Colorado State University Athletics
Practice notes: Rams begin preparations for CU
8/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 24, 2010
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Rams went back to school with the rest of the CSU campus on Monday, taking a day off from football.
On Tuesday, they returned to work, using scout teams for the first time this fall.
And those scout teams on Tuesday were missing several members of one of their chief ingredients, true freshmen.
“I would be surprised if we don’t have eventually five, six, seven true freshmen playing in some capacity,” Head Coach Steve Fairchild said. “But there’s still a lot of practice left before we start.”
In addition to starting QB Pete Thomas, true freshmen that figure to have the best shot at playing this year are RB Tony Drake, LB Mike Orakpo and DEs Crockett Gillmore and Nordly Capi. Several others, including CB Shaq Bell, LB Charles Favors, S Najee James, LB Eric Niederberger, DT John Froland and DE Charles Green, could also forego a redshirt season in 2010.
Growth spurts welcome: Fairchild said the success of his offense this season depends largely on the how quickly Thomas and the Rams’ untested offensive line grow into their roles.
“And, really,” Fairchild said, “you don’t know where you are until you play a game. We may be light years away. We may be a little better than we think, I don’t know. We’ll find out Saturday, Sept. 4. Once we know that, just how fast we can develop and get to where we want to get to is the key to our season offensively.”
The CSU offensive line, which has four 2009 starters currently on NFL rosters, figures to be a determining factor in driving the Rams where they want to go. That front will depend on junior team captain Jake Gdowski and the only returning starter, T Paul Madsen. Other than those two, the remaining three starters are still to be determined 11 days before the opener against the Buffs.
Overall, though, Fairchild said after practice Tuesday that he really enjoys this group of Rams.
“They have the want-to, they’re tight and they like each other. We’re young. We’re going to make mistakes. It’s not going to be lack of effort.”
Full strength: The CSU secondary was back to full health Tuesday, welcoming back starting CB DeAngelo Wilkinson. The senior, having rehabilitated from a foot injury sustained during spring practice, was cleared for full contact for the first time Tuesday.
The week ahead: CSU will practice with crowd noise in its new, $13 million indoor facility on Wednesday, then scrimmage again on Thursday at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. The scrimmage is closed.
The Rams are back on the field Friday, then hold another closed practice at the stadium on Saturday.
Mason returns: RB Leonard Mason, the leading rusher in 2009, passed a conditioning test and practiced in full pads for the first time Tuesday. He’d been slowed by a hamstring injury sustained on the eve of fall practice.
New faces: The Rams added nine new players Tuesday as the athletic department allowed the football roster to expand to 115 with the start of fall classes. Highlighting the group is QB Ben Schumacher, a Denver Post Class 5A honorable-mention all-state selection that led Boulder Fairview (12-1) to the state semifinals. Schumacher, who played for Tom McCartney at Fairview, joins LB Michael Kawulok (Monarch) and CU transfer Beau Brittenham (Longmont) as one of three players from Boulder County on the Rams' roster. And, Class of 2010 signee Ty Sambrailo, an offensive lineman from Watsonville, Calif., has a dad who was a CU pole vaulter, and a brother who was a CU skier.
Schumacher's addition also giveS the Rams three former Metro Area quarterbacks, including M.J. McPeek (Rangeview) and Klay Kubiak (Regis).
Along with Schumacher, new to the Rams’ practice field Tuesday were three more Denver Metro Area players, LB Kenneth Hulbert (ThunderRidge), S Ryan Heagle (Mullen) and C Efrem Woldu (Thomas Jefferson). Meanwhile, Alex Ragsdale, a kicker from Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, Calif., and Jeremy Smith, a transfer WR from Colorado School of Mines and Boulder City, Nev., joined WRs Adam Winnick (CSU-Pueblo) and Jason Cook (Westport, Conn.) – both members of the Rams’ 2010 spring roster – to round out the newcomers.
