Former N. Colorado punter guilty of assault, not attempted murder

GREELEY, Colo. -- Prosecutors said Mitch Cozad was so obsessed with becoming Northern Colorado's starting punter that he plunged a 5-inch-long knife into his rival's kicking leg.

A jury agreed, convicting Cozad of second-degree assault Thursday. But he was acquitted of the more serious charge of attempted first-degree murder.

The 22-year-old from Wheatland, Wyo., now faces up to 16 years in a Colorado prison for the attack on starting punter Rafael Mendoza.

Defense attorney Joseph Gavaldon said he would appeal.

Mendoza was ambushed outside his apartment on the night of Sept. 11. He couldn't say who attacked him in the dimly lighted parking lot. He testified the assailant was dressed in black from head to toe and had a hood cinched up so only the eyes were visible.

Gavaldon argued it was another student at the university who stabbed Mendoza, not Cozad.

Mitch Cozad will be back in court for an Oct. 2 sentencing hearing. (AP)

"Absolute disappointment," Gavaldon said after the verdict was read. He said he advised Cozad to stay strong and told him, "This is not over."

The attempted murder charge could have meant a sentence of up to 48 years.

Cozad shook his head as the verdict was read and was led away in handcuffs. He must remain in jail until his Oct. 2 sentencing.

His fiancee, Michelle Weydert, broke into uncontrollable sobbing as deputies snapped the cuffs shut around Cozad's wrists.

His mother, Suzanne Cozad, shouted at prosecutors, "You all know he passed the polygraph, you all know it."

Gavaldon told reporters that Cozad had taken a lie-detector test and had passed, but he said polygraph results are inadmissible in Colorado courts.

Mendoza stared at Cozad as the verdict was read but said nothing in the courtroom. Outside, he insisted Cozad had tried to kill him.