FORT COLLINS — The day has finally arrived. Now comes the reward for 5 a.m. wake-up calls, breakfasts lost during offseason drills and taunting by his cousins, who are former Dallas prep teammates now playing at Wyoming.
Spring ball starts today at Colorado State and redshirt freshman Chris Gipson can finally start competing for the vacant middle linebacker position.
He feels like he has been competing, just not for playing time, since arriving last June. He was destined to redshirt while his cousins, Tashaun Gipson and Marcell Gipson, started at cornerback for the Cowboys.
“It’s been a long road since both of them played last year,” CSU’s Gipson said Monday. “It’s motivation for me to get on the field.”
Then came the offseason conditioning program and early wake-up calls followed by tough workouts. “My whole spring break was just sleeping,” Gipson said of his recovery.
Only one full-time starter, sophomore Mychal Sisson, returns to the defensive front seven. There are seven defensive jobs up for grabs and four on offense.
CSU coach Steve Fairchild said he isn’t counting.
“Every job is open on a daily basis. No one is entitled to anything,” Fairchild said Monday at his prespring news conference. “Once they earn their job on the depth chart, they have to keep it on a daily basis.”
Gipson and junior Alex Williams want to succeed Jeff Horinek.
“It’s going to be good (competition). Most of the people who didn’t play last year were doing the same preparation as me. They are really good guys,” Gipson said.
Fairchild readily acknowledges running a tougher offseason regimen than last year. Spring ball will follow suit in his second year.
“We have ground to gain, catching the elite teams in our league,” Fairchild said.
A year ago everything was new. Now, the Rams have a feel for their coach, but new position battles will take shape. Although senior Grant Stucker sits atop the quarterback depth chart, it means little to Fairchild until the week of the opener, if not later. Jon Eastman was brought in from Snow Junior College to make it a three-way race. Redshirt freshman Alex Kelly, who had the most work in practices before the New Mexico Bowl, also will get a serious look.
Fairchild won’t impose a deadline for naming a starter. “If it happens in spring, it happens. If it doesn’t, we’ll take it into August camp,” he said.
Footnotes.
Cameron Loughery, a 6-foot-1, 214-pound linebacker out of Atlanta, was a late signee for the Rams. . . . DeAngelo Wilkinson, a cornerback suspended last fall for an incident at a Fort Collins nightclub, is back on the roster.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
Spring camp in session
Biggest position battles: Quarterback and running back. Also, there’s much work to do on defense, especially at linebacker, where only Mychal Sisson returns. There should be some interest at safety finding a replacement for Mike Pagnotta. Extensive rebuilding is in store for the defensive line.
Reported early: Junior college transfers Jon Eastman and Leonard Mason will challenge immediately for playing time at quarterback and running back, respectively. Early high school graduate C.J. James will join the competition at defensive end.
Key dates: First practice is today. CSU will work Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, weather permitting, through the April 18 spring game. Weekday practices from 3:30-6 p.m. Saturday mornings, TBA.
Big question: Do the Rams migrate more to a pass-dominated offense in the post-Gartrell Johnson era?
Injured: Quarterback Klay Kubiak is out after elbow surgery. Tight end Adam Seymore (shoulder) also won’t suit up.
Wait until the fall: For prep All-America punter Pete Kontodiakos.
Natalie Meisler, The Denver Post
