FORT COLLINS — Ask the receivers, who took a good portion of criticism after last week’s loss to Colorado, just how meetings went Sunday and you get one response.
“Pretty harsh,” Charles Lovett said.
“We saw everything that went wrong and all of the stuff we can get better on, and yeah, it was kind of harsh,” Lee Clubb said.
He laughed.
And why not?
The teeth gnashing, yelling and hair pulling are over. Colorado State’s young wide receiving corps learned the hard way this week what life is about if the preparation and effort isn’t there. They’ve spent the past three days correcting those mistakes while preparing for Utah State on Saturday.
“With the young ones, they’ve just got to continue to get reps, reps, reps, reps,” CSU offensive coordinator Pat Meyer said. “Because the two young kids, they’re going to be really good because they are quick, they’re smart, which is key. And they are tough, which is what you want.”
Lovett, a freshman, caught two passes for 14 yards against CU. Clubb, also a freshman, had no catches for the first game this season.
Although they were the point men, Colorado State’s performance from its wide receivers overall was subpar. Wideouts caught just seven of the 20 completions, T.J. Borcky leading the way with three.
The biggest problem, as identified by CSU coach Steve Fairchild, was an inability to get separation from CU defensive backs. The Buffs took advantage by refocusing their defensive effort on the Rams’ running game and held CSU to one score after its initial drive.
“You’re talking about two true freshmen at receiver a good portion of the time, so that’s going to take time to develop,” Fairchild said. “Everything around it, every component in the pass game can help out. If we can protect better, (quarterback) Pete (Thomas) can run down his progressions better . . . and by design we can maybe help our guys out a little bit with the separation.”
Still, players have to step up at some point. And Lovett and Clubb say they intend to.
“I’d say we have to stay focused and just continue practicing hard and get a better chemistry with the quarterback,” Lovett said. “There’s nothing like chemistry. Sometimes (Thomas) doesn’t know where we’re going to be, or we’re in the wrong place. I think it’s just more repetition, just getting familiar with each other. Because everything is new to me and Lee, of course, right now. So we’ve got to get a little more chemistry and we’ll be all right.”
CSU will also get reinforcements. Suspended junior wide receiver Byron Steele practiced with the second-team when this week’s drills opened on Tuesday. If he plays, he’ll provide
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
