Fort Collins – Soon after 10 a.m. Saturday, the identities of five Colorado State offensive line starters will be revealed. The Rams’ offensive line battle might not necessarily be over, but lining up from tackle to tackle requires five bodies on the interior line of scrimmage.
Otherwise, the Rams’ juggling of linemen could go into November.
CSU’s offensive line finished preseason camp with as many or more questions than when the Rams began practices at the start of the month. Similarly, there is no resolution at strongside linebacker.
In every other way, however, a veteran-dominated lineup made for uneventful preseason work, with CSU coaches and players insisting there was plenty of progress.
“I feel we’ve covered a lot,” coach Sonny Lubick said of his 15th preseason camp at CSU, which opens against Colorado in Denver next Saturday. Referring to CSU offensive coordinator Dave Lay, rehired this summer after a decade in San Diego, Lubick said: “Dave was pretty amazed with how much we got done.”
There were no real surprises except for the shakeup of the offensive line. With 20 returning players having some starting experience, there won’t be much room for newcomers but a handful made a big impression.
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK|It will be a wide- open race a year from now, but Caleb Hanie returns as the senior starter. He is showing poise and confidence, recovering from the slide that marked the last seven games of last season. Junior Billy Farris remains the backup. He saw limited action in five games a year ago.
RUNNING BACK|Kyle Bell is the undisputed feature back and is more eager to get the season underway than anyone, given his 2006 absence with knee surgery. While running backs coach Mick Delaney couldn’t settle on a No. 1 back in Bell’s absence a year ago, he has been delighted with the competition for No. 2 this summer. “All three bring something to the table,” he said. John Mosure, at 5-10, 198 pounds, a more compact version of 6-2, 232-pound Bell, had the best camp of any redshirt freshman on the team. “He’ll be hard to keep off the field,” Delaney said. Junior Gartrell Johnson will see most of his playing time at the fullback (previously called blocking back) position, but he, too, had a determined camp. Michael Myers brings the speed-burst change up to the order. Former Lakewood linebacker Zac Pauga and Kyle Van Horn, injured midway through camp, will also get turns at fullback.
TIGHT END|The H-back, a staple of the CSU offense for ages, will be reinvented as the fullback. The former H-back, senior Kory Sperry, is strictly a tight end and could leave CSU as one of the best ever at the position. The Rams, however, don’t have the depth they previously enjoyed at H-back/tight end. Chris Kawulok, a starter last year, will back up Sperry and go in for double tight end sets. Lubick had been very impressed with redshirt freshman tight end Adam Seymore before his foot injury, but expect Seymore to catch up quickly.
WIDE RECEIVER|The Rams have four equally talented seniors, or what position coach Marc Lubick calls a “four-man starting rotation.” Johnny Walker, Damon Morton, George Hill and Luke Roberts will be emphasizing their blocking as well as catching plenty of passes from Hanie.
OFFENSIVE LINE|Adrian Martinez, held out for the first half of camp, was expected to take one of the guard positions, and Nick Allotta, the lone senior up front, was all but written in stone as the center. Then there was a shakeup late in the week with Martinez moving to tackle and Allotta in a three-way race at guard-center with Scott Benedict and Tim Walter. Shelley Smith has taken over the other guard spot while Cole Pemberton didn’t let a minor ankle injury keep him from the other tackle position. Tackle depth comes from junior Dane Stratton and redshirt freshman Brian Lepak.
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE|Along with wide receiver, this is the deepest and most experienced area of the squad. Jesse Nading, entrenched as the starter for the third year, didn’t take off a play in camp. Some injuries juggled the order on the other side, but junior Wade Landers is expected back in time for the opener. Tommie Hill can step in at either side and Bob Vomhof could factor when he returns from minor knee surgery. The three-man interior rotation of Blake Smith, Erik Sandie and Matt Rupp gives CSU one of the most experienced and potentially dominant lines in the Mountain West.
LINEBACKER|Junior Jeff Horinek gave the staff a scare with a knee tweak but he will be back to work this week as a third-year starter. Sophomore Jake Pottorff has taken over the weakside but the coaches have confidence junior college transfer John Clark can step in as needed.
The strongside job remains undecided, with Sedric Patterson and Ricky Brewer even going into the final week.
Matt Hendrick, a walk-on who earned a scholarship for this fall, and junior college transfer Curtis Cornelson make for the deepest linebacking crew in some time.
SECONDARY|Strong safety Mike Pagnotta and free safety Klint Kubiak are the strength of the secondary. Depth developed when Kubiak missed most of camp recovering from hip surgery. In his absence, senior Zac Bryson, Pagnotta’s backup, Jake Galusha, and Steve Juedes all showed they can play.
The Rams have not been dominating at the corner in a few years. Darryl Williams and Joey Rucks are the returning starters who both showed flashes last season. Solid backups in redshirt freshman DeAngelo Wilkinson and senior Jermaine Walters.
SPECIAL TEAMS
No new faces here. Jason Smith retains place-kicking duties after an erratic season. His consistency and distance have improved greatly this fall. All-MWC candidate Jimmie Kaylor is back for a third season. The return unit remains unchanged, with the wide receivers, especially Morton and Walker, showing ample firepower.
