LAS VEGAS — No one expected Colorado State wide receiver Johnny Walker to play for at least three weeks after he badly twisted his knee and ankle Oct. 13 against Air Force.
Walker was not only back in the lineup, he caught a pass for 21 yards, and he gave what many called the pregame speech of the year.
“(It was) something tonight … they all got excited before the ball game,” CSU coach Sonny Lubick said following the 48-23 win over UNLV to end a 13-game losing streak. “Johnny Walker gave a speech before, which was pretty emotional.”
Rams quarterback Caleb Hanie said there are a lot of leaders on the team, but “(Johnny) just speaks from the heart. He gave a big-time speech from his heart. He was emotional. I think he got everyone fired up. We’ve been given pep talks before every game, but that’s not what won the game for us. It was just nice to see him do that.”
Postgame emotion spilled over for Lubick. Players had talked for weeks about getting him a game ball when the streak ended. His last game ball was for CSU career win No. 100 in New Mexico two years ago. It took this long to get to win No. 106.
“Guys decided together he’s been under a lot of pressure, a lot of heat,” Hanie said. “He deserved the game ball more than anyone. It was a team effort. He’s a great coach and I can’t explain the feeling I have for him. I’m just so proud to get a victory for him and hopefully turn this thing around.”
Senior defensive tackle Blake Smith said of the extended celebration with the CSU fans at Sam Boyd Stadium: “We all forgot how it felt to win. We’ll feel a lot better when we get some more wins. We played good, but we didn’t play great.”
Lubick-Elway connection. Arizona State recruiting coordinator and former CSU receivers coach Matt Lubick took advantage of the Sun Devils’ bye week to fly from Denver to Las Vegas to see his family. The son of CSU’s head coach can’t discuss recruits, but it has been widely reported that Cherry Creek quarterback Jack Elway has committed to Arizona State, and Matt Lubick was at Cherry Creek’s game Friday.
Sonny Lubick and Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson both worked for the Cherry Creek QB’s grandfather, the late Jack Elway – Lubick at Stanford and Erickson at San Jose State. The Arizona Republic ran a photo of Broncos Hall of Famer John Elway on the sidelines with his son at the ASU game in Tempe, Ariz., last week.
Matt Lubick is expected to reopen recruiting doors in the Colorado area for ASU.
Stragglers. A handful of players were given permission to remain in Las Vegas on Saturday night only if they were accompanied by their parents.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
