Colorado State University Athletics
CSU football camp blog - Practice 14
8/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 19, 2009
By Stuart Buchanan
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo.- The Rams are making improvements every day in practice and Wednesday morning it came on the defensive side of the ball.
During the 10-minute, 15-play scrimmage, while using the customized scoring system, the defense defeated the offense 15-11. An interception, a pass deflection, and numerous tackles for loss helped the defense survive.
While the defense shined, the offense had its ups and downs.
"As much as you can train, there is still a mental grind to two-a-days," said Head Coach Steve Fairchild. "I started practice over today because I thought half the offense decided they were just going to kind of survive."
One of the offensive players who came out and practiced hard was junior college transfer running back Leonard Mason. Mason looked strong when he ran the ball, and also managed to take a screen pass 68 yards for a touchdown.
QB battle: Jon Eastman and Grant Stucker both continued to split time. Fairchild called the competition a "dead heat" and said it would take two or three consistent days from one of the quarterbacks before he named him the starter.
Big plays: Sophomore defensive tackle Nuku Latu dove forward to intercept a screen pass. This play gave all the momentum to the defense. On the very next play sophomore cornerback Gerard Thomas snuck into the backfield to register a tackle for a loss.
Stucker helped the offense get on the board with a 36-yard completion down the middle of the field to a tightly covered Rashaun Greer.
With the scrimmage tied at 8 the offense tried to run the ball up the middle. However, sophomore linebacker Mychal Sisson met the ball carrier in the backfield for another loss. This was one of three straight tackles for a loss.
Kubiak update: Fairchild said that Klay Kubiak's MRI results came back and they did not show anything drastically bad. Fairchild said that Kubiak is expected to return to the field at the end of this week but will be limited.
Stepping up: Greer and Dion Morton have been improving since the beginning of fall camp, and Fairchild really noticed it in Wednesday morning's practice.
"I appreciated what Rashaun Greer and Dion did today," Fairchild said. "They are starting to figure out that if they go, they can do something and they are."
Colorado State will be back practicing Wednesday at 4 p.m. as it prepares for two more scrimmages that will take place this week.
