Colson Yankoff has mastered everything from John Wooden to the piano. Now he’s trying to make the Commanders’ roster at a position he’s never played.

ASHBURN, Va. — When Colson Yankoff was going into his final year at UCLA, he decided to start reading. Like heavy reading. And the topic du jour was John Wooden.

His leadership books. His philosophy on motivation. His coaching style. Anything Yankoff could get his hands on about the legendary Bruins basketball coach, he devoured.

For a math guy, this latest kick was surprising. Yankoff grew up building Legos and tinkering with remote-control cars. He came into college with dreams of becoming an engineer. When his schedule cluttered, he switched to economics and landed on the honor roll.

After graduation, he spotted an obscure master’s program in the education department called “Transformative Coaching and Leadership.”

“And I figured, ‘Why not?’” Yankoff said. “But I loved it. It was really cool. I was reading everything.”

You see, when Yankoff does anything, he goes all in.

His latest obsession: trying to make the Commanders’ opening 53-man roster at a position he’d never played before arriving in the NFL.

It seems like a crazy proposition. But, when you look at Yankoff’s story, detours like this are more the rule than the aberration.

He was one of the best high school quarterbacks in the nation, originally committed to Oregon, but never played a snap. He switched schools and positions to receiver. When he eventually arrived at UCLA, Chip Kelly told him he needed an extra running back and Yankoff put his head down and eventually made it to the league.

So, when Washington slotted him at tight end, what’s one more challenge for the renaissance man?

“He’s a freak. He’s good at everything,” his high school coach, Shawn Amos, said. “He can sing. He plays the piano. He’s above a 4.0 student. He keeps adjusting, adapting, finding a way to be successful.”

Yankoff’s raw talent was always obvious. He’s 6-foot-4, 225 pounds with surfer-style blond hair. One time in high school, he walked into the gym full of college scouts still dressed in jeans. Somebody threw him a basketball, and he rose up, spun the ball between his legs and dunked it cold.

“And they’re like, ‘Oh shit,” Amos said. “I mean, that kind of athleticism doesn’t come around often.”

But how to mold the talent, and channel it, was always up for debate.

Amos had him at quarterback, running and throwing defenses into oblivion. He was starting by his sophomore year and winning state titles as a senior. Coming out of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, he popped up on recruiting radars as a four-star.

Most schools wanted him. Ole Miss, Tennessee, TCU and North Carolina made the trek to woo him. But he wanted to stay closer to home with the Ducks. Before he even arrived, head coach Mark Helfrich was fired and Yankoff reversed course. He ended up at Washington.

But the Huskies weren’t a smooth ride, either. The quarterback room was stocked to the brim, and Yankoff dealt with a lingering injury from high school. He tore a ligament in his throwing hand when his pointer finger caught on a jersey, messing with his grip.

Washington let him move to scout-team receiver while he worked his way back. Coaches half-jokingly warned him, if he kept beating the first-team defense, he might just stay there.

But he never got the chance to really try. His offensive coordinator left, and so did Yankoff. He arrived at UCLA and sat behind Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who was later drafted by the Cleveland Browns. The writing was on the wall. Yankoff would never play.

“I knew the ship had sailed,” Yankoff said. “They asked me to play receiver. Did that for a little bit. Got hurt.”

He rehabbed all offseason and put on muscle for his new role. His first day back, he weighed in with 15 extra pounds. Yankoff went to Kelly’s office thinking he was ready. Instead, Kelly had a surprise.

“We were eating lunch one time,” Amos recalled, “and he told me, ‘They pulled me into the office and said I needed to play running back.’ Never saw it coming.”

Yankoff responded by looking at his bulked-up frame, looking back at Kelly and saying, “Are you sure about that? I don’t, umm … I don’t really look the part.”

Kelly was sure. And by the time he left the office, Yankoff was sure too.

“There’s a very small percentage of humans who can be a high-level college quarterback, then go to running back and special teams.”

Shawn Amos, Colson Yankoff’s high school coach

“Happy to do it,” he said, accepting his newest project.

He dove headfirst into kickoff returns, thinking it’d help him make an NFL roster. In his first special teams meeting, he looked at the board and thought his name wasn’t listed. He checked all his usual spots near the front of the formation, nothing. But then he glanced at the kick returner spot and saw his name scribbled. He was sure somebody made a mistake.

Still, he didn’t turn down the touches. He had a few good games, including a 58-yard night against Cal. When he came out in the NFL, teams questioned his fit.

“They were like, ‘Running back?’” Yankoff said. “And I was like, ‘Tight end.’”

And now, just as with his Wooden books or a piano keyboard, he’s all in again.

He came out undrafted in 2024 and appeared in six games, recording no stats. To master his new position, he went back to Idaho and asked Amos to invite any high school player he could find to throw with him.

Amos joked that, if he did that, over 100 players would’ve been lined up outside the field. They settled for a select few quarterbacks instead.

When he returned to D.C., an injury-ravaged team paved the road for his first real opportunity — catching two passes for 18 yards. And now, in camp again, he’s making play after play in new offensive coordinator David Blough’s system. He had a sliding touchdown catch Monday and a one-handed grab Tuesday.

“As a pass-catching tight end and a special teams player, he’s really carved out his way,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. “It’s the relentless work for him that set him apart to give him a chance, and then he’s taken it.”

Yankoff is on the bubble to make the team. He’s playing behind Chig Okonkwo, Ben Sinnott, Lawrence Cager and John Bates. All are established NFL playmakers or high draft picks. But on Friday night Yankoff should be heavily used in a preseason game against the Dolphins. If he performs, it might force Washington to find him a role.

“He’s there fighting every day for his job,” Amos said. “But that’s who he is. There’s a very small percentage of humans who can be a high-level college quarterback, then go to running back and special teams. The willingness to do it. I mean quarterbacks, you got to swallow your pride and go, ‘Things aren’t working out. I have to find a place to play.’”

As Yankoff came off the field this week after another long training camp practice, he stopped for a minute to talk about his Wooden reading one more time.

“It’s transformational versus transactional leadership,” he said, excited to revisit it. “Being the best version of yourself, on and off the field.”

It’s the approach Yankoff has followed, whether it was position changes or new hobbies. Once football is done, he’s undecided what his next topic of interest will be. Maybe he will pick up the guitar or the drums at home again. Maybe dive back into finance.

“Haven’t worked that out yet,” he said, laughing. “But right now it’s all football.”

The do-it-all man, trying to be the Commanders tight end. Yankoff knows it’s crazy. But, given his history, crazier things have happened.