Colorado State University Athletics
CSU spring football blog: Practice 1
3/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 25, 2010
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Steve Fairchild knows the value of leadership.
A former team captain when he started at quarterback for the Rams three decades ago, he’s been pleased with the leadership he’s seen this offseason from several players, but especially Ricky Brewer.
Brewer, a 6-foot-2, 217-pound linebacker, saw his first reps with the first-team defense since the 2008 New Mexico Bowl on Thursday, as the Rams held the first of 15 spring practices. Entering his senior year, Brewer is coming off a year-long suspension, which sidelined him for games but allowed him to practice with the scout team. He returned right where he left off, back in his starting role.
“I can’t say enough good things about Ricky Brewer,” Fairchild said. “What a life lesson he’s learned, and how well he’s handled it. When a guy does that, the leadership just permeates through to the team.
“We spend a lot of time talking about (leadership), and the need for that. I see some guys stepping up and dragging some other guys with them. I like what we’re doing so far.”
Thursday also marked the unofficial first day of competition at several positions, mostly on offense because CSU returns 10 starters on defense. But Fairchild is more concerned with details right now than personnel.
“Now’s not the time to figure out who’s doing what in terms of the depth chart,” the coach said. “Now’s the time to figure out as a group, are we playing together, are we playing hard, are we playing smart, are we getting the most out of that rep? I think the individual battles, quarterback, wide receiver, how we sort out the running backs, I think those will take care of themselves.”
Junior T.J. Borcky shared most of the Day 1 reps with redshirt freshman Nico Ranieri and true freshman Pete Thomas, a Class of 2010 signee who graduated early and enrolled at CSU in January in order to compete immediately in spring practice. Senior Jon Eastman, who started the 2009 finale in place of an injured Grant Stucker, saw most of his snaps at the beginning of practice.
“I want to make sure I get a good look at T.J. Borcky and the younger quarterbacks,” Fairchild said. “We’ve got a plan in mind on how we rep (Eastman), like we do everybody at every spot.”
Part of that plan is extending the length of practice slightly longer than last spring, in order to assist in the learning curve at several of those key offensive positions, where the Rams were decimated by graduation. CSU practiced for 2 hours, 15 minutes, on Thursday. Plus, on Saturday and Sunday, rather than practice in the morning as the Rams did on weekends last year, they’ll conduct afternoon practices.
“It gives us a little more meeting time,” Fairchild said. “Some of the adjustments we’ve had to make at quarterback and offensive line, those are hard to develop. It takes time. It takes more reps on the field, so we’ve adjusted some of those schedules to address that.
“There’s no way around it.”
Plays of the Day: Ranieri found Byron Steele on a deep post pattern for a 65-yard touchdown midway through practice…Earlier, Thomas connected with UCLA transfer Raymond Carter on a swing pass down the right sideline; Carter made a nice move to shake his defender for what would’ve been a 54-yard score…Then, near the end of practice, M.J. McPeek threw a deep pass that was temporarily broken up by redshirt freshman Dillon Holliam, but intended receiver Jyrone Hickman kept his focus and hauled in the 42-yard pass on his back.
Notes: Borcky took the first reps under center when the Rams opened practice in their typical fashion, the 2-minute drill against the No. 1 defense; Fairchild initiated that drill to begin each practice when he arrived two springs ago to establish his preferred tempo…Quarterbacks coach Daren Wilkinson, who had knee surgery after a Moby Arena basketball game with other coaches last month, is riding a segway, a machine out of a Back to the Future movie, to and from practice…Several players are sporting new haircuts, including long-snapper Scott Albritton and defensive tackle Ty Whittier, who shed their 2009 manes for the closely cropped look; Carter has a semi-mohawk, what he calls his annual spring haircut...Jameson Gann, a player the Rams signed as a quarterback in February 2006 along with many of the Rams’ current seniors, is back with the team as a redshirt freshman this spring after a Mormon mission; a 6-foot-5, 226-pound player from Chaparral High School in Parker, Colo., he’s currently practicing as a tight end…Tim Walter, CSU’s starting center last season who attended Pro Day with NFL scouts March 10, is helping the Rams this spring as a student-assistant…The most vocal coach on the field Thursday was Dan Hammerschmidt, a former Rams defensive back and assistant coach, who returned this spring as CSU’s new receivers coach and passing game coordinator.
