FORT COLLINS — On the depth chart released Monday, Kivon Cartwright was listed as Colorado State’s No. 1 tight end. Also, the senior from Pueblo will serve as one of four co-captains for the Rams’ 2015 opener against Savannah State on Saturday.

Both of the above are evidence of Cartwright’s success in earning the respect of first-year head coach Mike Bobo and his staff. Listing Cartwright as a starter on a team that will find ways to use three tight ends, including returning Mountain West all-league choice Steven Walker, was as much about honoring Cartwright as prioritizing the Rams at the position. CSU will name captains each game week, so while giving Cartwright the distinction in the first week was a significant gesture, it isn’t a season-long commitment.

When the Bobo staff took over, Cartwright was seeking a sixth season of eligibility as a medical hardship after playing only in the opener against Colorado last season and making one catch. He had redshirted with an injury in 2010.

In February, the NCAA came through with the sixth season, and the new staff had another tight end — one who had a combined 53 catches in his sophomore and junior seasons before the ankle injury first slowed him a year ago, then sidelined him after additional surgery was required.

As the new staff looked back over the 2014 game tapes, it had only the first game — Cartwright had one catch for 22 yards against Colorado — to use to assess him. That’s not much different than the situation redshirts and other seldom-used players faced, but Cartwright already is 23, and he has his bachelor’s degree and an injury-plagued past.

“It was a hard year, but to go through all those trials and tribulations, to be here now, I’m truly blessed every day,” Cartwright said Monday.

He was brought back gradually in spring and preseason drills and only recently was going full speed, still often wearing a red, no-contact jersey.

“There were some doubts in the summer in my own head about whether I would come back the same,” Cartwright said. “But actually getting out there and going through full practices and doing everything, there’s no doubt.”

He said he was in his room recently when it “really set in … that, ‘Wow, I’m actually healthy and I’m going to play,’ I was in tears.” He added, “Over the past year, I really had a chance to fall in love with the game again. Right now, everything’s new to me. Every meeting is new, every practice is new to me, and my passion for the game is that much stronger.”

Bobo noted that the evaluation was in a holding pattern as Cartwright missed much of the work in the offseason and spring, but that the coach quickly was impressed in preseason drills the past three weeks.

“He can cover some ground, he runs excellent routes, he’s got excellent ball skills, he’s not afraid to put his face in there on the run game,” Bobo said. “And then on top of that, (it’s) the type of person this young man is. He wasn’t (practicing), so I was basically getting to know him as a person, who he was, and talking to him about patience.

“We’re put through these situations and we never know why, but you have to stay patient and stick to the cause and we’re going to be patient with you.”

It has paid off.

Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or twitter.com/TFrei