didn’t do anything right away, so Kenn kept calling.  Eventually he auditioned for Rocky and won the gig.  

His 30+ years as Rocky saw him become a fan favorite and an attraction for the Nuggets, especially during some very down seasons on the hardwood. He made countless appearances off the court, endured a few injuries (including breaking his back) and a life changing lesson after spending a weekend in jail.  

His retirement came after the Nuggets won their NBA championship and a transition to the new Rocky was set up for one of Kenn’s three sons. Drake Solomon held the role for a while until he had to step aside to rehab an injury. The Nuggets decided to go a different direction. Now Kenn is going in a different direction with lots of open doors and opportunities between public speaking, podcasting and writing a book.  

Listen to Kenn’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.

When a life lesson presents itself, it’s usually best practice to learn and grow from it. Like Ricky Brewers’ junior year at Colorado State University. A year that he didn’t play football and instead was suspended and on the scout team.  

Ricky is a Colorado native with roots in the Denver Public School system. In high school he played football for legendary high school coach Dave Logan and won a State Championship. He had his choice of colleges but wanted to stay close to home and committed to the University of Colorado. That changed when Gary Barnett got fired and Ricky headed north to Colorado State University.  

He quickly became a star linebacker and had a breakout year his sophomore season which wrapped up with a win at the New Mexico Bowl. Before the game, he was drug tested and Ricky knew that was going to be a problem. It was. Ricky went from being on ESPN with a post-game interview to being a headline on the ticker with the word “suspension.”  

He'd return to CSU and have over 100 tackles his senior year. NFL teams appeared leery because of the suspension, and he never latched on anywhere, save for an overnight with the Dolphins. So instead, he put his efforts into a doctorate and becoming an educator. Today he’s an elementary school principal and radio color analyst for CSU football.  

Listen to Ricky’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.

He’s one of just over 30 players who can say he played for the Broncos twice. Corey Nelson grew up in Dallas and was the 5A player of the year in high school as well as a 5-star recruit by Scout.com. He had numerous colleges offering scholarships and chose Oklahoma because of the connection he felt with the linebacker’s coach.  

Corey started playing as a true freshman and gathered accolades as both an athlete and student. His senior season started strong with a pick-6 and a plethora of tackles… until he tore his pec muscle and required surgery. At that point, Corey wasn’t sure if he had a future in the NFL, so he picked up more classes and wrapped up his degree in four years.  

Turns out he did have an NFL future and in 2014, the Broncos drafted him in the 7th round. He worked his way on to the roster through special teams and became a Super Bowl Champion. Then another injury came and the Broncos didn’t sign him back in the offseason.  

Corey then traveled from team to team trying out for any openings. The Broncos brought him back in 2019, but in October that year, another injury put him out for the season and eventually out of the league.   These days he’s a husband, dad and business owner in Texas.  

Listen to Corey’s story and conversation with @susiewargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. Links to listen on your favorite podcast platforms in the @ctfrpodcast bio!

The chip on Chris Harris Jr’s shoulder began to form in high school. He’d lettered in three sports, been All-State in football and basketball and was honored for his academics. Yet he hadn’t been offered a scholarship after his senior year of football. Finally during the basketball season, the University of Kansas gave him an offer. Once other schools head of KU’s scholarship, they jumped on the band wagon and started calling Chris. The chip started.  

After his career with the Jayhawks where he played 50 games and racked up nearly 300 tackles, there was no invite to the Senior Bowl, the East-West Shrine game or the Combine. Instead, he had a Pro Day which went well, but he still went undrafted. Then the 2011 NFL lockout started. The chip deepened.  

When the lockout lifted, Chris was with the Broncos, trying to make a team with some top-notch defensive backs. He balled out on special teams, got the attention of coaches and made the roster. Eventually he’d be a starter and a key component of the “No Fly Zone” which helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50.  

In 2020, his contract was up with the Broncos and despite thinking he would be resigned, he wasn’t and instead went to the Chargers and later to the Saints. In 2023, teams stopped calling and Chris knew it was time to retire, which he did in October of 2024. Today he’s embarking on some new adventures and trying to ensure he and his wife don’t get overthrown by their 5 young daughters.


Listen to Chris’s story and conversation with @susiewargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. Links to listen on your favorite podcast platforms in the @ctfrpodcast bio!

Even though he was making tackles left and right at William & Mary, Jim Ryan never thought about going to the NFL after college. He was getting his Business Management degree and heading into the real world. That is until a scout from the Broncos contacted him.  

The scout knew Jim wasn’t going to be drafted but saw his talent and wanted to be on the linebacker’s radar when he was picking out a team to sign with as an undrafted free agent. Turns out the Broncos were the only ones who called, and the kid from New Jersey went west for the first time.  

That was 1979. The year before, the Broncos had played in their first Super Bowl and the Orange Crush Defense was in full force. Jim figured he had no shot of making the team, so he played relaxed and had fun. That method worked well as he made the team and stayed for 10 seasons.  

After football, Jim tried a variety of jobs including stints with the media and coaching at the high school and NFL levels. After 3 firings in 5 years with coaching, Jim went into the business world. Today, he consults as a trainer for sales teams, spends time with his family and stays in touch with his former teammates.  

Listen to Jim’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.