FORT COLLINS — Colorado State coach Jim McElwain considers part of his responsibility to enlighten his players about sports history and pop culture, touching on such things as rock bands and old sitcoms.
This week, he and his wide receivers coach, Alvis Whitted, have been able to tell their star sophomore, Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins, more about Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff. McElwain was the Oakland Raiders’ quarterbacks coach in 2006, working with Biletnikoff, the wide receivers coach, and Whitted, a veteran wide receiver.
Higgins on Monday was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation’s top wide receiver.
“Before the season started, I called myself ‘Mr. Biletnikoff,’ because I wanted to be the best,” Higgins said. “To be the best, you have to work to be the best. I believe that I’ve put in the hard work.”
But it wasn’t until this week, when Higgins made the final 15, that his Biletnikoff briefings began in earnest.
“Alvis told me that he played for the Oakland Raiders,” Higgins said. “And that he used stickum.”
Higgins will be back in the lineup Saturday for the 9-1 Rams against New Mexico at Hughes Stadium. After missing CSU’s last game Nov. 8 with a shoulder injury, Higgins is second in the nation in receiving yards, with 1,280, trailing Alabama’s Amari Cooper by 23 yards. Higgins’ inclusion in the Biletnikoff Award’s final 15 isn’t surprising, but Wednesday he also was named one of the 15 “players to watch” for the Walter Camp player of the year award.
Whitted played five seasons for Biletnikoff.
“I basically told (Rashard) the history of the Raiders, the award and how I got to know Freddie when I first got to Oakland, how he took me under his wing and spent extra time with me,” Whitted said. “I was going into my fourth or fifth year, and he just taught me a lot about the game, from his perspective. … More important, he’s an even better person, because he taught me some things about how to be a professional, how to go about your business on a daily basis. He showed me a lot about life, not just football.”
Higgins had 68 catches for 837 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman in 2013 but has shown considerable improvement this season.
“I will say that Rashard is still growing in a lot of his aspects of the game,” Whitted said. “There’s a lot of work he continues to do to get better. Now, being that he’s only a sophomore, only two years removed from high school, it’s amazing for him to have the statistics that he has right now. But he’s a kid that’s hungry. He doesn’t know anything else. He just knows how to work and make the most of his opportunities.”
Higgins suffered the shoulder injury late in the Nov. 1 win at San Jose State when he hit the turf hard after making a 55-yard catch.
“I thought a bone had popped out. That’s when I ran to the sidelines and said that,” Higgins said. “They said: ‘Man, you’ll be all right. It’ll take a couple of weeks to heal.’ The first thing I thought of was, ‘I don’t want to miss the next game.’ … I’m back on the field now, so we’re about to heat up.”
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
