CSU's loyal star: Tory Horton's bond with Jay Norvell transcends promised riches, fame
Finding the right recruit goes far beyond identifying a skillset easily seen on film.
The intangibles make the difference and Jay Norvell knew he had found a gem in not just Tory Horton, but the Horton family.
A high-achieving, athletic and humble family helped mold Tory from an afterthought recruit into the best receiver in the Mountain West.
It’s a story of expectations, work ethic and loyalty that have Horton playing for the Colorado State football team.
“His family are amazing. His parents are such great people, such loyal people. Talk about grounded,” Norvell said. “I wish I could take his parents and have them be the parents of all of our players.”
Tory’s path to CSU can’t be drawn without the family, from the inseparable bond with his grandma to his parents and brothers and sisters.
He’s the youngest of five siblings who all have their own high-level accolades. One sister was a college and pro volleyball player. Another was on a full-ride academic scholarship and a 4.0-plus student. One brother is in the Army with three master’s degrees and another brother was a two-time All-Mountain West honoree for the Boise State football team.
“Tory was one that would sit and observe. Whatever his siblings can do, he had the attitude of ‘I can do it better,’ ” his mom, Zezette said.
“He’s seen the path is there. It’s doable. It’s not a goal or dream that’s out of reach,” said his sister, Jeane, who played volleyball at the University of Texas El Paso. “I think by him just being a fly on the wall he was able to have that confidence that he can get there, he just had to put his head down and grind and do it.”
Work ethic, loyalty brought Horton to CSU
At a young age Tory already committed to 6 a.m. workouts. He played a bevy of sports — basketball, soccer, track, baseball — and is ultracompetitive in anything.
His sister tells the story of a cousin coming by the house and doing a backflip. Tory had never done a backflip but spent the next few hours practicing and pulled off the feat just to prove he could. He’s cutthroat, whether it’s at dominoes, checkers or football.
Those intangibles are what led to Norvell and staff recruiting Horton when no one else did. He was a scrawny teen, but physically talented. Norvell saw physical growth potential, but a lot more.
“His outlook and his mental attitude and the way he approaches things is what makes him special,” Norvell said. “Of course, he’s got natural talent but that’s not what makes him special. What makes him special is his everyday focus, the way he handles himself with maturity and the way that he shows our young players.”
The kid from Fresno didn’t even get an offer from his hometown team. Instead, he went to Nevada for Norvell. When Norvell and staff left for CSU after the 2021 season, Tory's decision was a no-brainer.
“I asked Tory ‘what do you want to do? Because all these other colleges are calling you,’ ” his dad, Tim, recalls.
“He was the one who gave me a shot at Nevada out of high school. I was like ‘if this man sees that potential in me and he put his trust on me, I feel like I have to reward him,’ ” Tory said.
“I always told myself I can’t let someone down who has so much trust in me. That’s one person who trusted me. I told him, ‘You gave me a shot and you won’t regret it.’ ”
The same held true this offseason. In the NIL (name-image-likeness) and transfer portal era, tampering is rampant as teams seek to lure top talent with the prospect of a bigger stage or bigger payday. Tory shared with CSU coaches messages from other schools (Norvell said one SEC school aggressively pursued him, in violation of NCAA rules) but it was never a worry.
He wasn’t going to leave. He doesn’t act like he’s above anything or anyone. He was taught to treat the janitor the same as the CEO.
“Tory is humble. He’s a hard worker. He loves putting other people before him,” his mom said. “He takes pride in what he does and always keeps an open mind, always knowing that he can learn and learn and learn.”
Tory led CSU with 1,131 receiving yards last season and is a future NFL player (he has two seasons of eligibility remaining and its not a given he’ll go pro after this season). The intangibles Norvell saw in the high school kid are shining through.
“He’s got a long-term outlook. For someone his age, that’s very unique. He’s looking at the long game, he’s not just looking at what he can get right now,” Norvell said.
“He has rare qualities for a guy his age.”
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado State football star wide receiver Tory Horton a loyal star
