 He was redshirted because of a knee injury and had a knee operation.Then he attended the College of San Mateo in 1955, then Grays Harbor College playing in the fall of 1956, before transferring to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he played both offense and defense for the Mustangs in 1957 and 1958 while earning a BS in Education in 1959 and an MA in Education in 1961.He won all-conference honors at offensive tackle, and was a catcher on Cal Poly's baseball team.