SRU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Cody Endres transferred to Slippery Rock University after being suspended from the University of Connecticut for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Endres went to Trinity High School and graduated in 2006.

He was named to the Observer Reporter Elite 11 team twice while at Trinity and was part of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 team as a senior.

He started playing organized football when he was in second grade becaue his dad got him into the sport when he was at a very young age.

"My dad got me interested in football and I started playing in second grade," Endres said.

In 2007, he was redshirted by UConn and got his first playing time in the 2008 season.

He played in five games and also made his first two college starts, throwing for 411 yards with three interceptions in 2008.

In his second season of eligibility at UConn, Endres  started six games and was proficient with a 63.6 completion percentage. He threw for 1,354 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions.

His career-high passing day came in 2009 against the University of West Virginia when he threw for 378 yards.

In 2010, he played in three games for UConn before he was suspended from playing with the team. In his three games, he threw for 471 yards with five touchdowns.

In his first game for SRU, Endres completed eight of his 13 attempts for 113 yards with an interception in the 51-14 victory.

Endres said that the transition to SRU wasn't much of a large change from when he was at UConn.

"I was welcomed by the team immediately when I got her," he said. "Football is same on every level. I did what I needed to do and got right to work and fitting in with my new teammates."

With senior eligibility on the team, Endres is looking to get his degree from SRU and go on to a career that he will enjoy.

"I want to get my degree from Slippery Rock," Endres said about his future after football. "After that I want to find a job that I will enjoy performing everyday."

This year, Endres said that he doesn't have any personal goals for this season and only wants to play the best he can each game for the team to win.

"I just want us to win every game that we play," Endres said. "We are looking to win the PSAC this year and make it to the national tournament. I feel that both of those goals are very achievable."

Endres said that personal things that he focuses on in his own game is to work on his footwork and mobility out of the pocket.

"My footwork is one of the main things that I look to work on," he said. "Mainly I need to improve how I move out of the pocket and my overall mobility."

Endres said that he likes to strive for some of the aspects that NFL quarterbacks have.

"I like to look for different aspects that the NFL quarterbacks have that I try to imitate," he said. "I like different things from different quarterbacks. Peyton Manning has such a great mind for the game and Ben Roethlisberger shows such great strength, and Tom Brady is such a solid winner."

Along with all of the different aspects that he looks to imitate from NFL quarterbacks, Endres said that leadership is ultimately what he focuses on.

His most memorable game moment came in 2005 when he was in high school and defeated Penn Hills in a first round playoff upset.

Looking back at his short career of playing football, Endres said that his biggest role model was definitely his father.

"My father taught me everything about football," he said. "He taught me how  to be a man."