Steve Sewell is entering his sixth season as CSU-Pueblo’s running backs coach.

In his first five seasons as the Pack’s running backs coach, he coached a group of backs that finished the season ranked in the national top 20 statistically twice and the top 30 three times. He helped guide a turnaround from 2008 to 2009, as a unit that was ranked in the bottom 10 nationally turned it around to be the 14th-best rushing unit in the nation.

He also tutored tailback Jesse Lewis, who set most CSU-Pueblo rushing records from 2008 to 2011, earning an All-American honor in 2010 and being named a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award (Division II’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) in 2010 and 2011.

Under his tutelage, four different CSU-Pueblo backs have accomplished All-RMAC distinction on eight different occasions, with three (Lewis, Marquis McNeal and J.B. Mathews) receiving all-region honors and two (Mathews and Cameron McDondle) being named RMAC Offensive Freshman of the Year.

Sewell is famously known to Denver Broncos fans in southern Colorado, having played for the Broncos from 1985 to 1992, including the Broncos’ Super Bowl seasons of 1986, 1987 and 1989. Since retiring in 1993, Sewell, a resident of Aurora, Colo., had slowly warmed up to coaching as his day job, having most recently been an assistant coach with the Grandview High School football team in Centennial, Colo.

Sewell, who had been the team’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons, was instrumental in Grandview’s 5A Colorado State Championship title in 2007. During Grandview’s state championship run, the Grandview offense was nearly unstoppable, averaging 332 yards of offense per game, including an average of 237 rushing yards per game. The state’s leading individual runner, Bo Bolen, tutored under Sewell, en route to 2,291 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.

In Sewell’s four seasons with the team, Grandview made the 5A state playoffs three of those four seasons, including a berth in the state semifinal in 2005.

As a player with the Broncos, Sewell had learned from some of the best, including current and former NFL head coaches Mike Shanahan (Washington Redskins) and Chan Gailey (Buffalo Bills), Dan Reeves (Broncos), Wade Phillips (Dallas Cowboys), and Mike Nolan (49ers). As a player at the University of Oklahoma, Sewell was coached by Barry Switzer and current University of Texas head coach, Mack Brown, each of which won national championships at the collegiate level. Sewell also played alongside current Houston Texans head coach, Gary Kubiak, who was a backup quarterback for the Broncos during Sewell’s time with the team.

Sewell received his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication from the University of Oklahoma in 1986. A California-native, Sewell graduated from Riordan High School in San Francisco in 1981. He is the father of three children: Samuel, Caleb and Calah.