Backup Punter stabs starter

[DaveH]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2585781

[Eric the Red]

[NU fan in Denver]

I guess that is one way to try to get the starting job.

[ttheKid1*18]

I guess that is one way to try to get the starting job.

[dbetz23]

[beamout2000]

I think maybe our kickers should wear some kind of shin guards or something this week. Texas State plays Northern Colorado this Saturday night.

[bornNUred]

football in Colorado, it just hasn't been pretty this past year.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Man what ever happened to a little friendly competition!!!!????

[dbetz23]

Looks like 'ol Scottie has some troubles on his team.

[dbetz23]

Found this on ESPN.COM

 

GREELEY, Colo. -- Northern Colorado's backup punter asked a friend to lie about his whereabouts the night he is accused of stabbing a rival teammate, according to a police affidavit obtained Thursday that suggests the player may have had an accomplice.

 

Mitch Cozad of Wheatland, Wyo., remained free on $30,000 bond on suspicion of second-degree assault. Weld County prosecutors said they have until Sept. 22 to formally charge him.

 

Cozad is accused of stabbing starting punter Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg Monday night outside Mendoza's apartment in nearby Evans. Mendoza was treated and released from the hospital, but he will miss Saturday's game at Texas State.

 

"I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support," Mendoza said Thursday in a statement released by the school. "I want everyone to know I am doing well and recovering."

 

Cozad has been suspended from the university and evicted from his dorm room. He has not spoken publicly about the incident. Weld County officials said he has been granted permission to stay at his mother's home in Wheatland, where no one answered the door Thursday.

 

The 3½-page arrest affidavit outlined a plot that had taken shape over at least a week and included reference to a second suspect, though none has been publicly identified by police.

 

Fellow kicker David Dyches said Cozad hated Mendoza and his No. 1 position as punter for the Bears. Another kicker, Michael York, told police he provided Mendoza's address to Cozad last week, thinking he was interested in a rental apartment.

 

A friend of Cozad's, Angela Vogel, told police she was asked to lie to authorities and the suspect's mother about his whereabouts Monday night.

 

As she spoke with police Tuesday, the affidavit said, Cozad was allegedly text messaging her and leaving phone messages asking her things like, "What did you say?"

 

Mendoza had spotted a suspicious man in his parking lot last Thursday, and he sped into his apartment. Then, on Monday, he was returning home from study hall and was jumped from behind.

 

According to the affidavit, Mendoza was stabbed while he was on the ground and suffered a one-inch puncture wound. He described the suspect as a man dressed in black sweat pants and a black hooded sweatshirt cinched together to reveal only the eyes; police say they have recovered a similar sweatshirt from Cozad's apartment.

 

Later that evening, a liquor store employee called police and said two men were removing tape from the front and rear license plates of a car in the parking lot. Once removed, the employee saw the license plate number read "8-KIKR," helping lead police to the Cozad family.

 

No details of a second suspect have been disclosed by authorities.

 

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

[dbetz23]

He is going to jail for 7 long years.

 

espn.com

 

GREELEY, Colo. -- A judge sentenced former Northern Colorado backup punter Mitch Cozad to seven years in prison Tuesday for stabbing a rival in what prosecutors said was a brutal attempt to take over the starter's role.

 

"Clearly, this was deliberate to hurt him, and you succeeded," Weld County District Judge Marcelo Kopcow told Cozad as he announced the sentence.

 

"The goal is to not ruin your life," Kopcow said. "I would like you to succeed in your life."

 

Prosecutors said Cozad ambushed starting punter Rafael Mendoza on the night of Sept. 11, 2006. Mendoza was left with a deep gash in his kicking leg but later returned to the team.

 

Cozad was convicted in August of second-degree assault but acquitted of the more serious charge of attempted first-degree murder.

 

Cozad, 22, of Wheatland, Wyo., could have faced up to 16 years in prison on the assault conviction.

 

He spoke briefly Tuesday, thanking family and friends for their support and then offering an apology.

 

"I am very sorry to everyone for any pain and suffering you've endured. My hopes and prayers are to Mr. Mendoza and his family that they don't suffer anymore as a result of this ordeal," he said.

 

At the trial, Mendoza testified he could not see who attacked him in the dimly lighted parking lot. The assailant was dressed in black from head to toe and had a hood cinched up so only the eyes were visible.

 

Defense attorney Joseph "Andy" Gavaldon had argued it was another university student who stabbed Mendoza, not Cozad.

 

Before Cozad was sentenced, prosecutors called four people Tuesday to make statements, including Mendoza and his mother, Florence.

 

Rafael Mendoza said he was convinced Cozad wanted to kill him.

 

"Even though he wasn't convicted of it, his intentions were clear," Mendoza said, fighting tears. "I'll never forget that. I've spend long nights since then waking up in a cold sweat, having nightmares, thinking I was going through that again."

 

Florence Mendoza asked Kopcow to give Cozad the maximum sentence.

 

"No matter how much time you give Mitch, it won't be enough," she said. "I don't believe he'll ever change. I don't know him as well as I thought. I'm suggesting you give him as much time as possible. I've been in fear way too long."

 

Cozad's fiance, Michelle Weydert, wept as he was brought into the courtroom and blinked back tears after he made his statement.

 

"He's the blessing of my life," she said afterward. "I love him and I'll always support him. That's from my heart. I know many families have been affected by this event. I pray for a better day every day for everyone."

 

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press