Broncos looking for the approval of Vic Fangio after a big play during Denver’s offseason training program shouldn’t get their hopes up.

The stoic 60-year-old first-time head coach is short on atta-boys and long on constructive criticism. Whether on the practice field, in meetings, or speaking with the media, Fangio has displayed a willingness to call out mistakes. Case in point: OTA practice No. 4 when a reporter asked Fangio about the progress of cornerback De’Vante Bausby, a spring free-agent roster addition who played eight games this season for the now-defunct Alliance of American Football.

“I think there’s been a time or two in phase two where (Bausby) let the back-to-back season, albeit shortened, give him a reason to think he’s tired to where he shouldn’t do that,” Fangio said. “He has to overcome being his own worst enemy and show the player that he can be.”

Don’t feel bad for Bausby.

Sure, those comments circled back. Some friends at home in Kansas City even checked in about it. And Bausby told them the same thing he told The Denver Post.

“That’s high expectations,” Bausby said. “If they’re coaching you, they like you.”

Truth is, Bausby craves Fangio’s tough love because similar mentorship paved his unlikely road to an NFL opportunity — which started in the Division-II college football ranks.

The Pittsburg State campus sits about six miles west of the Kansas-Missouri border, the school enrolls fewer than 7,000 students and its football team, nicknamed the Gorillas, touts four D-II national championships. Bausby arrived as part of the 2011 recruiting class and was quickly asked to switch from wide receiver to cornerback. The transition required time to develop. Dave Wiemers, then the defensive coordinator, recalls a blazing-fast but impatient true freshman itching to see the field.

“De’Vante was a pretty stubborn kid,” Wiemers said. “We pushed on him pretty hard.”

Bausby became a full-time starting cornerback as a sophomore. Much of his development occurred on Pitt State’s practice field lined up across from wide receiver John Brown; a future 2014 third-round NFL draft pick who has since played for the Cardinals, Ravens and Bills. Brown said: “I used to get tired of going against (Bausby) some days. He was real competitive.”

“Once (Bausby) got his turn, then oh boy, he just really took off,” Wiemers said. “We could take him, put him on one guy, and say, ‘We don’t want to hear from you two in a while.’ ”

Bausby, undrafted in 2015 after leaving college, bounced between the Chiefs, Bears, and Eagles with 26 career tackles over 10 games and one start. He joined the San Antonio Commanders last winter and Brown was in the Alamo Bowl stands for his AAF debut, during which Bausby recorded the first of his four interceptions over eight games. Yet Brown took a Fangio-esque approach toward celebrating Bausby’s success.

“I’m one of those friends where I’m not a yes man,” Brown said. “I was excited about the pick but when we got one-on-one, I told him he was lazy on this and lazy on that. And he’s the same way with me. I always point out the bad, because I want him to be great.”

Bausby was blindsided when the AAF announced it would cease operations in April. But, he got enough on film to provide NFL teams a chance to gauge his talent. Two previous seasons with the Bears (2015-16) laid the groundwork for Bausby to reconnect with Broncos defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. In Chicago, Bausby said Donatell “felt like the organization gave up on me too early. Now, we’re back for round two and we’re going to make it count this time.”

Making the Broncos roster, though, is far from a guarantee. Bausby enjoyed first-team cornerback repetitions in team periods for the majority of OTAs with Chris Harris absent in contract negotiations and Isaac Yiadom nursing a shoulder injury. Bausby won’t be afforded the same luxury in minicamp or training camp. Fangio said Bausby improved “a little bit” the week following his well-publicized criticism.

“It needs to become the norm for him enough to where people (are not) wondering,” Fangio said.

Bausby won’t back down from the challenge.

“He was hard on me, which I expect,” Bausby said. “I’ve got to turn it up.”