FORT COLLINS — The hardest hit on Colorado State’s practice field Saturday was delivered by running back Kyle Bell.
It was a 1-2 punch. First he straight-armed a defender, then he ran through the next.
“I just saw a green (defensive) jersey in front of me,” Bell said. “You only get so many carries, and you want to make the most out of every rep you get.”
Bell made a big impression on running backs coach Anthoney Hill. Head coach Steve Fairchild was eager to get a better read of the practice on tape; Hill knew what he had on film.
“We were loving it over there,” Hill said. “He stiff-armed the first guy and ripped through the second guy. I’m putting that on the classic tape.”
The staff would have to dig back in the 2005 film vault for a steady dose of the bulldozer style Bell displayed Saturday.
Bell missed 2006 with a preseason ACL tear. While he gained 691 yards last fall, he lost his starting job to Gartrell Johnson, who came into his own midway through the season. Together, they gained 1,641 yards.
Both will be seniors, and Fairchild has said he wants the best players on the field.
Hill said it’s possible the staff may find a way to use a two-back scheme, at least part of the time. Both would be runners as opposed to a workhorse and a blocking back.
“All guys offer something different. We can find a way to get more than one on the field at the same time,” Hill said.
“It will be up to them if they can handle what we’re doing.”
He said it will be especially beneficial given that whoever wins the quarterback derby will not carry much experience.
The Rams wrapped up the first week of spring ball with offensive line coach Pat Meyer, who structured the offseason conditioning program, installing a fun drill. It was the type of exercise commonplace at Colorado spring practices.
At first, one offensive and one defensive lineman raced to field a simulated punt shot out of a cranked-up throwing machine — the ball landed 5 yards away, untouched. Then skill positions joined the fray, and safety Mike Pagnotta caught and then spiked the ball. Meyer then called in the coordinators, equipment manager, and even trainer Terry DeZeeuw.
“I told Pat I’d fire him if he called me out (into the frenzy),” Fairchild said. Considering no one in the department had been fired since Wednesday, Meyer obviously didn’t call Fairchild’s name.
“You’re able to end practice with that type of energy,” Bell said. “It’s not like you’re trying to get through practice and you’re dragging off the field. It’s a way to have fun. It’s not all coming out here and just running plays.
“It’s the kind of thing you want to bring the team together.”
Footnotes.
Tight end Kory Sperry, coming back from ACL surgery, is running more live drills than Bell did a year ago. Bell said he probably could have done the same. . . . Fairchild said the five-man quarterback race remains open. “I don’t want to rush to judgment. I have no timetable,” he said. . . . Fairchild said he hasn’t seen what he wants out of the receiving corps and said the lack of quarterback experience isn’t helping.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
