Colorado State University Athletics
CSU summer football blog: Burl, Orakpo change positions
6/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 8, 2010
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Two of CSU's defensive players are moving closer to the line of scrimmage.
Davis Burl will open fall as a defensive end and Mike Orakpo now is an outside linebacker.
Burl, a key contributor in Grandview's 2007 Class 5A state championship, initially signed with the Rams as a speedy safety in February 2008. He moved to linebacker during his redshirt freshman year and played in all 12 games with three starts, helping to fill a huge gap in the LB corps caused by injuries.
Coaches over Burl's first two seasons saw a natural pass-rushing ability in his game, and want to capitalize on that. And shortly after they decided to make the move, in a moment of serendipity, DE Zach Tiedgen sustained a knee surgery in a pickup basketball game during finals week and after ensuing surgery is lost for the 2010 season. Tiedgen, a sophomore from ThunderRidge High School in Highlands Ranch, played in 11 games and started seven last year, also filling a void created by injury. Burl's late grandfather, Alex, was one of the most prominent names in CSU athletics history.
Including former LB/TE Broderick Sargent and former TE Adam Seymore, the Rams now have moved three players to defensive line since the end of the '09 season.
Orakpo, who officially will play as a true freshman in 2010 after enrolling as a grayshirt in time for spring practice, replaces Burl at linebacker, transitioning from strong safety. Safeties coach Larry Lewis is sorry to lose Orakpo, who had a strong spring in the CSU secondary, but the Rams surely will benefit from the move. Some might think Orakpo (6-1, 208) is undersized for the position, but CSU thinks he's a good fit. The Rams are in the minority in the Mountain West Conference. They employ the MWC's only traditional pro-style playbook, while most other schools feature a spread offense, requiring the Rams' linebackers to be smaller, faster and better able to cover the pass on most plays.
CSU's two starters at outside linebacker, senior Ricky Brewer (6-2, 217) and preseason all-conference selection Mychal Sisson (5-11, 209), are similar in size.
If genetics are an indication, Orakpo should be able to make the adjustment. His big brother, Brian, was an All-American and Lombardi Award winner at Texas before the Redskins drafted him in the first round.
On offense, Lou Greenwood is officially a wideout and will appear on the pre-camp depth chart as the Rams' top slot receiver. A running back as a true freshman in 2009, Greenwood played both positions this past spring as the coaches tried to determine how they could best divide reps among one of the deepest backfields in the country. Also look for Greenwood deep to return kickoffs this fall, along with UCLA transfer Raymond Carter, one of the reasons coaches moved Greenwood to receiver.
OTHER ROSTER MOVES: Greenwood's official shift will fill some of the void left by WR Vernon Scott, who opted to give up football following spring practice. CB Brandon Owens made the same decision. CB Jonathan Gaye, LB Cam Loughery, CB Dru Taylor, WR Blake Swain and LB Luke Diehl also will not return. The April knee injury sustained by LB Andy Clements has ended his career. QB Jon Eastman transferred soon after spring practice.
UNIQUE NUMBER: CSU's 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end C.J. James, one of the most promising young Rams, is dropping the 1 from his uniform number, going from 91 to 9. The last CSU lineman to wear a single-digit number was Joey Porter, who donned No. 8 as a senior DE in 1998 before launching his All-Pro NFL career. In April, James flew to North Carolina two days before the Rams' spring game for the birth of his daughter, then returned in time to dedicate a sack in that game to his little girl. After graduating one semester early from high school so he could enroll at CSU and go through 2009 spring practice, James played in 11 games as a true freshman. He had a pair of sacks in the Rams' season finale against Wyoming.
Burl joins James in the unique-number category; he'll wear No. 18. Greenwood, meanwhile, moves from 33 to 1. RB Chris Nwoke will wear No. 6 and TE Eric Peitz has claimed Nwoke's former number, 11.
Peitz initially had 11 last fall, but was forced to give up the number because he potentially would've been on the same special-teams unit with Nick Oppenneer, also 11. Oppenneer graduated after leading the Rams in interceptions.
