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Pueblo Central senior overcomes ADHD, Asperger's to find a home on the football field

Pueblo Chieftain - 9/10/2021

Sep. 10—Kris Cotterman remembers the first time he met Jeremiah Padilla.

"He asked me, 'Can I play football?'," the Central High School head coach recalled. "I said 'yeah'. And then he said to me, 'My dad and me watched the Bell Game and he said that was the worst play-calling he'd ever seen."

Strangely, a bond was formed.

Padilla was a sophomore at the time and has gone on to be a member of the Wildcats for three seasons.

Padilla, 18, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Asperger Syndrome. But that hasn't stopped him from leading as normal of a life as possible.

That includes going to school and playing three sports — football, basketball and baseball.

He is beloved by all of his coaches and teammates.

Now a senior, Padilla remains on the football roster. The past two years he's been a linebacker. This season, he's a quarterback. His number is 40.

Padilla calls himself an athlete.

"I do football, basketball, baseball and bowling," he said. "Those are the four sports I do. Ever since I was little, I always wanted to get into baseball.

"I play QB and linebacker. I played the line my sophomore year. I really didn't like it because I didn't understand it."

He said football is his favorite.

His brother Ely, a wide receiver and cornerback, is a junior on the football team.

He loves having his brother around.

"He's one of the coolest people I know," Ely said. "One of the most real. He is a character, he's the life of the party. Words can't explain how he is."

Ely is proud of what his brother has done in his life.

"He's proven to everyone that he can do anything," Ely said. "A doctor said when he was born he wasn't going to ever go to school. He's in high school, getting ready to go to college. He's proven everyone wrong.

"He's a real person. Everyone here likes him."

Jeremiah said he's overcome a lot during his life.

"I have became a normal person. I've had to overcome a bunch of stuff," he said. "I'm quite a character. That probably comes from my dad because he's a jokester, too.

"One thing I like doing is hanging out with my girlfriend and going to the Colorado State Fair. That's pretty cool."

Jeremiah's father, Michael, also played at Central in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was an offensive lineman and nose guard for the Wildcats.

He said Jeremiah has been faced with challenges all his life but has overcome many of them.

"He was diagnosed with ADHD and Aspergers," Michael said. "It was high-functioning. He's had a challenge his whole life but has been able to overcome any obstacle he's been faced with.

"In preschool, we had a meeting with someone who told us he would probably never leave his house. He was playing T-ball at the time and we couldn't understand how anyone can say that about a 4-5-year-old.

"He's a hard-working kid and with his disability, he knows he has to work a lot harder than others."

Bobby Tyler, a Central assistant football coach who will be the head varsity coach for basketball this winter, says Jeremiah is a difference-maker.

"You walk into practice and it's 100 degrees and muddy and mosquitos and you get to see the grin on Jeremiah's face and it just changes everything," Tyler said. "It makes you smile and makes you realize what you're out here for. He changes things."

Tyler said Padilla is an integral part of the basketball program.

"He played with the freshmen last year, probably with the junior varsity this year," Tyler said. "We'll figure how to get him in the game again. He doesn't miss practices, he shows up. It doesn't matter if it's 100 (degrees) or it's snowing. It's pretty amazing."

Tyler went on to explain how Padilla is a prodigy when it comes to music.

"He is amazing," Tyler said. "He'll be walking down the hallway and he'll hear a song and say, 'Led Zeppelin, 1969'."

Ely says sports is Jeremiah's thing.

"He loves to play basketball. He loves football. That's probably his favorite," Ely said. "His favorite player is Saquon Barkley. He just loves the New York Giants.

Cotterman has nothing but praise for Padilla.

"He doesn't miss any practices and this year he's messing around as a quarterback," Cotterman said. "Last year he was a lineman.

"He's the nicest kid I've ever met. A funny kid. If you meet him he'll crack you up. An uplifting kid. Everybody likes him.

"He's just another player. He works hard, does his sprints, shows up on time. He helps morale. He's always on the sidelines cheering for his teammates."

Padilla isn't an imposing figure. He stands at 5-foot-5, 150 pounds. It's his participation in practices and the way he inspires others that makes him a valuable teammate.

"He told me his goal is to get a football scholarship at CU (University of Colorado)," Cotterman said. "If that doesn't work out, he wouldn't mind being a preferred walk-on."

Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky

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