Justin Hansen is 16 years old and doesn’t want to say a
word. He won’t make eye contact.
We’re at Hughes Stadium. It’s the middle of July. The Colorado
sun has been shining down on us for hours and I want to be done covering this
CSU football camp and go home. But I can’t. Because I promised Justin Hansen’s
dad I’d meet his son. And he doesn’t want to look me in the eye.
He was a big kid then. Nearly 6-foot-5 heading into his
junior year at Longmont High School. Other than size, little stood out compared
to the other defensive linemen trying to earn a scholarship to Colorado State
University that day. So I’m tolerating this sunburn as a courtesy to a polite
parent who hopes my connection to Steve Fairchild’s coaching staff will help
pay for his son’s college education.
Justin doesn’t remember this story. He apologized when I
brought it up last week during our first conversation in seven years. But he
had no recollection.
“Tunnel vision,” his mother, Kara, calls it.
Human interaction has always been difficult for him. If his
dad hadn’t dragged him out of the house and to the football field in grade
school, Justin would be in his parents' basement playing video games. Strategy
games. Grand strategy allowing him to study logistics and take time to consider
his actions and their consequences. This kind of pro-con analysis spills into
reality and makes him hesitant to conduct our interview.
To read more on this story, click here: College Football Player with Asperger's Did the 'Impossible'
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