Fort Collins – A Baltimore Orioles cap is an oddity on a California prep school product, until Colorado State defensive tackle Delroy Parke explains he grew up in the Washington, D.C., area.
Fittingly, the fifth-year senior’s career with the Rams also has been all over the map.
Parke took part in CSU’s first extensive live drill this month. He will be a starter at nose tackle after spending last season as a backup with a detour to the offensive line. Before last season, he was on the sidelines most of the time because of injuries.
“It was hard learning the offensive technique,” Parke said. “I got it down, but I’m a defensive player.”
CSU’s front four, particularly the interior tackles, have earned praise since the first day of practice – one of the little ironies of preseason work, considering the running game has shown the biggest improvement overall.
After the top defensive unit regrouped from allowing an 11- play, 97-yard drive on the first possession Saturday – capped by Jimmy Green’s touchdown run from the 1 – the first-team offense settled for two field goals.
“By us having great backs it helps a lot,” said Parke, who has been getting reacquainted with UCLA transfer Nnamdi Ohaeri after they played as high school opponents. Parke played for Montclair Prep in Van Nuys, Calif., a Division I-A pipeline. He said he went across the country to boarding school in California because basketball scouts, not football, frequented the area near his home. Ohaeri played for Aquinas High School in San Bernardino.
The Rams are set in a three- man rotation at defensive tackle, with the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Parke at the nose, sophomore Blake Smith at the other tackle and sophomore Erik Sandie a backup at both positions. Smith has been hampered by a back injury.
Parke met running back Kyle Bell, a preseason standout for the Rams, head-on at the line of scrimmage – a big hit that earned praise from the coaching staff, defensive coordinator Steve Stanard said.
The competition up front remains fierce as the Rams approach their Sept. 3 opener against Colorado in Boulder.
“Right now we have three solid guys who can start,” Smith said. “The tackles are a huge part of stopping the running game.”
The 6-2, 290-pound Smith has gained 20 pounds from a year ago.
CSU’s bolstered running attack has helped the preparation. Smith called Ohaeri “as good a back as we’ll face all year.”
The defense finally was able to show its improvement when the daily “thud” drills were replaced by full tackling. Defenders can wrap up but not tackle ball carriers in “thud” drills, but Saturday’s 60-play scrimmage removed all restraints.
“When you thud up, you let them keep running,” Parke said. “When you go live you see what they’re about. It’s a lot of fun hitting someone like that in a game situation. Sometimes you get bored hitting the tackling dummies every day.”
Said Sandie: “We finally got to hit them. It’s our payoff. The coaches are pushing us. We had a lot of inspiration from last year.”
Bell and Ohaeri combined for just five carries and 3 yards. The first unit had the equivalent of a quarter’s worth of plays, and coach Sonny Lubick said that would extend to about 2 1/2 quarters this week.
Second-team highlights included freshman running back Gartrell Johnson taking a screen pass from backup quarterback Caleb Hanie 21 yards for a late touchdown.
After Parke’s goal-line smash, the next-best hit of the day was safety Ben Stratton delivering a brutal hit on wide receiver Damon Morton.
Footnotes
CSU received another 500 tickets for the opener at Colorado. They go on sale Wednesday at the Rams’ ticket office and online at csurams.com. … Linebacker Jahmal Hall suffered a neck stinger on the first series and was replaced the rest of the way by John Nichols. Hall’s injury wasn’t considered serious. … Although the first-team offense accomplished little after the opening drive, highlighted by a 55-yard pass from Justin Holland to Johnny Walker, there were no turnovers by the first unit. … Offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt said Ohaeri has figured out the offense and can expect more work with the first team this week.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
