Finally, the mottled clumps of gray sky opened and flecks of snow began pelting the faces of the scouts assembled at Canvas Stadium. Heads were hooded. Hands huddled in thick jackets. Rows of NFL evaluators toed the sidelines this Thursday morning, chilled feet antsy for warmth, the intrigue around Tory Horton keeping them firmly planted in Fort Collins. On the sidelines, as the flakes drifted down, Horton’s father, Tim, smiled at CSU head coach Jay Norvell. “That’s what Tory wanted,” Tim told Norvell, as he recalled, of the snow. Horton didn’t need to be here. It’d been all of three weeks since he was cleared to start running routes. All of two months since he was cleared to start running, period. The receiver spent a less-than-ideal portion of his final season at CSU in a bed, recovering from an operation on a knee bludgeoned by hits. And holding a pro day, with representatives from between 28 to 30 NFL teams in attendance, wasn’t the safest of bets. But the goal Thursday was to get evaluators’ eyes on his mentality, the intangibles they couldn’t see on a reel of tape or a medical report. The makeup that kept him at mid-major CSU when two straight 1,100-yard seasons could’ve landed him a nice NIL bag in the portal from an SEC school. Horton was a “football player,” Norvell said repeatedly, the phrase sounding more like an effusive adjective than a fact. As CSU’s staff anticipated the elements, they asked Horton if he’d want to move indoors. He declined. Leave it outside, he told them. “It just shows that competitive, and that mental standpoint, of going out there even though it’s cold and kind of windy conditions and still keeping my routes crisp,” Horton said after his pro day. So he churned out routes under the elements, in no more cover than a pair of black compression shorts, on a pro day where trainer Ricky Proll felt his “stock went up.” Horton’s camp hoped to show scouts his knee, after a lost six-game season in 2024, was plenty healthy. He hit a broad jump of 10.5 feet — which would’ve tied for 12th out of 33 WRs at the NFL combine — and cut smoothly on a series of post-corner and out routes. “This is typical Tory Horton, now,” Norvell said. “I mean, being outside in the snow, in the wind, in the cold, and running routes, catching punts … somebody’s going to get a steal when they pick him.” Exactly when is, of course, the question. Horton could’ve opted for the NFL draft a year ago after a 96-catch season at CSU but chose to return to the program in 2024 to further boost his stock. “There could be some risk,” he acknowledged then. It was unfortunate foreshadowing. Horton endured multiple hits to his knee in six games in 2024, knocked out for the season with season-ending surgery after being helped off in a game against San Jose State. But there was little left for the CSU standout to prove in sheer on-field production. He’s put on 15 pounds since a year ago, questions around a slight frame following him since going under-recruited out of Fresno, Calif. He’s learned how to be “110% locked in mentally,” as he put it, after rehab forced Horton to get his football fix through dissecting film. “He’s more ready,” Norvell said, “for this next step now.” The day was hardly smooth. Horton insisted to Proll that he run a final route after an incompletion on a post, and a subsequent go-ball fell beyond his grasp. But he looked plenty healthy on a series of hard pivots in his route tree, a promising development with the amount of NFL representation on hand. Including, notably, Broncos receivers coach Keary Colbert. “I feel great for what they got in store,” Horton said, asked about the possibility of landing with the Broncos. “Had really good meets with them, so if it was to happen, I wouldn’t be mad.” The leg may not quite be a sure thing yet. The mentality is. After being cleared to run simply in a straight line in February’s combine, his knee swelled up. Veteran agent Chase Callahan advised him not to run the 40-yard-dash. Well — not advised. “I told him no,” Callahan recalled. Related Articles Broncos Mailbag: Should Denver target Bo Nix’s adopted brother, Tez Johnson, in NFL draft? Broncos 2025 NFL mock draft tracker 7.0: What national experts predict Denver will do Mike Shanahan’s Hall of Fame chances? “I think it’s a matter of time,” son Kyle says. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan on new Broncos ILB Dre Greenlaw, S Talanoa Hufanga: “It was tough losing those guys” Keeler: Broncos’ Courtland Sutton held up his end. It’s time Sean Payton, Greg Penner did the same and extend his contract Horton, though, started testing out some running starts in the hallways of the Indiana Convention Center. He told Callahan he was going to run, and there was no changing his mind. He ran a 4.41, in a development Horton called a “shocker to pretty much everybody.” “For Tory to show that type of courage and competitiveness and wanting to run, and then working out today, I’m just so proud of him,” Norvell told reporters. “And he’s gonna do very well at the next level.” Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis. ...read more read less