Matt L. Stephens

matthewstephens@coloradoan.com

Thirteen-year-old Caden Thomas stood in the south end zone of Hughes Stadium two weeks ago.

That name may not sound familiar. His story will.

He stood in a spot he hadn’t visited in nine years. He’s been to games at Hughes Stadium, just another fan in the stands, but never had he returned to the field. And with CSU hosting Brigham Young in lacrosse, his parents, Mike and Holly, felt the opportunity was ripe to take him back to the exact spot the worst thing imaginable almost happened.

The place where Mike heard the world’s greatest sound — the sound of his son’s scream.

Mike remembers the moment perfectly. He knew what play was coming. It was April 21, 2007; the Colorado State University spring football game. The white team was facing third down at the 14-yard line — Caleb Hanie was surely going to throw a fade to the corner. As he saw Hanie drop back, the quarterback’s eyes peeking right, Mike realized his intuition was correct.

CSU FOOTBALL: Early look at the Rams' depth chart after spring

He glanced down to make sure Caden was still standing under the umbrella of dad’s protection, but he had let go of Mike’s hand and wandered off. Before Mike could react, he saw his son sandwiched between a wide receiver and a padded concrete wall.

Then he saw the blood. A bloody brook running down Caden’s forehead as the receiver, George Hill, laying on his back, held him in the air. More importantly, there was that scream. Caden was conscious.

“My first memory of it all was just the chaos and how he’d been affected; how injured he was. The best thing about it was hearing him cry,” Mike said. “After that, it was all a blur.”

There was a lot of guilt felt after that play nine years ago. Particularly by Joey Rucks, the cornerback covering Hill, who gave an extra push that caused the collision.

But Caden was OK. No broken bones. He didn’t suffer a concussion. He walked away relatively unscathed and didn’t require an overnight stay, all thanks to some quick thinking by Hill.

Hill has told the story 367 times over. Living in Severance and working as a financial adviser, new clients who recognize his name never fail to ask, “Wait, the George Hill?” He explains how he came down with the ball and a defender draped over him. Seeing Caden in his path. Making the split-second decision to drop the ball and grab Caden, twisting his body to minimize the impact before handing him to the referee. And, of course, the joke about if he was more than a skin-and-bones receiver weighing in at 170 pounds, the story may not have turned out so well.

ALUMNI: CSU turns spring game into an event with alumni flag football

“I don’t care if it sounds sensationalized, there’s no doubt in my mind that George Hill saved my son’s life,” Mike said. “I’ve watched the film so many times, breaking it down frame by frame, what he was able to do to minimize his impact with Caden, the awareness in that moment to grab him, was remarkable. I am so grateful.”

In the week following the spring game, Hill and the Thomas family were whisked to New York to appear on seemingly every talk show that called Manhattan home. Good Morning America, Today, CNN, Inside Edition. With it being filmed in Los Angeles, they turned down an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Mike and Holly are still kicking themselves for that one).

It was the feel-good story in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shooting. A pleasant distraction at a different college campus. What could have been another tragedy was adverted. Four-year-old Caden was famous, receiving the VIP treatment of being shuttled around NYC in limousines and getting recognized in Central Park as “that kid who’s been on TV all week.” Hill was a hero.

If it was any other receiver on that route nine years ago — Johnnie Walker, Kory Sperry, the Morton twins — chances are that Caden wouldn’t be with us today. But Caden is thriving. He’s 13 and has already summited 20 separate 14,000-foot mountains with 28 total climbs.

Oh, and next year?

“My goal is to hike to base camp at Mt. Everest,” Caden said.

He has Hill to thank for that.

The Thomas family and Hill haven’t spoken since their trip to New York. They’re planning a reunion dinner at the Thomas’ Fort Collins home, and Hill promises to keep his distance by sitting at the opposite end of the table.

It’s not fair that Hill’s name will always be affiliated with an accident in a spring game, Rucks said. What about his 42 career receptions? Or the fact he was college football’s No. 3 kick returner in 2005? Think anyone remembers that?

Of course not.

George Hill will always be that wide receiver.

“The vision of how people remembered me as an athlete never really got to me. It was all about graduating from CSU. That was the big thing,” Hill said. “I tell young athletes that it was really just a gift to go to school for free and play football. Sure, everyone has dreams of being a star, but being remembered as that guy who hit the little kid, that’s fine.

“If you think about it, that’s part of history at CSU and it’s never going to go away.”

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.

VIDEO: CSU coach Mike Bobo on spring game