Football is just a part of a player's life. Viking coaches tell all their players that.      

And, that's one of the reasons Portland State University can be a powerful draw, with its location at the heart of the largest city in the Big Sky Conference.      

Just ask sophomore defensive tackle Kenton Bartlett, this year's recipient of the Garrison Athletic Endowed Scholarship. The Vikings were his first offer at Centennial High School in Boise, ID, but he wanted to see what else came up.      

"I got interest from other schools after Portland State offered me and it came down to the University of Idaho and Portland State. I liked the coaching staff here and Portland is a city. There were better educational opportunities here and I thought it would be easier to find a job here," said Bartlett, echoing the thoughts of a number of Viking athletes.     

With the decision of where to go out of the way, the 6-3, 260-pounder also wanted a leg up for a chance to play during his freshman year.       

"I knew college ball would be different. It's a much faster game. Everyone is big and strong. In high school, I was always the biggest and strongest. In college, everyone was like that," he said.      

So, he took summer classes between his junior and senior years, graduating early, so he was at Portland State for spring ball.       

Bartlett said he knew he was going to play as a true freshman. What he didn't know was that two weeks into fall camp the Viking coaching staff was going to move him from linebacker to defensive end. He thinks he was moved because of his size…"and they knew I could get bigger."       

"He's a strong player. He moves well as a defensive lineman and he can run for a defensive tackle," said Viking Defensive Coordinator Malik Roberson.       

It was a change Bartlett liked. "It's a lot simpler. At linebacker, we had to understand the entire defense, know where everyone was. Here you are just worried about doing your job," he said.     

Bartlett's goal his first year was to play as much as possible. He played in six games, starting one and recorded seven unassisted tackles and assisted in four. A concussion kept him out of three games.

Overall, he said he accomplished what he wanted last season.      

"I got a lot of playing time, but I was still feeling my way in terms of football and was determined during the off season to get more physical and stronger. I found myself off balance sometimes last year," he said. That led to his staying in Portland over the summer where he worked out in the weight room, adding about 20 pounds.      

Academically that first year, he found college academics a little harder than he'd expected. His parents were both teachers at Centennial High School. Dad Steve Bartlett teaches calculus. With that family history, he carried a 3.6 cumulative high school GPA into PSU, where it dropped to around a 3.0 his first year.     

Because of that background, he didn't find the transition too difficult. "The biggest thing was that it was up to you in college. You're on your own in terms of doing the work. There's no one telling you how or when to study. But, since both my parents were teachers at my high school, I had a lot of pressure to learn how to study and to do well academically there."       

Bartlett is majoring in criminal justice and criminology. While he hasn't yet thought about specific jobs, he thinks he'd like to work your younger kids.      

"At a young age, some kids get on the wrong track. They make bad choices while they're young. I'd like to help them make the right decision," he said.      

In football, his goal for this year was "to be as physical as possible, be as dominant as I can be, to be more competitive. I knew I could hang with bigger offensive lineman and this year I have better footwork than last year. I'm stronger and faster than last year."     

As to the future, Roberson said Bartlett "has some flexibility issues and he needs to get still stronger and bigger. He's explosive. His upside is huge…it's just a matter of continuing to develop in the off season."       

The highlight of his first year was an interception against University of Washington. "One of my teammates got to the quarterback and was right there. It was a cool moment for me," said Bartlett.       

And, Bartlett is likely to have more highlights as he progresses as a Viking.      

"I'm playing football with an edge. I'm playing with passion. I love the game of football. I play with a lot of emotion. I play for my mom." His mother, Gail Bartlett, died last year.