Fort Collins – Kyle Bell developed as the answer to Colorado State’s missing running attack and defensive line depth emerged, along with an attitude to return to the Rams’ winning ways.
That made for a good spring for Colorado State football coaches.
Saturday’s 11 a.m. spring game at J. Ray French Field (at Rocky Mountain High School) is just for fun. Coaches staged a random draft. The team with starting quarterback Justin Holland didn’t get a center.
Now if a few players who sat out the spring with injuries – cornerback Robert Herbert, offensive tackle Mike Brisiel, tight end Matt Bartz and linebacker Luke Adkins – make it back for the fall, the Rams once again could contend in what figures to be a wide-open Mountain West race. A look:
Offense
An expanded offensive scheme, including two backs, shotgun and some four-wideout looks, occupied CSU’s time.
“We probably didn’t use our personnel well enough as far as guys standing on sidelines,’ offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt said of last year’s attack.
Besides Bell, he listed reserve wide receivers John Walker and Luke Roberts and Kansas State offensive line transfer Justin D’Arcy as helping themselves the most. Jimmy Green is the top candidate for the new fullback position.
More competition arrives in the fall with UCLA transfer Nnamdi Ohaeri.
The top receivers are back in David Anderson and Dustin Osborn. Coming off solid freshman debuts, Damon Morton, Walker, George Hill and Roberts excelled. Hammerschmidt said that will give CSU the option of spreading out with four receivers, especially if tight end depth doesn’t improve.
Kory Sperry, a standout as a freshman last fall, will remain an H-back to take advantage of his speed.
Defense
Linebacking has been a problem since the middle of the 2003 season. This spring, returning starter Jahmal Hall played well and redshirt freshman Jeff Horinek made an impact while Adkins (anterior cruciate ligament) watched from the sideline.
In the middle, however, Courtney Jones has a history of injuries and missed time this spring. Junior college transfer Jon Radford came on strong in the past two weeks.
Defensive ends coach Jesse Williams sees solid depth emerging. Tackles Erik Sandie and Matt Rupp were pleasant surprises of the spring.
Coach Sonny Lubick said he sees a solid three-man safety rotation with Miles Kochevar, Travis Garcia and two-year starter Ben Stratton.
Special teams
Special-teams coach Dave Arnold was pleasantly surprised with place-kicking competition provided by track team walk-on Jason Smith. Jimmie Kaylor moved up to punting duties. The return game will be sorted out in the fall.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
