Fort Collins – Taking a hit has become routine for Colorado State running back Kyle Bell in his return from knee surgery that wiped out his 2006 season. On Saturday, he checked off another item on his wish list by hitting an open hole and running 49 yards to daylight.
“It was good,” Bell said of regaining his old form. “It was great to open up, see daylight and hit the hole.”
More important, after 2 1/2 weeks of practice, Bell said he hasn’t had any setbacks or swelling in the knee.
“He sure looked like he’s back,” offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt said.
Bell and the coaches wanted him to get a few more carries. But with only three full possessions by the first unit before special teams and situational work, there weren’t that many carries available in the scrimmage.
Gartrell Johnson completed a long first drive with a 3-yard run. The defense held the offense to three-and-out on the second drive. On the third series, Bell blasted free for half the field on second down.
Despite missing projected starting offensive tackle Cole Pemberton to an ankle sprain, the work-in-progress offensive line made some gains.
“It’s improving,” CSU coach Sonny Lubick said. “If we can make a jump in the next eight or nine practices, those 2-yard runs will be 4-yard runs.”
If there were any lingering questions about tight end Kory Sperry’s blocking ability, he answered by sealing off a lane in the end zone for a 20-yard reverse by wide receiver Damon Morton.
Lubick said he’d like to scrimmage about 15 minutes Wednesday.
While there won’t be a formal depth chart released until the week of the Sept. 1 opener, Lubick said sophomore Jake Pottorff is the starter at weakside linebacker, one of the few contested positions. However, he said there’s no falloff between Pottorff, more experienced in the system, and John Clark, a junior-college transfer who arrived in the spring.
Although he has returning starters at cornerback in seniors Joey Rucks and Darryl Williams, defensive backs coach James Ward said redshirt freshman DeAngelo Wilkinson and senior Jermaine Walters are keeping up the pressure. Walters is getting a lot of work in nickel packages.
Footnotes
Defensive tackle Blake Smith returned after leaving camp for Oklahoma to attend the funeral of his best friend and high school teammate Spencer McIllwain, who died in his sleep at age 23. Smith said his friend, a teammate starting in the fourth grade, had an enlarged heart and was possibly dehydrated after a day of playing golf. Smith vowed to dedicate his season to McIllwain. … All 10,000 student tickets are sold for the opener against Colorado at Invesco Field at Mile High, and CSU has 6,000 reserved-seat tickets left in the allotment. … DE Wade Landers missed the scrimmage with a high ankle sprain. He and Pemberton are expected back Monday along with safety Klint Kubiak (hip) and guard Adrian Martinez (knee), who have been held out of contact.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
