GGN Exclusive: Faton Bauta

It doesn't take long to figure out what drives Faton Bauta.

Having been one of New York's top overall athletes at Brooklyn's Poly Prep Country Day High School, where he was a star middle linebacker and running back, Bauta became a national headline quarterback recruit when he transferred to Dwyer in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for his senior season.

But at the collegiate level, he found himself entrenched as Georgia's third-string quarterback over a four-year career in Athens, sans a start against Florida in 2015.

Entering his final season of college eligibility, Bauta knew his chances of seeing the field next fall at UGA would again be slim. With returning starter Greyson Lambert coming back and the nation's top prep signal caller in Jacob Eason entering the fold this spring, Bauta understood that if he really wanted to see the field and get better, an opportunity elsewhere would be in his best interests.

So he decided to ask for a release from his scholarship and seek playing time elsewhere. After a brief, but busy recruitment, Bauta committed to and signed with Colorado State in December.

Like any true competitor, Bauta wants to test his mettle. And win. A quarterback with a football player's mentality, Bauta's long, winding football-playing journey has now taken him further west than he has ever been.

It is all a testament to his will to be the best he can be. He had hoped that signing with Georgia would allow him to do just that, to compete against the nation's best in the SEC. Now a CSU Ram, Bauta wants to bring CSU its first Mountain West Championship since 2002, while proving he really can make an impact at the college level.

Indeed, his undying mindset coincides perfectly with Mike Bobo's philosophy of 'never satisfied'.

That shared philosophy, plus a four-year relationship between the two, were the biggest reasons he committed to play his final season of college football at Colorado State, when a handful of schools across the country were hot on his trail.

Central Florida, CSU, Eastern Kentucky, Iowa State, and James Madison each contacted and wanted Bauta once he announced he received his release from UGA. He ultimately took official visits in December to CSU, James Madison and UCF.

In the end, it was his relationship with Bobo that sold him on picking the Rams.

“I'm not going to say that it was one thing that sold me on them. It was several things, collectively,” Bauta told GoldandGreenNews.com. “I'm sure you could imagine, but it was a very big decision for me, trying to find an opportunity to play my last season of college football. I just wanted to go to a place where the opportunity seemed right, where I felt comfortable with my coaches and my coach felt comfortable with me. Granted, I think I was really lucky to have Coach Bobo reach out to me and give me that opportunity.

“A lot of guys transfer to places where they don't really have past relationships with coaches. I think I was lucky to have a previous relationship with a coach who was recruiting me. I think that was one of the factors, but there were just so many other things. Colorado State's a great place and it kind of had that feeling when I was committing as a freshman to the University of Georgia. I thought this feels right and it feels like the place. That's ultimately what did it for me in the end.”

Bauta said he first initiated contact with Bobo and CSU, and his recruitment picked up quickly from there.

“I kept in touch with Coach Bobo because, one, we had a great relationship at Georgia, and two, he's a very good coach, in a sense where he'll keep in touch with all of his quarterbacks. I think that's part of the reason that he's such a good coach; there's no reason to cut ties with anybody. We were still his quarterbacks. We learned his teachings and we mastered them.”

He also built a strong bond with Georgia native Fred Zerblis during his first trip to Fort Collins.

“It was your typical visit. I got to see the campus, got to meet the coaches that I did not know on staff. I met a lot of the players, watched practice, which was pretty huge. I just took it all in – seeing some of the sites, seeing beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado. I enjoyed every moment, kind of like I was a freshman again, even though a lot of the recruiting stuff was a little different. A lot of freshmen like to try on the jerseys, get all excited about all the extras... but I wasn't really interested in all that. I was just interested in seeing the team, what they were like, what I would be able to contribute to help this team to become a better team,” Bauta explained.

“Would I help bring them success, or would I just come in for one year, put my head down and just get to work? What are my teammates like? All of the answers to those questions were good and I just really enjoyed my stay. You know, they treat us really good on those officials. I had a great dinner, all that kind of stuff. But I really enjoyed my company. Fred Zerblis, you know, I've been in contact with him since I visited. He's just an incredible, incredible player, an incredible person as well just from the little I've gotten to know him. It was a very fun visit.”

It's easy to understand after one fifteen-minute conversation why so many of Bauta's past coaches, mentors and teammates speak so glowingly of the 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback.

Several descriptors popped into my mind when speaking with Bauta.

Humble. Driven. Respectful. Team-focused.

Certainly, all are characteristics any football coach would want in a starting quarterback.

If I could wrap it all into a simpler message, quite frankly, the kid 'gets it'. He understands who he is, what his role at CSU will be, and what he needs to do from this very point leading up to next fall's season-opener.

“That is my expectation (to start),” he said. “Being the competitor that I am, I expect the best out of myself and I expect to be in the best position possible. But none of that comes with doing nothing. All that comes with preparing the right way, working hard, producing more than the competition. It's doing what I have to do, better than anybody else. But at the end of the day, the ultimate job is to help this team become a better team, whichever way that will be.”

Bauta will arrive in Fort Collins on Saturday, January 16, then begin taking classes the following Tuesday towards earning his Masters in Adult Education and Training.

“I'm all ready to go to get started on the books, get started on the field... it's gonna be fun.”

Certainly, a knowledge of Bobo's playbook will aid Bauta in getting up to speed at CSU. Whether he becomes the Rams' starting quarterback next fall is, of course, the million dollar question.

“I'm not sure of his (Bobo's) expectations of me, but the one thing I can say that I'll know I bring and that Coach Bobo knows I'll bring is a great attitude and effort, and just a hard-working mentality every day. I'm not going to be a guy that takes a day for granted. There was nothing he had to tell me besides, 'you'll have an opportunity to come in and play here.' Obviously, the rest is up to me. There's nothing a coach can say or do to make it any different for me.

“At the end of the day, my work is never going to change, regardless of the coaches in place. My job is to get with this team, help this team out as much as I possibly can, and just get right to work toward being a championship football team. It's very cliché, because that's what every team in the country says, but at the end of the day, the people that are actually working and doing what they've got to do, they'll see the results at the end. That's really it.

“My talk with him (Bobo) was, 'Son, you'll have an opportunity to come in and play here,' and I was like, 'Coach, thank you. I'm going to take it and I'm going to come play for you.' The rest is up to me and my teammates. I'm really excited to get acquainted with them, get in close with them, and hopefully help them out and be able to influence them as best as I can.”

Terminology should be the same with Bobo since his UGA coaching days, while parts of the playbook may be new for Bauta.

“He might have changed a few things. I spoke with him and I saw and watched some of the film and was able to get in on some of the meetings. I watched the stuff and I recognized a lot of it. I don't think much has changed, but every year, there's always new tweaks and whatnot. Regardless, I'm going to have to refresh myself on the system. I'm going to have to make sure I'm doing stuff the right way, refresh some footwork, and get back to what I started learning with Coach Bobo, and hopefully finish it and put it all together.”

With all that being said, what should CSU fans expect from watching Bauta on the field?

“That's a good question. Honestly, the only answer I have for you is I'm not the most athletic guy. I'm not the most God-given talented guy. I don't have all these accolades. But the one skill I have is I have the skill to absolutely outwork anybody that steps in front of me. That's me speaking – I'm going to have to prove that statement. But that's the only skill that I have. I know I will work on my craft every single day, no matter what. My skill is to be able to do that and see the results from it. I never lose sight of that light that's always at the end of the tunnel, no matter how bright or how dim it gets.

“That's what I know I'm about, being a college football quarterback for the last four years. I just want to improve upon that as much as I can. Along the way, the most important thing is to influence this team I'm going to be with, and hopefully learn from them, and hopefully they can learn some stuff from me, just to make us that much better. If I'm not helping my team get that much better, then I'm not doing my job as a quarterback, or as a football player, or as an athlete.”

With limited college film of Bauta available, he specifically addressed whether he views himself as a dual-threat quarterback or a pocket passer.

“I view myself as a football player. I've heard dual-threat, I've heard this guy can run. The truth is, I haven't ran much in college football since the day I got to Georgia, so that dual part of me from high school went away rather quickly. Am I going to sit here and say I'm not going to take off and run, and go do what I used to do? No. I'm still very capable of doing it. But the point is, I have to do whatever's going to get the job done, regardless.”

With limited time to prove himself to teammates, coaches and fans, Bauta knows the clock is ticking on whether or not he can have a successful season in his one year in Fort Collins.

“I'm excited in joining a new team. It's been a little similar for me. I guess I've experienced this a little bit in transferring from my high school in New York to Florida for my last year of high school. But I'm excited. It's a different place. I've never been so far west. Colorado's been the furthest I've been when I went to go visit. It's going to be an exciting time. I'm excited to learn more football, to learn football from my teammates, to make new friends and teammates.

“It's just all the things that come along with playing in a game, like getting started with winter workouts, then getting to spring ball, then preseason. Then next thing you know, the season's here. This will be my last go-around. I'm just going to make the most of it and never take a day for granted.”

So begins the Faton Bauta journey out West.

Ryan Krous is the publisher of GoldandGreenNews.com. You can email him at ryan.krous@gmail.com or follow him on twitter @RyanKrous for all the latest and breaking Colorado State news.