FORT COLLINS — So, just who is Raymond Carter?
Carter himself would like to find out the answer. Colorado State’s senior running back, a highly touted athlete coming out of high school in Los Angeles, has one more chance to make his mark in college and prove he can be No. 1 on a depth chart.
“This is my last year, and it’s all or nothing,” said Carter, who is 100 percent after a minor knee injury suffered against TCU in Week 5 last season. “The main thing is just trying to win games. That’s my main focus. There is nothing better than winning, and we are trying to get that mentality out here.”
For Carter, starting five games in 2010 was a far cry from his two lost seasons at UCLA — including a torn anterior cruciate ligament during the first week of camp in his freshman season. He had to sit out 2009 as a transfer, and he finally got back on the field in 2010 — but with limited success. He finished with 235 yards on 65 carries and a touchdown.
Carter (6-foot, 212 pounds) had a breakout game against Idaho with 104 yards rushing and 120 receiving. He became the first Ram since Lawrence McCutcheon in 1970 to have 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game. But the next week against TCU, he injured his left knee in the first quarter, then missed three games.
“I’ve got guys like Chris Nwoke and Derek Good out there pushing me, and we are all pushing each other,” Carter said. “I’m going to work my hardest and show these coaches that I can be the guy to lead this team.”
Nwoke, a sophomore from ThunderRidge High School, picked up the slack after Carter’s injury and had an impressive freshman season with 357 yards rushing.
“There is a strong chemistry among the running back corps, and we are confident that whoever is on the field will make the right decision,” said Nwoke, who had his biggest game against New Mexico with 98 yards on 19 carries. “We know we are all going to play, so right now we are just helping each other get better.”
Said head coach Steve Fairchild: “I hope (Raymond) has his best year, but we are always going to need more than one. Derek Good had a good spring and Chris Nwoke is so talented, but that is something that we will let play itself out. We do want to get a good look at the freshman backs.”
The most coveted of those freshman backs is Dorian Brown, the Thompson Valley product missed his entire senior high school season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in a preseason scrimmage. Brown, sporting a red jersey Thursday morning, graduated a semester early and has been on campus rehabilitating his left knee.
“The red jersey is just precautionary. We are going to watch, but he should be full go here pretty quick,” Fairchild said. “We are just being safe and watching him run around a little bit.”
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
