Outgoing Adams City athletic director Jacob Katz, left, preps ACHS football player Miguel Hernandez Corza for his letter-signing ceremony Feb. 4. Corza signed with Feather River College.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith
ssmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com
There was a time in Miguel Hernandez Corza’s life where college wasn’t on his radar. It wasn’t a pipe dream either.
““At first, I was a little goofball. I was messing around until I saw where this sport could take me,” said Corza, who played on the Adams City High School squad last season. “I put more work into it. I got more motivation. I just went for it.”
Corza signed a collegiate football letter of intent to play at Feather River College in Quincy, California, northwest of Reno, Nevada.
“It felt more like home. It was a little community. It gives me more opportunity to be closer to people, and it was the only school to give me a chance,” Corza said.
Outgoing Adams City athletic director Jacob Katz met Corza when both were at Kearney Middle School.
“He was kind of a goofy, athletic kid. And he was a leader in the classroom,” Katz said. “When I got here (ACHS), I wasn’t seeing the same thing. I was nervous about his grades and staying with the team.”
Instead, Corza’s story over four years of high school prompts this story to prospective college athletes. Part of the evidence was from a hot July day where Katz watched Corza doing sprints and push-ups “with nobody watching.”
“He decided he wanted something, and he worked his tail off to get it,” Katz said. “(Football) coach (Wade) Auld and I tell kids the same story.”
Corza said there wasn’t a specific defining moment for his turnaround.
“My grades were going bad. I just decided to wake up and go to school, do my sports. I had an old coach in my pee wee leagues. He said, ‘Talent doesn’t beat hard work, that you have to work hard to beat the people with talent.’ That’s how it works out here.”
Several schools wanted Corza’s services.
“But we lost contact,” Corza said. “Me and Feather River just stayed in contact. They gave me more love.”
Corza was 8-for-17 for 138 yards and two touchdowns for a team that finished 4-6. He caught 10 passes for 45 yards and five touchdowns. Corza also made 60 tackles, 45 of which were solo effort.
He wants to study sports medicine and isn’t sure what he wants to do afterward.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to make it,” he said. “I didn’t have good grades. Then I got motivation and decided to get my grades up. I’m a little more nervous because I’m going to be out there by myself. But I have friends out there who will keep me company. I love being around people. People love being around me.”
