Matt L. Stephens

matthewstephens@coloradoan.com

Thomas Coffman hasn't left football.

Yes, a slew of injuries forced him to leave CSU, but the former most explosive Rams' wide receiver hasn't walked away from the game. He's instead time traveled to play it in the 1960s where he'll be immortalized on the silver screen.

Coffman is trying his hand at acting — a craft the 23-year-old hasn't spent any time around since middle school theater. It's a completely foreign line of work for him, but when his childhood friends from Austin, Texas, called to ask if he'd rather spend the summer working alongside Aaron Eckhart and Robin Tunney or taking classes in Fort Collins, he dove at the opportunity to make his acting debut.

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The film is "My All American," the story of former Texas Longhorns defensive back Freddie Steinmark, who died of bone cancer two years after winning the national championship in 1969. Coffman plays Chuck Dicus, an All-American receiver at Arkansas who was a nightmare for the Longhorns to defend in The Big Shootout game, hauling in 9 receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown.

But making big plays is nothing new for Coffman. In his three seasons at Colorado State University, Coffman became known more for highlight-reel catches due to his willingness to dive for overthrown balls than anything else. Repeating that in front of film crews versus broadcast cameras is easy. Actually acting, on the other hand, that's been the challenge. He's had a few good mentors to help him along.

"I actually just spoke with Eckhart (Friday) and he's given me a lot of advice about acting, if that's the route I want to go down," Coffman said. "He's been important to be around, the same with (former Texas defensive back) Tom Campbell and Angelo Pizzo (director of "Hoosiers" and "Rudy"), the writer. They're all incredible and have helped me out.

"It's so interesting to watch Eckhardt go into character and prepare to act like coach Darrell Royal. It's amazing."

Coffman isn't sure if he wants to pursue acting beyond "My All American" or go into real estate, but said if other football movies came along, he'd be happy to play a role.

What makes this film special, in a way, is that it's about the essence Coffman's core — Texas football. Yes, it's the story of Steinmark, and, yes, Coffman played college ball in Colorado, but he's an Austin boy through and through.

Mack Brown is a longtime family friend, he knows Jordan Shipley and hangs out with Case McCoy (both former Longhorns will be in the film). A chance to play in the Alamodome, Cotton Bowl and Amon G. Carter Stadium are childhood dreams for a kid who grew up in Texas, even if they're just shooting locations for him to "act" at.

And for Coffman, there's more to the film than the charade.

He respects the player Dicus was and the man he is, calling the chance to play the Odessa, Texas, native an honor, but "My All American" is a chance for him to milk a few extra drops of meaningful football into a career that was sadly cut short.

"As of now, I don't have any lines to learn, it's mostly doing football stuff, but we'll see where it goes. CSU fans will definitely know it's me when they watch," Coffman said. "Most importantly, this has just been a blessing for me to be a part of this and have a chance to be around football a little longer."

Follow reporter Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.