Beat-up truck, Busch Light and chew: Broncos fullback values simple things Jeff Legwold ESPN July 12, 2019 There is a researcher in Japan who believes science supports the theory that dog owners actually look like the dogs they acquire. Science could also, after a scan of the Denver Broncos players’ parking lot, support the notion that the high-end cars in the parking spaces match the positions the drivers play. There are the tricked-out monster-truck look-alikes for many of the linemen, the sleek, Autobahn-worthy imports for the wide receivers and the luxury sedans with tinted windows for the more high-profile All-Pros. Then, in the front row most days, tucked between the rest, there is function over form. It's the off-the-rack, blue, Dodge pickup truck, model year 2000, with the cracked window and assorted items scattered across the dashboard. The hypothesis holds up here: It belongs to fullback Andy Janovich. “They probably didn’t even take it on the road much," said Janovich, the proud, thrifty, just-do-the-job owner of the blue truck with 138,300 miles on the odometer. He said it fits him, his personality and his job, and “when it dies, I'll just get another older, cheap one to replace it." Janovich, who is in his fourth season in his job, which has one of the lowest glamour quotients and is fading in some football circles, considers the truck to be what he is: reliable, sturdy, up to the job and decidedly, happily even, under the radar. “I don’t need an extra car payment. I’m just cheap. I like to save as much money as possible," Janovich said. “About the only things I spend money on are Busch Light, chew and hunting gear. It’s plenty for me. It suits me. I mean, the first time I changed the oil on it, I knew right then it was an old farm truck because I opened the hood, and there was just corn all over on the inside." Open the hood on Janovich, and the Nebraska native is a story in perseverance, hard work and vocational selflessness -- and there is even some corn. “He’s what you think about as a Nebraska guy," Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay said. “He works, does his job, doesn’t ask for anybody to cheer him on or anything. He just does it." Former Broncos special-teams coach Brock Olivo once offered, "If we had 22 Janos, we'd be all right." Janovich is a former walk-on for the Cornhuskers, a fullback/linebacker who was moved to fullback to join the cavalcade of former walk-ons from the state’s tapestry of high schools who have lived the life of a fullback in the program’s history.

“If I think about it, I was a fullback in high school. I didn’t become one later because I was a walk-on," Janovich said. “I was a fullback in high school, was a fullback in college, and I’m a fullback now. There are no surprises there, for me or anybody else." You might say Janovich came off the assembly line that way. Like the truck. Janovich didn’t buy it to look good or impress the neighbors; he bought it “in college to haul my mower around on a trailer" as he mowed lawns and worked construction, trying to pay for college as one of nine children in his family. It was needed to get the job -- or jobs -- done. “My brother Jim builds houses, and he has an [Ford] F-350 Super Duty, and I drove it when it was brand-new," Janovich said. “I was like, ‘This is cool,’ while I was driving it, but then I got out, and I didn’t have any desire to spend that much on a vehicle. I don’t know, I just think my truck suits my job, I think my job suits me. It kinds of all goes together. It’s kind of there when you need it." His rewards for a job well done don’t often come with highlights. After all, Janovich had all of 45 carries in four years at Nebraska -- he waited three seasons to have 42 of those carries as a senior -- and he has had just 12 carries in three seasons with the Broncos. There have been similar moments in college and the pros, such as his 53-yard catch-and-run against Southern Mississippi in 2015 or his 28-yard touchdown run in the Broncos’ 2016 season opener or his 32-yard catch-and-run last season, when the inevitable questions follow the big plays. Coaches who are asked whether Janovich should get the ball more, whether that’s the plan, whether there’s more to come usually answer that it could be, that Janovich is that kind of athlete, and on and on in a football sort of blah-blah. Then Janovich is simply returned to his high-impact job as a blocker for others and a special-teams captain who doesn’t seem to mind life outside the stat lines. “I’m not at a position where I’m going to score a bunch of touchdowns or have a million catches or rushing yards," Janovich said. “For the most part, I just block people and make small plays here and there, help other people make big plays. I’ve never been the playmaker. And do I like my job? Absolutely. It works for me."

Denver Broncos Andy Janovich wins charitable Home Run Derby Cameron Parker Fansided June 12, 2019 The strength of Andy Janovich is well documented as fullback of the Denver Broncos, but putting him on a baseball diamond is another story. Denver Broncos fullback and special teams captain Andy Janovich is known for cracking heads and breaking facemasks as a lead blocker for Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman. However, he and a few others chose to partake in a Home Run Derby at Coors Field before the Colorado Rockies took on the Chicago Cubs. The Home Run Derby was a charity event by UC Health Training Center called “Healthy Swings.” Janovich and the rest of the participants helped that raise almost $100,000 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This event comes off the heels of the Denver Broncos field day event last week at the end of OTAs (organized team activities) where the team partook in a number of fun activities. One of the strong selling points of head coach Vic Fangio has been team chemistry. Organizing a fundraiser such as this one is special to team bonding and helping raise money for an important cause. These are great steps in the right direction toward building a solid foundation from top to bottom before Training Camp in July (and we now know exactly when in July). As for the Home Run Derby itself, Janovich did take home the championship belt. He collected three home runs, an impressive feat for the fullback.

O’Halloran: Broncos fullback Andy Janovich excited for potentially expanded role Ryan O’Halloran Denver Post April 7, 2019 Broncos fullback Andy Janovich played 239 offensive snaps last year, carrying twice and catching eight passes. San Francisco’s Kyle Juszczyk played 662 snaps (264 more than any other NFL fullback) and had eight carries and 30 catches. The Broncos hired 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello in January as offensive coordinator. No wonder Janovich was enthusiastic on Thursday about being more involved in the offense. “I haven’t gotten all the way through the playbook; if it’s anything like the 49ers, I think my role should increase this year,” Janovich said. “Can’t be anything but excited.” The key for Janovich as the off-season program develops: Showing Scangarello he has the skills to have a Juszczyk-type role. Move all over the formation. Be effective as a route runner and in the screen game. And still carry out the dirty work of a fullback (meeting an oncoming linebacker in the gap … and winning). One 49ers game from last year illustrates how Scangarello might want to use Janovich. Juszczyk played 68 out of 98 snaps and had six catches for 75 yards. He lined up at nine — yes, nine — different positions: Fullback, running back, right/left slot receiver, right/left tight end, right/left receiver and stack right receiver. Juszczyk’s catches came when lined up at fullback (four), right receiver and left tight end (one apiece). He showed after-the-catch ability, turning screen passes into gains of 25 yards and 16 yards, both of which he caught behind the line of scrimmage. And when the 49ers used their hurry-up offense, he was the only running back on the field. “I think I’m a better blocker (than Juszczyk) at the end of the day, but I think he’s a great route runner,” Janovich said. “We’ll see.” Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Janovich will get a chance to see if an increased role equals a long-term deal.

The Pro Bowl Push: Why Andy Janovich is 'the ultimate team player' By Ben Swanson DenverBroncos.com Dec. 4, 2018 With voting for the 2019 Pro Bowl underway, it’s our job to make sure Broncos fans are as well informed as possible before they do their civic NFL duty. So, to provide valuable perspective for the outstanding seasons some of the Broncos’ top players are putting forward this year, we asked their teammates why they should make the Pro Bowl. This time, we spoke to Andy Janovich's teammates, who think he's as good a fullback as there is. "Jano's the best in the league in my opinion. You want to talk about a guy who puts it all on the line for his teammates all the time — that's special teams and as a fullback. He's made some incredible blocks this year. He definitely deserves it." — wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders "I think everybody in this [locker] room knows Andy deserves to be in the Pro Bowl. He's blocking his ass off, he's selfless, he puts his body on the line — and not just on offense, but on special teams. The man works. He'll never say anything; he [just] goes home. He's a great dude. A great dude that deserves it and deserves a lot of respect. He gets all the respect from his teammates, but he deserves a lot of respect coming from the NFL. They need to take notice of a man like that." — running back Phillip Lindsay "[Janovich is so successful] because he's not going to stop. It doesn't matter what play of the game it is, how many times you've collided; he's coming at you full speed every play. I think he's got to be ready for it going into a game, and I feel sorry for opposing linebackers because it's going to be a long day for you." — inside linebacker Todd Davis "Jano is the ultimate team player. You could tell Jano to go put his head in a 330-pound D-tackle's knee, and he's going to go do that. They ask him to do so much on special teams, and he does it, and he does it at a high level. He pushes everyone else around him. And on the offensive side of the ball, the dude just smacks people. He doesn't get catches, really; he doesn't get the touches. But he's willing to just go out there and smack people to get other people open. That's the thing that I think makes him so special at the position he plays." — wide receiver Courtland Sutton

Player Q&A: FB Andy Janovich By Aric DiLalla DenverBroncos.com Nov. 11, 2018 The fullback is a rare breed in today’s NFL, and that helps explain why Andy Janovich is a one-of-a-kind player. The third-year Nebraska product is a special teams captain and embodies toughness. In 2016, he broke his hand on the first play of the game — and then proceeded to play the rest of the game. Head Coach Vance Joseph said recently you’d be “hard pressed to find a guy better than him” at the position, and Janovich’s performance this season shows Joseph is likely correct. Janovich has played a key role in several big plays for the Broncos this year, and we asked him about one during a Week 4 game against Kansas City. We also checked in with Janovich about his alma mater’s new head coach, why he goes sleeveless — even when it snows — and a truck that stands out in a parking lot full of luxury cars. Aric DiLalla: As a Nebraska alum, what are your thoughts on the start of the Scott Frost era? Andy Janovich: “I think it’s going to be great. Obviously, right now it’s not, but once he gets his guys in and they start maturing, it’s going to be pretty good.” AD: Is he the guy that you think can return Nebraska to what it used to be back in the ‘90s? AJ: “Absolutely. I just wish he’d run a fullback. That’s how his offense goes, so oh well.” AD: What do you respect about those old teams? When you were at Nebraska, did they talk about those teams as the standard? AJ: “Yeah, absolutely. Just smash-mouth, hard-nosed football. Those guys went out there, and they were going to crush everybody that they went against. Didn’t matter who it was. If their moms were on the field, they’d go after them.” AD: When’s the first time you ever remember breaking a facemask? AJ: “Oh, shoot. Probably college. We had [former Nebraska assistant coach] Ron Brown. He’d line the linebackers up one at a time five yards from us, and we’d just go at it.” AD: Has toughness become a calling card for you? AJ: “Yeah, I think that’s really where it all started. He really made me get after it. That’s when I started to figure out how to block and how to run into people and hit and move linebackers out of holes.” AD: Fullback is such a different position than most spots on a football team. Do you think it’s a reminder of what the game used to be like? AJ: “I guess. Hopefully they start bringing them back. But you never know. We’re just the last indication of the ‘90s and even before then.”

AD: When it was snowing a few weeks ago, you were out there with no sleeves. How does that develop a team’s mentality? I saw some of your teammates joined in. AJ: "I think it’s a sign of toughness. I’m like, ‘I don’t give a [crap] what the weather’s like today, I’m going to come out here — dress the same whether it’s hot or cold — and I’m just going to kick your ass.'" AD: Does that transfer to game day pretty easily? AJ: “Yeah, absolutely. There’s a lot of guys on game day that don’t like to wear sleeves just cause if they handle the ball, they think it messes with them. I think a lot of guys are going to start joining in.” AD: Against Kansas City, you had a long catch on the wheel route. What were you thinking as the ball was coming through the air? AJ: “‘Don’t screw this up. You’ve got to catch it.’ I couldn’t see it. I saw it out of his hands and then it got lost in the lights. I saw it when it came back down, so I got lucky on that one.” AD: Have you caught a pass that long before? AJ: “Not in a game (laughter).” AD: How does that compare to the touchdown run against the Panthers during your first career game? AJ: “Shoot, I don’t know. We didn’t win the [Kansas City] game, so it doesn’t really matter.” AD: I know a lot of guys out here have fancy cars. It looks like you’re still driving the same truck you’ve had for a while. When did you get that thing, and is that you staying true to your roots by not upgrading? AJ: “I wouldn’t say it’s staying true to my roots, but I got that when I was a junior in college so I could haul a mower for my mowing business. It’s a good truck. I’ve got no reason to get rid of it.” AD: Do any of your teammates give you a hard time about it? AJ: “Aw, everybody. But they’re not spending the money on it, so I don’t see why they care.”

Andy Janovich provides Broncos rare fullback versatility By Kyle Fredrickson Denver Post Oct. 26, 2018 Linebacker Shaquil Barrett watches Andy Janovich set a block — pick any one one of countless monster stuffs this season — and Barrett considers himself lucky to play for the Broncos and not whoever lines up across from the Broncos’ fullback on game day. “He’s broken face masks,” Barrett said. “You’ve got to be ready.” Janovich, a 6-foot-1, 238-pound, special teams captain in his third season out of Nebraska, enjoys few things more than laying out an opponent with a clean block: “I really take pride in it.” But that’s not all. The Broncos are one of 18 NFL teams, just over half of the league, to utilize a fullback entering Week 8 at Kansas City. Janovich ranks inside the top-five for offensive usage by accounting for 21 percent of Denver’s total offensive snaps (101-470). What makes Janovich more unique, though, is how offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave has employed him through multiple formations — traditionally in the backfield, pulling as a lead blocker for receiver Emmanuel Sanders’ end-around runs, interchangeably with tight ends and even motioning out wide at receiver to set the edge for bubble screens. “Where a lot of teams will use a third tight end, we’ll use a fullback,” tight end Brian Parker said. “It’s pretty cool to have such a versatile guy.” And, when given the opportunity, Janovich has showcased pass-catching talent. Like when the Broncos led Kansas City by a touchdown in Week 4 to start the fourth quarter. Quarterback Case Keenum faced first down, Janovich motioned into the flat pre-snap and Keenum connected with his fullback on a 32-yard wheel route reception. “He’ll be around the tight ends,” Parker said of Janovich, “telling us he wants to come run our routes.” Janovich doesn’t dwell on his receiving role, calling it “not terrible” before adding: “I’m not going to out-run anyone.” Janovich understands his primary role is to make plays that don’t typically make highlight tapes. When Keenum hit Courtland Sutton on a 42-yard reception against the Chiefs last month, it was Janovich putting an impressive stuff on blitzing inside linebacker Anthony Hitchens that allowed Keenum time to make the completion. “I want to be the best blocker there is,” Janovich said. “It’s nice to see when I come in they change their personnel, load up the box with eight guys and they really have to respect the run.” Parker added: “He’s going 100 percent and he’s not bracing himself for contact. And, he’s athletic enough to not miss and fall on his face like some bigger guys.” Janovich’s non-blocking statistics are far from gaudy. He touts one rush for two yards and two receptions for 43 total yards. But ask Vance Joseph and it’s clear Janovich is performing at a Pro-Bowl level.

“You would be hard pressed to find a guy better than him who blocks, who catches the football, who plays as a core guy on (special) teams,” Joseph said. “I would vote for him.” Janovich takes a workman-like approach to interviews and football. Nothing fancy necessary for the Broncos’ versatile bulldozer. “They just tell me what to do at practice, they put in the plays and we run them,” Janovich said. “It really doesn’t matter to me. Whatever they tell me to do, I’m going to do it.”

Andy Janovich, the Broncos’ quiet enforcer, is proving his worth once again By Nicki Jhabvala The Athletic August 28, 2018 As with most offseasons, Andy Janovich entered 2018 expecting the unexpected. The Broncos changed offensive coordinators — again. They altered their offensive system — again. They swapped starting quarterbacks. Again. The future of a fullback is never guaranteed in the NFL anymore, and with so much change around him, Janovich was hardly certain his job would still be there this year. “There are only 20-21 of us or something like that,” he said during OTAs. “So you just never know what’s going to happen. It’s a tough position to play. Not everybody uses them, but the teams that do use them tend to use them (a lot).” The Broncos have the youngest running back corps in the league, and coach Vance Joseph said the race remains open for the top job. But after three weeks of camp and three preseason games, the leading contenders at halfback have come into view, with third-round rookie Royce Freeman, veteran Devontae Booker and undrafted rookie Phillip Lindsay taking the majority of first-team opportunities. Although Janovich faced no competition at fullback this year, he may have all but sealed his spot with his play Friday at Washington, in which he was graded by Pro Football Focus as the Broncos’ best offensive player overall. Janovich played eight offensive snaps, two of them leading to touchdowns. On a second down in the final minute of the first quarter, Janovich lined up in an I-formation and put a block on 6-foot-2, 238-pound linebacker Zach Vigil to clear a running lane. Freeman zipped through, cut right, shed three tackles and trotted into the end zone for the 24-yard score. A quarter later, on another second down, Janovich crossed the formation to block safety D.J. Swearinger at full speed as receiver Emmanuel Sanders took the end-around and sprinted through the cleared path into the end zone. The score expanded the Broncos’ lead to 17-3 — their largest halftime lead since Jan. 1, 2017. “Jano, man, he’s the best. Best fullback in the league,” Sanders told the team’s website after the Broncos’ 29-17 win. This is the job of fullback, one Janovich has seemingly, and willingly, mastered: to play with reckless abandon. Playing one of the most dangerous positions in the game, Janovich has the upper body of a linebacker and label as the ultimate dude. (No, really, that was in his NFL draft profile.) He likes to hunt, and he likes to lift weights, and he likes to throw his body at full speed into an oncoming defender.

Repeatedly. But he also has an aptitude for the game that former Broncos back C.J. Anderson learned to appreciate quickly when Gary Kubiak reintroduced the fullback to their offense. “One thing about Jano, he does a good job at reading the hole before I do. I trust him,” Anderson said last year. “Sometimes it’ll be my eyes in certain plays and certain situations. But other than that it’s really just slowing down just a step and letting things develop, which works well for me because I’m not the fastest cat on the planet.” The Broncos have used Janovich quite a bit since drafting him in the sixth round in 2016. When Kubiak returned as coach, the Broncos’ run game became the priority, and Janovich was the catalyst in the two-back scheme. He scored a touchdown on his first carry in the NFL, and over the past two years “Jano” has filled the role as both a quiet enforcer and special-teams ace. Although he’s already had a steady rotation of coaches and coordinators in his young career, all seem to come away with the same impression. They love Jano. “If we had 22 Janos we would be all right,” former Broncos special-teams coordinator Brock Olivo once said. “He’s tough, he never says a word and never complains. He just does his job.” The Broncos have the luxury of speed and power among their running backs this year. But they also have youth, and Janovich’s experience has so far been a boon. But perhaps his most valuable contributions over the past two years, amid injuries to his hand and foot, have come on special teams. Last year, Janovich played 307 special-teams snaps, third-most on the team. With the arrival of new coordinator Tom McMahon, the Broncos’ special teams have, throughout the preseason, been the team’s most consistent unit. Janovich has played no small part. The fullback position may be a fading role in the NFL as the passing game dominates. But Janovich, well, he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Next-Day Notebook: Andy Janovich gathers accolades for game-breaking blocks By Ben Swanson DenverBroncos.com August 26, 2018 Fullbacks don’t really go viral. At least, they don’t do so in the same way that wide receivers, running backs or other position playersoften do. Their ball-carrying duties are rare and lie mostly secondary to less-noticeable responsibilities, like pass protection and providing run blocking ahead of running backs. So when Andy Janovich paved the way for Royce Freeman and Emmanuel Sanders on their touchdowns in the first half and received some chatter on Twitter for it, it was a little out of the ordinary. But the reticent and unflappable third-year fullback isn’t one to bask in that attention. His position, by its nature, is unglamorous, and he embraces that spirit. “That’s just what they ask me to do,” Janovich said after Friday’s game. “Whether it’s something that people don’t see don’t care about, don’t talk about, it doesn’t really matter to me. I just know my role on the team and I’m going to go out there and do whatever is asked of me.” Perhaps more interesting to him, then, may be the appreciation his teammates had for his performance on those two plays. On the first, Freeman’s touchdown run, Janovich picked up linebacker Zach Vigil, who was in position to end the play early behind the line of scrimmage. Instead, Janovich wrapped him up and sealed him out of reach Freeman, who proceeded to split the Redskins’ defense for a 24-yard touchdown. Two drives later, during a 75-yard drive, Janovich again capped the scoring possession with a game-changing block. As Sanders turned upfield on the reverse play from 27 yards out, Janovich took safety D.J. Swearinger out of Sanders’ path to the end zone with a crushing cut block. “What a great block by Andy, cutting that guy, chopping him down,” Sanders said. “I ended up going inside. I know everybody was like, ‘No, don’t go inside! Go outside!’ But I ended up going inside, made a play on the safety and Courtland made a great block down the field and I was able to get in the end zone. Really it was just great blocking. All I had to do was run it in. Credit to those guys.” Fullbacks have become more uncommon as the league has evolved away from power running, but fullbacks like Janovich — with his ability to correctly and consistently make game-breaking blocks like those, not to mention his ability to run the ball and special-teams skills — are even more rare. Gimme five With five field goals against Washington, kicker Brandon McManus clearly seems to be ready for the regular season.

McManus’ efforts included two field goals from 50 yards or beyond (50 and 56), and the final four ensured that the Broncos would score on each of their second-half possessions, excluding the kneeldowns at the end of the game. More than anything, McManus seemed to be pleased that the trajectory of his performance since the start of training camp has continue to rise. “Pretty pleased,” McManus said. “I’ve had some days in the beginning of training camp [when] I didn’t do too well. ... Since the beginning, I’ve really hit a stride and really performed pretty well.” One of the biggest transitions for McManus and the field-goal unit has been getting new punter Marquette King comfortable with holding for a right-footed kicker. In Oakland, King held only for lefties Sebastian Janikowski and Giorgio Tavecchio. But with King’s hard work, it has been a smooth transition so far. “He’s done great,” McManus said. “He came over and he was obviously holding for a lefty ever since he joined the NFL. It’s a lot different catching the ball, seeing the ball, coming off from the snapper, using different hands to hold and spin the ball. He’s done a great job, really worked hard. He probably practices 50 JUGS [machine] snaps every practice before we get out there. He does a great job and has worked hard on it.” After all that work, the kicking unit engineered a performance it hopes to recreate throughout the regular season and one that the team’s head coach expects. “That’s his job,” Head Coach Vance Joseph said. “He can be a special weapon for us. What B-Mac did tonight, that’s what we expected." Learning AP style Days after signing with Washington following injuries to running backs Derrius Guice, Samaje Perine and Byron Marshall, star running back Adrian Peterson made his debut in Friday’s game against the Broncos, showcasing the elusiveness and vision that made him so dangerous over the past 12 years. “He’s a great back,” defensive end Adam Gotsis said. “He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame. He’s just another back that we need to stop. We know he’s going to come in and he’s a true pro and he’s going to run hard. So the better job we do up front, the better the team can be the rest of the game and be in better situations.” Peterson did most of his work between the tackles, but he broke free for first downs on runs of 13 and 15 yards in the first half by bouncing to the outside. “Adrian Peterson had a few good runs today,” Shane Ray said. “We just need to tighten up. Preseason is for seeing those things. It’s not practice, but it’s like practice. You are able to evaluate everybody and see what guys are doing. Of course, there are always things we can get better at and the run game is one of them tonight. We are going to build on what we are good at, and that’s hitting the quarterback and making plays and tighten up more." Peterson was a hard player for the Broncos to corral in the first half, but that didn’t mean they weren’t able mount a great defensive showing anyway. Aside from those two first downs, the defense largely

bottled him up for short gains. And when they faced third downs, they held Peterson and the Redskins to zero third-down conversions on seven first-half attempts. “They played well,” Joseph said. “Outside of the early run issues with Adrian — I mean he popped a couple of runs on us, which we don’t like, but we won third downs and that stopped the drives. They were one for eleven on third downs and that’s the key to playing great defense. Once you get them in the third down, you have to get off the field and that we accomplished tonight.”

Andy Janovich is the “Hammerhead,” Gary Kubiak’s new, not-so-secret Broncos weapon By Nick Groke Denver Post August 6, 2016 Nicknames are for veterans. Broncos safety T.J. Ward, for example, can call himself “Boss” because he earned it over six seasons. Rookies, though, do not get nicknames. They get numbers. At best they hear “Hey, rook.” Rookie fullback Andy Janovich is a rarity. One week into his first NFL training camp, he already has a nickname. He is “Hammerhead.” “There are plays when I knock the crap out of a linebacker or something and everybody seems excited,” Janovich said at Broncos headquarters. “But that’s just the role of the fullback. I feel like they’re liking what I’m doing.” The glory days of the smashmouth fullback in the NFL are distant. The Broncos drafted 10 fullbacks from 1960-67. But they drafted only three since 1968. They grabbed Janovich in the sixth round in April, the highest-picked fullback in the draft. As coach Gary Kubiak rebuilds the Broncos’ offense this season in his image, he started with a fullback. Last season, with Peyton Manning playing out his final games in a one-back, shotgun or pistol formation, the Broncos had no need for a fullback. It just didn’t fit. This season is different. “I know how I’d like to use them,” Kubiak said. “When you’re operating with a fullback offensively, there are certain things you get defensively. When you’re a one-back team with three or four (receivers) wide, you get a variety of things and teams can settle down a bit.” In his 22 seasons as a head coach or offensive coordinator, Kubiak has unsettled the NFL order by being a bit of a throwback. When Kubiak coached the Houston Texans in 2012, fullback James Casey played 53.6 percent of their offensive snaps, ranking second in the NFL among fullbacks. When Kubiak was the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens in 2014, fullback Kyle Juszczyk played 42.2 percent of their snaps, ranking third in the NFL. And when Kubiak came to Denver, general manager John Elway saw the change coming, promising to bring back the fullback. “To be really effective in the running game, you have to run the fullback,” Elway said last year. “We will have people in the fullback position.” Elway wasn’t lying. It just took an extra year to implement. The players who logged any time at fullback last season weren’t even fullbacks: halfback Juwan Thompson and tight end Virgil Green.

That led the Broncos to Janovich, a 6-foot-2, 238-pound bruiser from Nebraska who became the first fullback drafted by Denver since Arkansas’ Peyton Hillis was a seventh-round pick in 2008. Janovich loves the position. He feels like a fullback in his core. And he makes a defense feel it too. “Downhill hitting. I love one-on-one blocks with linebackers,” said Janovich, who joined the Cornhuskers as a walk-on. “They’re the biggest, toughest guys out there. I get a headache now and then, but that’s just what the position is.” The Broncos ranked only 17th in the 32-team NFL in yards rushing last season, but they were 17th in rushing attempts too. Manning did not fit with an under-center, hand-off style. That will change this season, no matter who is playing quarterback. Denver is a running team now. And a running team needs a lead blocker. “We ask our fullback to do a lot of things,” Kubiak said. “We knew what Andy was when we drafted him.” In the far corner of a practice field at Dove Valley this week, Janovich plowed into a blocking sled with the verve of a big-horned ram. As a sophomore at Gretna (Neb.) High School, Janovich was beaten out for the starting running back job. His coach made him a fullback, and he has loved playing that position ever since. The fullback is first through the line. “It’s different than a pulling guard. A fullback is looking to kill you,” said Janovich, 23. “I’m having a blast. I love this. I’m just trying to work my butt off every day.”

Andy Janovich aiming to revive the fullback position By Caroline Deisley DenverBroncos.com July 23, 2016 Sixth-round draft pick Andy Janovich is ready to become the fullback the Broncos need. A fullback can be described as a silent workhorse — rarely acknowledged, but crucial in creating separation for skill players. Playing there requires a certain physicality and warrior-like mentality because of the sacrificial nature of the position. The Broncos’ offense figures to incorporate a fullback plenty in the 2016 season and beyond. It’s a staple of Head Coach Gary Kubiak’s offensive mindset, and Denver added a potential key to that end in the 2016 NFL Draft in sixth-round pick Andy Janovich. So, Janovich, who played at the University of Nebraska, will not only be focused on creating separation for his Broncos teammates on the field but also trying to create separation from his competition off it. The rookie exuberates a resilient mentality that’s been instilled in him since birth. Being the eighth of nine children with five older brothers, the Nebraska native was constantly challenged, forcing him to work harder and fight for recognition. “Watching all my older brothers in sports, I always wanted to be like them and be the best in the family,” said Janovich. “After that, it was pretty much self-taught. I’m used to it now.” This relentless dedication became the defining characteristic of the Janovich’s style of play in Lincoln. A former walk-on-turned-scholarship player for the Cornhuskers, Janovich said he understands more than most how to fight for a spot on a roster. This mentality could very well earn the rookie playing time for the reigning Super Bowl champions, which the fullback fully comprehends as he prepares for his first NFL training camp. “I’m just going to come in and do what I’ve done my whole life: put my nose to the ground and just work,” Janovich said. “It’s what’s always set me apart from other people. I’m usually never the best athlete at any given time so it’s just work ethic and trying to use my technique and be perfect whenever I can be.” And that’s exactly the mindset Broncos offensive coordinator Rick Dennison expects from not just Janovich but all the rookies. “As long as [the new guys] are working hard and trying to get better — that kind of exemplified our team last year; we were grinders,” Dennison said. “They may not have been perfect, but they worked hard and tried to make it as good as we could. Persistence was our key.” Janovich will experience the reality of the NFL during his first training camp, when he lines up for the first time in full pads against the league’s best defense in 2015.

“That’s a position that, much like the offensive line, it’s tell-tale when you put the pads on,” Dennison said. Janovich’s situation in Denver could not be more ideal, with the Broncos being a “pro-fullback” team in a league that’s seen the utilization of the position dwindle during the last 20 years. “Obviously, it gives us more options. There is a whole set of plays that we can run with two backs that we didn’t run very much of last year,” said Dennison on the draft addition of Janovich. “That just opens it up and gives us a little bit more for the defense to have to worry about. One extra blocker in there allows us to block another guy closer to the line of scrimmage.” Adding to their fullback depth was part of the Broncos’ mission in the 2016 Draft, and Kubiak felt fortunate to land Janovich with the 176th overall pick. “He did a great job in Nebraska,” Kubiak said after Day 3 of the Draft. “He catches the ball well, he’s very physical, and our special teams got so much better today.” Janovich seems to epitomize what Kubiak looks for in a fullback, with his strength and blue-collar work ethic. At the 2016 NFL Combine, Janovich notched 30 bench-press reps, which is just two behind current Miami Dolphin defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh’s 32 reps in 2010. At Nebraska, Janovich received the 2015 Lifter of the Year award and was known among many teammates and coaches as a “weight-room warrior.” However, “I’ve always been a little undersized,” Janovich said, “so I’ve been able to find leverage, which is a big thing. Just getting under somebody and getting the angle on my approach to get to them.” This technique, along with his strength and work ethic, make him stand out in the Broncos’ running-backs room, alongside C.J. Anderson, Ronnie Hillman and fullback/running back hybrid Juwan Thompson. This is the group Janovich is leaning on to learn the ins and outs of the offense, which is similar to the one in which he played in college. “Andy is so good. I told him on a couple of plays, ‘I didn’t even know you were in there.’ That’s just how smooth and quick he is. I think we see the right things,” said Anderson. Based on Janovich’s career so far, it’s hard to see a situation where he doesn’t soon find a way onto the field in some capacity — either solely in the backfield, on special teams, or some combination of both. His mentality has always been to just focus on the game, but now, for the first time in his life, he’ll actually have an opportunity to do just that. “Being in the NFL, it’s just focused on football. That’s your job now,” Janovich said. “You don’t have to worry about anything else but working out, practicing, watching film … It’s just all football from here on out.”