FORT COLLINS — There are 1,476 yards and 12 touchdowns to replace in the Colorado State backfield this season, and coach Steve Fairchild isn’t worried about a single inch or point.
He’s more concerned about third-and-6.
“It’s still a high-volume offense with a lot of protection responsibility and things like that,” said Fairchild on Friday, the first day of football camp at CSU. “It’s not easy. It’s not easy to play running back here. They’ve got to prove that we can trust them, on third-and-6 that they know who they got to pick up and what they got to do.”
It’s a message that’s been picked up quickly.
“If you can’t pass protect, you won’t play. That’s the bottom line,” junior John Mosure said. “Pass protection in our offense is real important, especially with the pro-style offense we have.”
Yards and touchdowns are important as well, and there has been a considerable void left by the departure of last year’s feature back, Gartrell Johnson, who is now turning heads in training camp with the San Diego Chargers. As a senior, Johnson averaged 113.5 yards per game, and capped his season with 285 yards and two touchdowns in the New Mexico Bowl.
Mosure and junior-college transfer Leonard Mason are two of the leading candidates to take over, though Fairchild was impressed with a bevy of freshmen following Friday morning’s practice.
“I like both of our freshman backs, just on air,” Fairchild said. “I’ll be anxious to get them in pads and see what they can do. It’s not going to be real easy to evaluate until we put on the pads and see who’s breaking tackles.”
Mosure, who rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns last season, said he has put on 10 pounds from a year ago and would like to play at about 210 pounds.
“I think it will help me a lot this year,” Mosure said. “Coaches were expecting me to play at 200 (pounds). Hopefully I can play at 208, 210, which will be a real big help for me, just to take a lot more hits and stuff like that without losing speed or anything.”
Mason has worked most this summer on learning the playbook.
“In the spring I had problems with the playbook,” Mason said. “All summer I’ve been working hard. I’ve been in the playbook. You can tell. Let’s just say I put in overtime. When I came here at first, I was lost. I can’t even lie. I’m just ready to go out there and compete.”
Footnotes. Fairchild called the first day, “Good and bad. For the most part, I think we approached the practice tempo we’re looking for. It wasn’t overly sloppy, so there are some things to build on.” . . . Quarterback Klay Kubiak (shoulder surgery) will be watched closely by coaches. “They are going to start to throw 100-plus balls per day and that starts to wear on you if you haven’t been training your arm right all summer, which he hasn’t been able to do,” Fairchild said. “We’ve made it clear to him that he needs to communicate to us. The only way to monitor a guy’s arm is if he’s talking to you because you don’t know.” … Everyone who was expected to report was in attendance, Fairchild said.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
