GREELEY - Defense attorney Andy Gavaldon took a deep breath in the silent courtroom - 12 jurors and two alternates staring at him in his crisp charcoal suit and red tie - and began by dropping a bombshell without ever dropping his gaze.

"The person who stabbed Rafael Mendoza on Sept. 11, 2006, is not in this courtroom today," he began. "The person who stabbed Rafael Mendoza has not been charged. And the person who stabbed Rafael Mendoza is not on trial in this case."

It's the centerpiece to the defense of Mitch Cozad, who stands charged with assault and attempted murder. The trial began Tuesday in Weld County District Court after a day and a half of jury selection that sought to whittle down the pool from about 300 to 14 - seven men and seven women.

Cozad, it is alleged, stabbed fellow University of Northern Colorado punter Mendoza because he wanted the starting punter job and was upset over being made the backup after transferring from the University of Wyoming.

Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck painted a picture of Cozad as an insecure athlete who was driven by an overbearing mother and obsessed with being the big man on campus.

"The defendant couldn't accept the fact that he was inferior," Buck said. "And what the defendant did was to do off the field what he couldn't get done on the field."

The case has been compared to the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding incident in the 1994 Winter Olympic trials, when men acting on Harding's behalf clubbed Kerrigan in the knee with a pipe prior to the figure skating competition. Buck laid out the timeline in his opening argument about how Cozad stalked Mendoza while wearing black sweats, black shoes and a black hooded sweatshirt with only his eyes visible.

Buck said that after Cozad knocked Mendoza to the ground, he pulled out a knife and swiped at him, missing Mendoza's throat by about a foot. Eventually, with Mendoza on the ground kicking at his assailant, Buck said Cozad managed to stab him in the back of the leg.

Using a series of slides to show the timeline of how things happened, Buck told the jury that Cozad and his friend drove into the parking lot of a nearby liquor store and ripped tape off the license plates of his blue Dodge Charger. Buck said witnesses in the liquor store called 911 and police eventually linked the car with Cozad.

They also talked with Kevin Aussprung, who was with Cozad the night of the attack.

Aussprung has not been charged with a crime, but Gavaldon said Aussprung should be the prime suspect, not his client.

Aussprung, who has already testified against Cozad in a preliminary hearing, is expected to testify against him later in the trial.

Michael York, a kicker on the football team, called Aussprung a "groupie," a pejorative term for a guy who hangs around the football team but can't make the squad.

Cozad's attorney said Aussprung lied to the police about his relationship with Cozad. He also said when Mendoza described his attacker to police, the body size was a closer match to Aussprung than to Cozad.

Gavaldon said the case is about "a rush to judgment," But Buck said the defendant had the motive, plan and opportunity to try to kill Mendoza.

monterod@rockymountainnews.com or (303) 954-5236