At the end of the last decade of Colorado high school football, Cherry Creek ripped off 23 consecutive wins to claim the first half of a championship four-peat.
Myles Purchase, a two-way star in Cherry Creek’s 2020 title game victory, was one player among a list of Bruins who led them to those two perfect seasons and who now have become key contributors for teams in this year’s College Football Playoff race.
Purchase had 14 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns in that win over Valor Christian, and added three tackles, an interception and a couple pass break-ups. It was an omen of the production that was to come at the highest level in college for both himself and a handful of his teammates.
“I knew we had a lot of guys on that 2020 team who could make an impact in major college football like this,” explained Purchase, now an Iowa State cornerback. “In high school, we were dominating teams for two years straight. It was about getting all of our talent into the right situation in college, and once we got there, developing into the players we were capable of being.
“That’s what you’re seeing now: A lot of Bruins playing at a high level at the next level, playing big roles in their programs’ postseason goals. It’s definitely something I saw could happen, and now has.”
Purchase is a three-year starter for the undefeated Cyclones, who currently sit atop the Big 12 standings. Tight end Gunnar Helm is the leading receiver for a Texas Longhorns team in the mix for an SEC title and return trip to the playoff.
But those two are far from alone.
Center Hank Zilinskas and defensive end Arden Walker are both playing key roles in CU’s run toward a Big 12 title. Offensive lineman George Fitzpatrick (Ohio State) and outside linebacker Blake Purchase (Oregon) have suited up for Big Ten programs with big postseason aspirations. And wideout Chase Penry has caught 10 passes for Boise State, which currently has the inside track on the Group of 5 playoff bid.
Myles’ long-forecasted stardom
For Myles Purchase, the ascent to becoming one of the top cornerbacks in the Big 12 began with the Green Valley Ranch Giants. That youth team was coached by Arden Walker’s father, Art, and featured Arden, the Purchase brothers and current Kansas linebacker Logan Brantley, another Bruins alum.
The Giants dominated flag football in elementary school, and then the tackle football scene in middle school, losing only four games over that entire run. Myles was the star quarterback in flag, then mostly running back when the team transitioned to tackle.
“It was clear from a young age that, if you put them all at the table, Myles was certain to eat first,” Art Walker said. “He always had a great demeanor, he had a great football IQ. He excelled at every position we put him in. In some kind of way, he would always end up on top in everything he did.”
With the Bruins, Myles’ stardom culminated with him being named the MaxPreps Colorado Player of the Year in 2020. His brother Blake, who recently declared a redshirt season at Oregon after playing in four games, matched that success as the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022.
“Myles was an all-state corner, an all-state kick returner, and he had the skillset and catching ability that had I played him as a slot, he would’ve been an all-state slot and an all-state running back, too,” Cherry Creek head coach Dave Logan said. “He’s probably one of the two or three best all-around football players that I’ve ever coached.”
Fun fact: Logan used Myles as one of the Bruins’ featured running backs in the final two rounds of the playoffs his junior and senior years. It was the only four games he did that in Myles’ career. He was like a Porsche that Logan only took out of the garage on Sundays.
At Iowa State, Myles played in 13 games as a true freshman, then started all 12 games at cornerback as a sophomore. He broke out in 2023, when he started 12 games, was third on the team with 56 tackles and had a team-best 15 pass breakups, which tied him for fourth nationally.
This season, Myles has started six of seven games, the one exception being when he was coming back from a thumb injury. He says his focus for the stretch of the season is on the Cyclones’ “ability to control our own destiny.”
“Get to the conference championship, then the playoff, then the ultimate goal of the national championship,” Myles said. “We want to accomplish some things we’ve never accomplished here before, starting with the Big 12 championship.”
Myles still hasn’t forgotten about how CU — then under former head coach Karl Dorrell — didn’t offer him a scholarship out of high school despite him wanting to play at the university where his dad was a hooper.
“That would feel good to play spoiler against CU (in a potential Big 12 championship game),” Myles said with a laugh. “I had a chip on my shoulder for a while from it, but at the end of the day, it’s not the same staff that’s there now. So I can’t really hold a grudge against them. … But if we play them or whoever, it doesn’t matter — I want to spoil whoever’s season if we play in that game.”
Helm’s evolution into “complete tight end”
For Helm, the path to a head-turning collegiate career wasn’t as obvious.
While Myles Purchase was a four-year starter for the Bruins, Helm bided his time as an underclassman, playing on the freshman team as a freshman and then JV as a sophomore.
It wasn’t until right before his junior year, when the Bruins moved him from wideout to tight end, that he cemented a starting role. That switch quickly accelerated his recruiting.
“That summer going into my junior year, I was playing receiver still, and George Fitzpatrick was playing tight end,” Helm recalled. “They moved me to tight end, a position I never really played, and (recently before that) they moved George full-time to tackle. Two years later, we were two of the most highly recruited kids to ever come out of Cherry Creek. The coaching staff knew exactly what they were doing.”
Rachel Ellis, The Denver Post
Cherry Creek senior Gunnar Helm (11) goes for a catch as opponent and junior Jordan Norwood tries to block it during the 5A state football championships against Valor Christian at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl in Pueblo, CO on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020.
Once Helm got to Texas, he again had to earn his keep again.
He started the first two games of his freshman year at the Y position (blocking tight end) but mostly played special teams. As a sophomore and junior, he played in every Longhorns’ game, with 10 starts across those two seasons and 19 total receptions.
Some players may have transferred in search of a bigger role. But Helm, leaning on his experience at Cherry Creek, stuck it out in Austin.
“That process, and being exposed to that at a young age, really helped me in my mental standpoint of where I was as a player here,” Helm said. “There’s no get-rich-quick scheme overnight, and it’s the same thing in the football world. Sometimes you develop, wait your turn and see where you go from there.”
Coming into 2024, Helm emphasized evolving into a complete tight end.
He already proved he could block, so his focus turned to becoming a playmaker and developing close relationships on and off the field with the Longhorns’ quarterbacks, starter Quinn Ewers and backup Arch Manning.
“In the offseason, I focused on the play starting after the catch, and the routes in general,” Helm said. “That set me up pretty well, because I had the blocking aspect down pretty well as that was my job for three years as the blue-collar, hard hat-type tight end. Working on the other stuff in the offseason set me up in the passing game.”
Helm has 31 catches for 419 yards and two touchdowns this season. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian praised him as a team leader.
“What he’s been able to do this year has become a real weapon and a real target, and a primary receiver,” Sarkisian said. “He’s a guy who can not only catch the ball but create explosive plays and make people miss in the open field.
“… So much of today’s world in recruiting is instant gratification. If a guy comes in and starts as a true freshman, he’s a great player, and if he doesn’t, (it’s like), ‘What’s wrong with him?’ That’s really not the case. We are a developmental sport and his development is one that should be admired by younger players in our program.”
Meanwhile, in Greenwood Village…
The Division I success of so many Cherry Creek players speaks to the football factory that Logan’s built in Colorado — a legacy the current players are carrying on as the Bruins seek a seventh straight trip to the Class 5A championship game.
Cherry Creek (8-1, No. 2 in the Post Preps poll entering Friday) is again loaded with talent, headlined by defensive lineman Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais, who has about two dozen offers, many of them Power 4. The Bruins also have an array of skill guys worth watching, including fellow juniors in quarterback Brady Vodicka and running back Jayden Fox as well as senior Charlotte commit Jeremiah Hoffman at wideout.
It’s a complete package that will have the Bruins on the same footing come late November as the rest of the teams at the wide-open top of 5A, such as No. 1 Mountain Vista, No. 4 Legend and No. 6 Columbine, who beat Cherry Creek in last year’s title game.
“There’s six teams, at least, where if they get hot, or get a break, could win it this year,” Logan noted.
Cherry Creek played three of its first four games out-of-state after the program was “unable to secure enough in-state games for various reasons,” athletic director Jason Wilkins said. Regardless, the Bruins made the most out of the non-conference grind, including a signature win at Highland Park on Sept. 20. The 51-39 defeat of the 5A Texas power was a rare home loss for the Scots in head coach Randy Allen’s 25-year tenure.
Logan hopes those kind of out-of-state wins — in addition to ex-Bruins playing prominent roles for big-time college programs — will keep elevating the profile of a state that is not highly regarded for its football talent.
“It’s one of the reasons that we’ve gone out of state and played top teams. We’ve gone to Arizona and played Chandler, gone to Cleveland and played St. Edwards, who scored with under a minute to go and beat us 13-9,” Logan said. “What we’re trying to accomplish is to be able to encourage college recruiters from around the country to take a look at football here in Colorado, because it’s a hell of a lot better than people think.”
Originally Published:
