FORT COLLINS — From behind the defense, veteran coordinator Larry Kerr watched Colorado State linebackers Mychal Sisson, Alex Williams and Michael Kawulok respond to the simulated Brigham Young plays in practice Tuesday.
“Downhill, attack!” Kerr barked after one play, then followed the next with: “Win that battle on the edge!”
In the Rams’ 3-0 start, Kerr’s linebackers — a mixed bag of a highly touted freshman All-American on the weak side (Sisson), a one-time walk-on in the middle (Williams) and a former “grayshirt” on the strong side who still is trying to put on weight (Kawulok) — have been a collective revelation. The Rams so far have successfully coped with the suspension of junior Ricky Brewer, a two-year starter, for the season because of an undisclosed violation of team rules.
“I don’t want to say it’s the biggest surprise, but I would say I’m extremely happy with the way our linebackers are playing,” CSU coach Steve Fairchild said. “That probably was the biggest question mark going into the season. . . . To be honest with you, we’re probably playing a little better now at linebacker than we did last year.”
Sisson, a sophomore from the Dallas suburb of Duncanville, has thrived in the move from strong side, where he earned those freshman national honors last season, to the weak side, the spot Brewer played. Listed at 5-feet-11 and 203 pounds, Sisson largely has been freed from taking on the tight end. Going into Saturday’s Mountain West Conference opener at No. 19 BYU, he has 11 solo tackles and 14 assists.
“I’m an undersized linebacker, so I have to play big every time and give it my all and not let my size affect me,” Sisson said. “With my speed, a lot of times I don’t have to deal with it. The coaches put me in a lot of places to be able to use my speed and athleticism, and ‘Will’ is one position I can do that.”
Kerr, who doubles as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, said playing the weak side “puts (Sisson) into action a little more on the defense. We can do some different things, bring him off the weakside edge a little bit in the pass game. He’s a surprisingly strong kid, a great leverage football player. He knows how to bend his knees and strike at the blockers. He gets separation from the big guys, and that’s what makes him such a good football player — he knows how to get off blocks.”
In the middle, Williams has played well as a savvy successor to last year’s senior starter, Jeff Horinek. That’s a significant accomplishment for the junior who came to CSU from Sidney, Neb. His coach, Wes Gamble, sent out tapes of Williams to Division I programs, but none offered a scholarship. A handful of schools tossed out the possibility of him walking on, and he took CSU up on the offer, redshirted in 2006, didn’t get on the field at all in 2007, and was on special teams in 2008.
Kerr is in his second stint at CSU after returning to join Fairchild’s new staff for the 2008 season. He said he didn’t know much about Williams at first.
“This spring was when he really blossomed,” Kerr said. “He’s smart. I really think he understands things well, and he’s also a good tackler. It’s exciting to see him do so well.”
Kerr recommended Williams be put on scholarship for this season.
“After spring ball, I was nervous going into the meeting with Coach Fairchild,” Williams said. “He said he had some good news and bad news, and I asked, ‘What’s the bad news?’ He said I had to give up my academic (partial) scholarship because of NCAA rules. I said fine, gave that up and took the full ride.”
His intelligence is a boon for the Rams in the middle, and he makes the defensive calls.
“I’d always dreamed about getting the chance to play, finally got it and made the best of it,” he said. “Probably the weird thing for me was playing the whole CU game and how sore I was after.”
On the strong side, Kawulok, a younger brother of former CSU tight end Chris Kawulok’s, still is a bit raw. He’s 6-3 and said he is up to 225, eight pounds above his listed weight, and that’s significant because the Sonny Lubick staff had him “grayshirt” after his 2007 graduation from Louisville’s Monarch High School.
“I was only 180 my senior year of high school, and they felt I needed to put on a little more weight,” Kawulok said. “I would have liked to have been out here in the fall, but it worked out. I was part time at CSU, with three classes and nine credits, and went to the rec center and worked out every day.”
The grayshirt formula under most circumstances would have called for Kawulok to then redshirt in 2008, but Kerr decided against that after spring ball.
“We were a new staff, getting to know guys, and here’s this big, tall, rangy kid who had some toughness to him, but still needed a lot of development,” Kerr said. “Last year, he got a chance to do a little backing up and playing. . . . This year, he’s got a whole lot more confidence. He went through another spring practice, another fall camp and all of a sudden, he’s a guy I look at and go, ‘Wow, he’s a good player.’ “
The three-man unit will get its most severe test so far at BYU, which is smarting from its blowout loss to Florida State at home last Saturday.
“I know it was a question mark before the season,” Kawulok said of the Rams’ linebacker situation. “I think we’ve played pretty well so far. There’s a lot of season left, though.”
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
Strong starters
A look at Colorado State’s linebacker trio that has become a pleasant surprise for the coaches this season:
Michael Kawulok
Sophomore, 6-feet-3, 225
Life at CSU: Took the “grayshirt” route. Got his first career start last year, subbing for an injured My- chal Sisson.
This season: Tied for sixth on team with 11 tackles and has broken up two passes.
Alex Williams
Junior, 6-2, 222
Life at CSU: Redshirt (2006) then a reserve (2007), played last year on special teams before coming on this past offseason.
This season: Tied for second on team with 22 tackles and has forced and recovered two fumbles.
Mychal Sisson
Sophomore, 5-11, 203
Life at CSU: After a redshirt year, came on last year as a freshman, starting 12 games and leading team with 105 tackles.
This season: Leads team with 25 tackles (11 solo) and has a sack and two QB hurries.
Three questions for CSU
1. Can Colorado State continue its streak of forcing turnovers, especially when BYU’s confidence might be shaken? Last week, CSU forced five and BYU gave up as many. Of course, there’s a big difference between Florida State, BYU’s last opponent, and Nevada, in CSU’s most lopsided win to date. CSU has lived off creating turnovers, and BYU’s top 10 status was derailed by fumbles and interceptions. Pressuring QB Max Hall early might force some errors.
2. Can CSU turn again to its seemingly endless supply of gadget plays? The Rams have barely tapped the playbook with two Dion Morton passes for touchdowns. Who knows what they will do when Morton occupies the defense? This is still BYU, with a better-than- average defense, and the Rams can’t count on playing it straight up.
3. How will CSU quarterback Grant Stucker react to the inevitable BYU defensive pressure led by Jan Jorgensen, the all-time Mountain West sack leader? Stucker has had all the time in the world and then some, thanks to his veteran offensive line. CSU’s line was expected to be this good. BYU’s defense will offer the biggest test to date.
Natalie Meisler, The Denver Post
