FORT COLLINS — Drew Reilly is a bit different than the rest of the true freshmen at Colorado State.
For starters, he’s 21 years old, which would seem to be a benefit. Then again, it comes at the expense of not having played a football game since his senior season in high school, in 2007. After signing a letter of intent, Reilly waited until he turned 19 in November 2008 to start a two-year Mormon mission in Texas, returning this January to campus and taking part in spring drills.
During the Rams’ scrimmage Saturday at Hughes Stadium, it started to feel like it was all coming back to the product of Valley Center, Calif. The flow of the game and being able to react and not think led to two interceptions for the defensive back during drills.
“All through camp, even just moving to safety, I really focused on learning the reads and just learning the defense,” said Reilly, who was a linebacker in high school. “Today I just felt like it was second nature, so I could play a lot of instinct.”
CSU has a lot of inexperience at safety, where Reilly is one of three true freshmen. Redshirt freshman Austin Gray is penciled in as a starter. That inexperience has created a lot of competition at the position.
Game day.
The Rams tried to follow the script they will use for their Sept. 3 season opener at New Mexico, from the team breakfast in the morning through game time. They even simulated a halftime break in the middle of practice before returning to the field.
The Rams went to a movie, went through pregame warm-ups and put coaches in the press box. They signaled in plays, and game jerseys were worn.
On the move.
The position changes keep coming as senior Scott Carter went from fullback to the defensive line for the scrimmage. He had little time to prep.
“The equipment guys didn’t even know,” Carter said. “They had trouble getting my jersey.”
Carter, who dropped 40 pounds before the spring to move from the offensive line to fullback, is wishing he still had that girth on his frame.
Coach Steve Fairchild said the staff will evaluate Carter’s latest move for a couple of days. Carter started his CSU career on the defensive line, saying it felt natural to play there.
Footnotes.
Sophomore linebacker Mike Orakpo suffered a stinger, but Fairchild said the injury wasn’t serious. . . . There were only 26 live plays during the scrimmage. The running backs, who figure to factor in heavily for the season, weren’t used much (three carries total). Pete Thomas threw only four passes, completing two.
