Broncos Receiver Cody Latimer Ready to Step Up Both on and off the Field

The men from the boys...

Athletic pursuits like NFL football often bring out the hackneyed maxims from fans and media. Whether it's wartime comparisons like calling players "soldiers" or just empty platitudes like "leaving it all on the field," there's nothing quite like throwing a ball around that makes people wax poetic. 

The problem with a saying as simple as football's "separating the men from the boys" is that it's often used to characterize men who made that transition years earlier—men like Denver Broncos wide receiver Cody Latimer.

The second-year wideout will be tasked with playing a bigger role in the Broncos offense in 2015, but nothing is going to present a bigger hurdle for the 22-year-old former Indiana Hoosier than what life has already thrown at him. 

No offense to the New England Patriots or Kansas City Chiefs, but the NFL won't ever throw something at him like cancer, which Latimer has vowed to help defeat after it took the life of both his father and his auntie. 

"Cancer is a bane that has been running in my family. ... On both sides, I've had it."

When Latimer was only 13, before the recruiting wars or the All-Big Ten honors, he learned his father, Colby, had already all but lost his battle with colon cancer. His father had once played college football at Bowling Green, like Latimer wanted to, but now he was in the hospital, dying. His family had waited until the last minute to tell him, as they didn't want to burden the young man with the news any earlier. 

Latimer says that he has used that experience as motivation—seeing his mom struggle to help put him through school—and it has pushed him to grind even harder to provide for his family. 

For his auntie's bout with cancer, Latimer had more of a front-row seat. "When I was younger," Latimer said, "I used to ride with her in taxis to her doctor's appointments before I could drive. [Then,] she gave me her first car, my first car, and I'd drive her around to appointments and do her errands."

From Latimer's Instagram (CodyLatimer14)

Latimer's auntie was a mother figure to him, and it crushed both of them that she couldn't attend his games both at Indiana and for the Broncos. She used to watch him every single week, though, and every time Latimer would visit, doctors, nurses and other patients would recognize him as the nephew Auntie was keeping tabs on and bragging about constantly. 

Now, Latimer is hoping to make his father and auntie proud for entirely different reasons. 

He has recently launched his personal website at TheCodyLatimer.com, which features a shop selling shirts with Latimer's insignia in "Bloomington red," "Bronco blue" and "Orange crush." All proceeds from the shirts will go to the American Cancer Society. 

"Stay strong for them," Latimer says to all those whose loved ones may be fighting the same battle his auntie fought. "Prayer is key. Spend all the time with them you can and do whatever is needed, and you won't regret it, since you did all you could."

Latimer is doing all he can off the field just as the Broncos are likely to be asking more of him in the year ahead as well. A second-round pick last spring, Latimer was a bit of a forgotten man not only in the Broncos offense but also in a wide-receiver crop that seemed to be hiding a superstar at every turn. 

Unlike guys like Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans or New York Giants wunderkind Odell Beckham Jr. (and so many more), Latimer did not have immediate success. It was an offense built around wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas, the latter of whom recently signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It was also an offense that focused more and more on the run and wasn't 100 percent sure whether quarterback Peyton Manning would be around much beyond the end of the season. 

Now, heading into 2015, Latimer will have a chance to earn a lot of those targets intended for Thomas. He'll also be working in his third new offense in three years, as head coach Gary Kubiak and his system will be taking over in Denver. 

For Latimer, though, it represents a level playing field. 

Kubiak's scheme is steeped in zone blocking, one-cut running and a passing attack which closely resembles the same West Coast style and terminology he once ran as a Broncos quarterback and later while serving as an assistant under guru and mentor Mike Shanahan. 

Bleacher Report's own Cecil Lammey, who covers the Broncos for ESPN Radio in Denver, has been impressed with Latimer from Day 1:

"

A former basketball prep star, Latimer uses those same skills to box out smaller defenders and high-point passes thrown his way. Latimer immediately stood out during rookie minicamp, OTAs and training camp this year.

Most days he stayed after practice with Manning to catch passes and learn as much as he possibly can. This extra work paid off in the preseason, and Latimer finished August with five catches for 116 yards and one touchdown in exhibition play.

"

Manning hasn't always had a reputation of being the "mentor" type who stays after and helps the rookies, but Latimer thinks that assessment "from the outside" (as he calls it) is unfair, saying that Manning has helped him a lot and is driven by wanting every one of his teammates to succeed like he has. 

”He's someone I could go to talk to if I had any issues," Latimer says of his quarterback. "He’s been doing it for 18 years, and he’s one of the greatest ever to do it.”

Latimer doesn't know how much longer Manning will play, but he says he hopes Manning is still there for years to come and believes Manning will play as long as his body allows him to. 

As the Broncos ask more and more of Latimer—with Thomas gone and Wes Welker out the door as well after being a bust of a free-agent signing—they're asking for more from a man who has always been willing to do whatever it takes. 

It's not a comparison, as if being a great son and nephew has somehow prepared Latimer for a life of football or vice versa. No, instead, it's a reminder that in the grand scheme of things, Latimer has already been an incredible success regardless of what he has done or ever will do on the football field. 

He's clearly had some fantastic role models and is well on his way to being one himself. 

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Michael Schottey is an award-winning NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and a writer for Football Insiders. Follow him on Twitter.