FORT COLLINS — It’s never easy for a freshman to wow his teammates, but doing something positive and getting them on your side is always good.
True freshman tight end Blake Jones caught a touchdown pass in Colorado State’s live drills scrimmage Saturday at Hughes Stadium and instantly had about 50 new friends.
“That got me amped up, and that’s my first one here in practice,” said Jones, who played his high school ball at Tulsa-Union in Oklahoma. “With it coming during a live period, it counted as some points for the offense and got me some respect on the sideline.”
Much like starting tight end Crockett Gillmore, who demonstrated his unselfishness by moving to the defensive side of the ball last season as a freshman, Jones also gave up the glory of a pass-catcher for the good of the team in his senior season.
Jones, who is getting reps with the second team because of an injury to junior Ben Tedford, was moved to offensive tackle and earned the offensive lineman of the year award in 6A District 4 in Oklahoma.
That caught the eye of his eventual recruiter, Dan Hammerschmidt.
“He’s a tough guy. (He’s) not Crockett Gillmore as a receiver, but very well coached out of Union,” said Hammerschmidt, the passing game coordinator who recruited Jones. “He’s a little bit ahead of the curve coming out of high school. In this offense, you’ve got to be able to block first and be a receiver second. Those ball skills will come. He’s catching it better and better every day.”
The tight end position — while raw and a rare question mark at a school known for its tight end prowess (See: Joel Dreessen and Kory Sperry) — has coaches and players alike excited.
“You look at us offensively and we need to come on at tight end and we need to come on at receiver,” coach Steve Fairchild said. “We all look at Crockett and realize that is what an NFL tight end looks like, but that’s not what we need right now to beat New Mexico.”
Footnotes. Sophomore safety Ezra Thompson, freshman fullback Kivon Cartwright and junior wide receiver Byron Steele were suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. . . . Sophomore wideout Tony Drake and sophomore offensive lineman Justin Becker are academically ineligible and have been taken off the roster.
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
