BOULDER — Speaking Tuesday during his weekly media luncheon, Colorado coach Jon Embree said the progress made by Colorado State sophomore quarterback Pete Thomas “jumps out at you.”
Colorado (0-2) and CSU (2-0) meet Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The game will be televised by Root Network. Kickoff is 11:30 a.m.
“On their offensive side, I see a kid (Thomas) that’s growing up as a quarterback,” Embree said. “You look at our game last year (against CSU), that was his first game ever.
“I’ve been watching him a lot (on film) against San Diego State and BYU. Seeing the progress he has made to this year, that really jumps out you.”
CSU’s defense, Embree said, is taking on the personality of veteran defensive coordinator Larry Kerr. They worked together for three years at UCLA as assistant coaches.
“I see a Larry Kerr defense,” Embree said. “They’re sound. They do a good job of tackling. They know where their help is.
“They do a good job of taking away what you do well and making you do things you don’t do well.
“So they’re a well-coached team. They’re 2-0 and we’re 0-2, so we have to have our A-game.”
CU quarterback Tyler Hansen also took questions during the media luncheon and called Saturday’s game “a must win.”
“Not just because it’s (a rivalry game against) Colorado State,” Hansen said. “But being 0-2, we’ve got to get one, we’ve got to get one.
“Going into Ohio State (next week) 0-3 isn’t going to be good for us. We have to get a victory this weekend.”
Embree said the availability of offensive tackles David Bakhtiari and Ryan Dannewitz may not be known until after Wednesday’s practice. Both have knee sprains.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
