FORT COLLINS — There is clearly still some defensive end lingering in the body of tight end Crockett Gillmore. Why else would he say, when asked to not only block more this season, but vastly improve his blocking, “Honestly, I’d prefer to block”?
“I love running routes but (love) blocking even more,” Gillmore said. “If we can run it down somebody’s throat and I don’t have to run a route, then perfect.”
That is Colorado State’s leading receiver from a year ago, folks. And it’s par for the course for one of the most unselfish players on the team. He began his career as a defensive end in 2010 as a true freshman before moving to the offensive side last season. He led CSU in catches (45), receiving yards (468) and touchdown catches (four) in 2011, but seems to have no designs on eclipsing those marks this season in CSU’s new offense. At least the junior isn’t saying so publicly.
But with his size (6-foot-6, 245 pounds) and receiving skills, he could. In today’s football, with tight ends increasingly used as the ultimate matchup problem for opposing defenses, Gillmore’s ability to run like a gazelle and catch like a wideout makes him a weapon. And yet he has only two catches in two games. One, however, was a 69-yard, catch-and-run play last weekend against North Dakota State for the Rams’ only touchdown.
Still, Gillmore said, “I don’t think I’ve played very consistently. We’ve had big plays, bigger than I’ve had since I’ve been here. But I’ve had plays that have been worse, I’ll be honest, since I’ve been here. I’ve got to kind of even that out — get the hot plays, then keep it even, keep it steady and not be so up and down.”
That assessment has almost everything to do with blocking.
“I think Crockett is getting better all the time,” said CSU coach Jim McElwain. “But he has a lot of things to work on. Head placement, footwork in the run game, pass game, that kind of stuff. Really attention to detail.”
To be fair, Gillmore is still playing a bit of catch-up. He didn’t participate in spring football because of injuries and had to learn the offense, a bigger blocking role and the new techniques and terminology on the fly.
At Bushland High in Texas, he became the school’s first 1,000-yard receiver and caught a school-record 22 touchdown passes as a senior.
“Honestly, I was in the film room watching (spring) practices as much as I could,” Gillmore said. “But the guys I’m watching didn’t exactly know what they were doing either. So footwork and things like that, you have to refer back to Alabama a lot of times.
“Receiving I can do in my sleep, I feel so comfortable running routes. But a lot of the blocking, new tackles this year, everything else. … There’s still those times in the back of your mind where you’re like ‘Oh, no.’ But we’re getting it down and getting really comfortable with it.”
And when he does? He can get down to business.
“To me, that’s the ultimate test of who’s tougher,” Gillmore said. “Yeah, I could run a route, but I want to line up and throw blows and see who’s going to win in the end.”
Christopher Dempsey: 303-954-1279, cdempsey@denverpost.com or
