Fort Collins – Colorado State safety Klint Kubiak is expected to return to campus today after being released from a Houston hospital Monday.
Kubiak required a blood transfusion Sunday after an initial diagnosis of a bleeding ulcer. CSU coach Sonny Lubick, relaying information from the school’s medical staff, said anti-inflammatory medicine Kubiak had taken for an earlier hip injury might have caused the bleeding.
The CSU safety became ill in warm-ups before the loss at Houston on Saturday. He planned to spend Monday night with his parents in Houston. His father, Gary Kubiak, is the coach of the Houston Texans.
Lubick said while he is sure Kubiak will want to play at TCU this weekend, “it’s pretty doubtful” he will. Zac Bryson will probably get the start, and redshirt freshman Michael Johnson will be worked into playing time with Bryson and Jake Galusha.
New long snapper
Long snapper Joey Madrid will be out at least a week with a torn medial collateral ligament and ankle sprain. Freshman walk-on Steve Bryan took over the deep-snapping duties on Saturday, and Lubick said he was grateful special-teams coach Dave Arnold insisted on taking him on the trip.
Bryan is a deep-snap specialist from Helix High School in San Diego, known for producing Saints running back Reggie Bush and 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. It’s also the alma mater of CSU offensive co-coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt, who recruited Bryan as a walk-on.
Momentum change
CSU has lost 10 in a row, but Lubick wasn’t down on his team Monday.
“I liked the way our team played. They played very hard,” Lubick said of the loss at Houston, during which CSU blew a 17-3 halftime lead.
The Rams went three-and- out to start the second half, and Houston drove for a touchdown to pull within 17-10 to start its comeback.
“You’re on the road, anything can happen and usually in that case it does happen,” Lubick said of the sudden switch in momentum.
Looking for good start
CSU starts its Mountain West Conference season against a TCU team that has struggled on offense but has been outstanding on defense.
“You can’t say the first three games were exhibition games,” Lubick said. “As long as we continue to play hard and make good decisions on the coaching part, we have a chance to win our share of games.”
As for the mental wear and tear of the losing streak, Lubick said: “It might hang on the coaches. I don’t think it will on the players. I see improvement. I feel very, very encouraged.”
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
