Colorado State University Athletics
Game Week Looms For Rams
8/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 26, 2006
It's been nearly a month since Colorado State University's football team began workouts in preparation for the 2006 season.
Rams' Coach Sonny Lubick said it's time for his team to play a game. Saturday morning, Lubick put his team through a 90-minute practice at Hughes Stadium as CSU prepares for its season-opener Sept. 2 against Weber State.
"It seems like we've been here a long time," Lubick said of the nearly four weeks of practice. "The kids are ready to start playing. We've had a lot of practice time. We're about ready to play a game."
The focus of Saturday's practice, he said, was organizational in many ways. CSU worked through various special teams situation in addition to the offense and defense facing one another.
"This day, we're more interested in organizational things. The special teams work was fine and we got to go against each other. We were out for an hour and a half, and got done what we wanted to get done."
Lubick said he expects his team to be focused for next week's opener.
"They (players) will be focused. It's game week, and they will be ready. We'll start preparing hard for Weber State. We've had some preparation already," Lubick said. "We have three more good practices to get ready to play."
Lubick said the opening game against WSU will provide a glimpse for he and his staff about the 2006 campaign.
"We'll know more about ourselves after this game," he said.
Playing an NCAA Division I-AA opponent to start the year should not make a difference to the Rams, according to Lubick. Weber State is coached by Ron McBride, who spent more than a decade roaming the sidelines as Utah's head coach. The Rams and Utes annually fought for the conference title against one another with Lubick and McBride on opposing sidelines.
"We're not in a position to take anyone lightly," he said. "It will be good to see Ron (McBride). "I know he will have his guys ready to play. They will come in here and play hard and we will have to ready to go."
The Rams appear set in the offensive backfield with Caleb Hanie the starter at quarterback and Kyle Bell at runningback. Hanie started five games as a true freshman in 2004, and was a backup last season. Bell ran for 1,288 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago to rank second in the Mountain West Conference in rushing. Lubick throughout preseason workouts has praised the team's wide receivers as a group, led by senior Dustin Osborn.
Tight end Kory Sperry returns as a junior after an impressive showing last year. The offensive line returns three starters and some talented new faces. Clint Oldenburg and Josh Day figure to start at left and right tackle, respectively, with Nick Allotta either at guard or center.
Both Oldenburgh and Day are two-year starters while Allotta started nine times last season. CSU probably won't settle on the five starters until late in the week pending the status of guard Adrian Martinez, who missed all of last week with a knee sprain but could return.
Defensively, Lubick said he's pleased with the depth in the secondary, where four players each figure to rotate at cornerback and safety.
The Rams appear solid at defensive end, again with four players rotating in and out of the lineup. CSU has three tackles who started games last year, but injuries have limited the development of top backups. Colorado State has three players who are starters back at linebacker but need quality depth, according to Lubick.
Jeff Horinek was a starter last season outside, but moves to the middle and is flanked by Luke Adkins and Jon Radford. The trio have combined to start 23 games in their respective careers.
Lubick is hopeful Jake Potorff is able to play. He sustained a right shoulder injury more than a week ago, but returned to limited duty last Thursday.
Starters return at both kicking positions. Punter Jimmie Kaylor was a first-team all-league pick last year and ranked fourth nationally by averaging 45.3 yards per attempt. Kicker Jason Smith made his first eight field goal tries in 2005 after taking over the starting duties midway through the season.
Colorado State returns to the practice field Monday at 4 p.m. to continue preparations for the first game.
Kickoff time for next Saturday's game is 3 p.m. The game also marks the 25th anniversary of the school's "Ag Day," celebrating the local and regional agricultural heritage. Pregame events include a barbecue, displays, and live music in the parking lot.
Tickets to all CSU games are available online at CSURAMS.com.
