The first time Kodi Cornelius put on a football uniform, he was 6 years old.
Kenneth Fitzgerald, his older brother by six years, was playing Pop Warner football for the Petaluma Panthers. Kodi’s mother, Anna Evans, encouraged him to play as well.
“I look at Kodi as a Panther, and he was soft, probably didn’t like it that much,” Casa Grande head coach John Antonio recalled. “He was kind of dragged out there, needed something to do because he might have been a little bit chubby. And to go from that until now, he’s the No. 1-driven kid I’ve ever been around.”
But Cornelius didn’t like football back then. At all.
“I didn’t love it,” he recalled. “It felt like daddy ball. There were a bunch of things ... I didn’t vibe with the coaches. I was like, ‘Oh, I really don’t like doing this.”
That would be the last time Cornelius would don the pads until six years later, when he made the decision to hit the gridiron once again.
This time around, the reaction was a little bit different.
“It obviously wasn’t to the point where I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to take this to college,’” Cornelius said. “I had no aspirations of that yet. I was pretty pudgy, and I was just going to get back on the field and hang with my boys. It was good free time — I mean, it was Pop Warner football, and everyone was just doing it to have fun.”
“I played up with all the eighth graders, so it was a good experience,” he said. “It wasn’t that I hated it, but it wasn’t that I loved it. I just liked it.”
Once he got to the high school level, Cornelius — like most every other local player at the time — had to deal with a series of obstacles: The start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, his freshman year, and then wildfires in 2021 that canceled Casa’s opening game.
With all that going on, a love for football was growing slowly but surely for the senior defensive lineman (He also lines up on Casa’s O-line).
Fitzgerald, whom Kodi called his biggest influence, told the younger brother that he had to decide — go and try to play Division I football, or just play in high school for fun.
“Something clicked. if I was going to play football, I’m going to play at 100%,” Cornelius said.
After that 2021 opener was canceled, Casa added Antioch to the schedule for later in the season.
That turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Even though the Gauchos lost, Cornelius had his breakout game. He had seven total tackles, including four solo, with two sacks. That just fueled his commitment to the game — despite waking up sore the next day.
“I had a pretty solid game,” Cornelius said humbly. “And afterward, that’s when I thought that I love this game. The adrenaline rush, seeing everybody, the way I felt. When I woke up the next morning not being able to get out of bed, I knew that this is life and this is love.”
Since that Antioch game, Cornelius has entrenched himself as one of the best players to don the green and gold of the Gauchos. He’s accumulated 95 total tackles (49 solo) and seven sacks since his breakout.
And, as it turns out, that decision to aim for Division I football seems like it will pay off. Cornelius currently sits at eight offers: Eastern Michigan, San Diego State, Washington State, Sacramento State, UC Davis, Air Force, Army and Nevada-Reno.
Nevada was the first to make an offer, in late January of this year. Getting the phone call felt like a weight lifting off his shoulders, Cornelius recalled.
“I didn’t have to worry about paying for college, didn’t have to worry about going into debt post-college, didn’t have to worry about my mom going into student loan debt, that all got lifted off of me,” Cornelius said with a big smile across his face. “I felt a thousand times lighter, and I felt so uplifted.”
As for that ever-growing love for the game, he now gets goose bumps talking about it. While concentrating on the upcoming season, he also wants to help teammates that seek to play college football. There are a few guys on the fence, he said, and Cornelius has long wanted to help elevate Casa Grande’s program.
After all, it is home.
“Not only has (Casa) been a home to me to thrive in and try to make an impact off of, but it’s also been a building block in developing as a person,” Cornelius said. “John (Antonio) has done a great job of not only being by my side to guide me but also to make sure I’m not getting ahead of myself.”
This season, the Gauchos will look to improve on a 6-5 record that saw them finish third in the Vine Valley Athletic League with a 4-2 record. But also, as cliché as it sounds, Cornelius said he just wants to have fun.
“I want to enjoy this senior season,” he said. “I want to thrive with my teammates, and just soak it all up before I have to say goodbye to everybody. And also, if they opportunity presents itself, rack up a few more offers and bring more attention to Casa Grande.”
You can reach Staff Writer Kienan O’Doherty at 415-887-8650 or kienan.odoherty@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kodoherty22.
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