Five things you might not know about Courtland Sutton

Courtland Sutton is now a Denver Bronco.

The former SMU star, who once recorded 252 receiving yards in a single game, was selected by John Elway in the second round of the draft, Friday night.

Before Sutton touches down in the Mile High City to join his new team, here are five things you should know about him:

HE WASN’T A HIGHLY RATED RECRUIT

Just like Denver’s first round pick, Bradley Chubb, Sutton was only a three-star prospect in high school. And, just like Chubb, he grew into a body that oozes with NFL potential, defying the projections of those who scouted him.

Sutton signed with SMU as a safety, shortly after the University of Colorado brought him to Boulder just to tell him that the program had run out of scholarships and send him back home. He quickly shifted to the offensive side of the ball, but lost the majority of his true freshman season to an ankle injury. He received a medical redshirt.

But from his redshirt-freshman year on, Sutton was a star. Just look at the numbers:

Redshirt freshman year: 49 receptions, 862 yards, 9 touchdowns.

Sophomore year: 76 receptions, 1246 yards, 10 touchdowns.

Junior year: 68 receptions, 1085 yards and 12 touchdowns.

And the best part? He never missed another game.

HE WAS DESTINED TO BE A COWBOY

This might not be what you want to hear, but it’s true: Sutton and the Cowboys seemed like a match made in heaven.

First of all, Sutton was a huge Cowboys fan growing up, which isn’t a surprise given that he was born and raised three hours south of Dallas in Brenham, Texas.

Second, he modeled his game after Dez Bryant, another big-bodied, number-one receiver prototype.

“I really enjoy watching Dez Bryant play the game right now,” Sutton told Draft Wire last summer. “He plays with such passion and determination to be successful. He knows that he’s going against the best corner each week and doesn’t shy away from it.”

And the Cowboys showed interest, too. Jason Garrett was the only NFL head coach to attend Sutton’s pro day and Mike Fisher, 105.3 The Fan’s Cowboys insider, said that Sutton was the Cowboys’ number one rated receiver in this draft class. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added that he would have been Dallas’ pick had he dropped 10 more spots.

HE’S A FREAK ATHLETE

Everybody who gets drafted is a great athlete, it’s just one of the prerequisites. But Courtland Sutton is on a different level.

Despite his 6-foot-3-plus, 218 pound frame, Sutton had the second-fastest 60-yard shuttle time of any receiver at the combine, the third-fastest three-cone drill time and the fourth-fastest 20-yard shuttle time. He was also in the top 10 in the broad jump and the bench press.

Last summer, Sports Illustrated reported that Sutton had 6.4 percent body fat. There are videos floating around the internet of him doing a 60-inch box jump and he once broad jumped over 10 feet.

So far, those skills seem to have transferred seamlessly to the football field.

HE IS A SELF-DESCRIBED COUNTRY BOY

Sutton grew up on a farm that had been in his family for generations, according to NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread. His family raised crops and animals, including 60 head of cattle.

“I’d give him post-hole diggers and have him go three feet deep, into hard ground. It was hard enough work that anything else he came across was going to be a piece of cake compared to it,” Sutton’s father told Goodbread. “My father did the same for me, and I turned out alright. I didn’t go to school and get an education, but I could work with my hands. The good Lord makes doctors, lawyers and us laborers, too. And that’s OK. But I’m glad Courtland went to school and got a degree. Now he’s got both.”

And when he wasn’t playing sports or working on the farm, he was down at the river catching fish.

HE HAS OTHERWORLDLY HANDS

Sutton’s a big guy, but you knew that.

What you might not know is that he has a 6-foot-6 wingspan, giving him a massive catch radius and making him an even bigger target for quarterbacks.

He also has 9-3/4 inch hands. And they’re soft as a kitten.

So soft in fact, that Sutton appeared on NFL Network before the draft and caught a pair of poorly-thrown eggs with ease.

But if that doesn’t impress you, then maybe one of his highlight-reel worth grabs will. He practiced one-handed catches every day during practice in college, so it should be no surprise that his YouTube film is chock full of special snags.

And when he decided to return to SMU for his redshirt junior season—he graduated in three and a half years—he put those hands to use in a different way: He learned to play the piano.