Remembering Lawrence McCutcheon, Colorado State Legend and Former Bronco, 1950-2026

Lawrence McCutcheon (1950-2026), the Colorado State star who became a five-time Pro Bowl running back and finished his playing days with a stop in Denver, has died at 76. His family announced Friday that he passed away on Oct. 23 with family at his bedside after a long battle with Parkinson's disease (via the Los Angeles Rams and ESPN).

A Colorado kid by way of Texas

The Plainview, Texas native did his college work up the road in Fort Collins. From 1969 to 1971 he was the first Colorado State Ram to run for 1,000 yards in a season and 200 in a game, and he left as the school's career rushing leader with 2,917 yards, still seventh in program history. CSU put him in its Hall of Fame in 1989 and added his name to the Ring of Honor at Canvas Stadium on Sept. 19, just over a month ago (via Colorado State Athletics).

Clutch in the NFL

The Los Angeles Rams took him in the third round of the 1972 draft, and he made five straight Pro Bowls from 1973 to 1977, topping 1,000 yards in four of those seasons and earning second-team AP All-Pro honors in 1974. He ran for 202 yards on 37 carries in a 1975 playoff win over the Cardinals, and in the Super Bowl in January 1980 he threw a touchdown pass to Ron Smith. When he left the Rams he was their career rushing leader with 6,186 yards, still fourth in franchise history (via the Rams and NFL.com).

He wrapped up his career in 1980 with the Broncos and Seahawks, then 1981 with Buffalo, before going back to the Rams as a scout in 1982. He spent 32 more years in their front office, including seven as director of player personnel, and retired in 2016 after 44 years in the NFL.

Our Take: Broncos fans mostly knew McCutcheon from the other side of the field, but he was one of Colorado's own. He made his name at CSU, came back to finish his career in orange, and then spent three decades helping build rosters. That's a football life worth remembering.

The family has asked that anyone wishing to honor him donate to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Our thoughts are with the McCutcheon family.

Photo: Plainview High School 1968 yearbook, unknown author, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lawrence_McCutcheon_1968.png).

Sources: Los Angeles Rams, Colorado State Athletics, NFL.com, ESPN