FORT COLLINS — The tape never lies.
It didn’t take new Colorado State football coach Steve Fairchild long to figure out how vital the return of safety Klint Kubiak was to his defensive backfield — and to the betterment of his defense as a whole.
“Just the tape I looked at, we are a better defense when Kubiak is healthy,” Fairchild said Tuesday morning after his first fall practice. “If he stays healthy and has the type of year he thinks he’s going to have and that I think he can have, then he will really help us.”
Kubiak played in two games last season. Upon his return to his native Houston to play the Cougars, he was hospitalized after pregame warm-ups with low blood pressure and internal bleeding from an ulcer. The injury kept Kubiak sidelined the rest of the season.
Despite going through voluntary summer camp, Tuesday’s first practice was still something Kubiak, the oldest son of Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak, wasn’t quite looking forward to.
“I was kind of dreading this day,” said Kubiak, who petitioned the NCAA for a medical hardship waiver and will play the 2008 season as a redshirt junior. “But now that we have a day of practice under our belts, I feel pretty good about it.”
Kubiak, who led the team with 90 tackles as a sophomore after starting all 12 games, will team with senior Mike Pagnotta at safety and provide leadership to a Rams secondary that is young and inexperienced at both cornerback positions.
Of the six cornerbacks on the roster, three are freshman, two are sophomores and junior Nick Oppenneer is the one who Kubiak pointed to as one who could surprise. A standout at Columbine High School, Oppenneer was limited to special-teams duty in six games last season.
For Pagnotta, who played much of the 2007 season on a sprained ankle, the idea of teaming with Kubiak for a full season is something the Oregon native jumps at.
“He’s a smart player, he’s a tough player and we have good chemistry out there,” Pagnotta said before the late afternoon walk-through. “We communicate well, especially nonverbal communication with hand signals and that sort of thing.”
Footnote.
Freshman wide receiver Marquise Law did not practice because of an illness, and junior college transfer wideout Jyrone Hickman was hampered by a hamstring.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
