Colorado State University Athletics
CSU football camp blog: Practice 5
8/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 9, 2010
Read previous blogs | 2010 football ticket information
By Stuart Buchanan
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - After the NCAA-required four-day period without full pads, the Rams took the field Monday and Head Coach Steve Fairchild wasted no time.
The first drill of the practice was a five-man, live tackling drill, which consisted of a ball-carrier, an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman at the line of scrimmage, a player blocking downfield and another defender. There was a 5-yard-wide trench that was formed by blocking pads and players. The ball carrier had to get past the defender without going out of the area. The drill was physical and set the tempo for the rest of practice.
"Defensively, it's important to wrap up and get a guy on the ground," Fairchild said. "Your angles are different. When you thud, you're not finishing a tackle, so sometimes your angles are a little different, you aren't getting off a block the same way."
Next, CSU went to its daily 2-minute drill. However, for the first time this fall the Rams kept score. Even with the defense making two big plays (Elijah-Blu Smith forcing a fumble, and Alex Williams throwing Raymond Carter into the ground for a 4-yard loss), the defense trailed 9-7.
In 2009, the Rams tied for 60th in the nation in turnover margin (19 giveaways and 19 takeaways). Looking to improve on that they dedicated a period to a "turnover circuit." There were numerous stations set up, each focusing on different ways to cause a turnover. Scooping up a fumble off the ground, stripping the ball and interceptions were just a few of the stations.
CSU lost 52 percent of its receiving production from last year, so the wide receiver position has been a big question mark since the offseason began. T.J. Borcky put together a nice practice Sunday from the wide receiver spot, but Byron Steele wanted to make a case for himself Monday to be the go-to-guy during the 2010 campaign. During a "thud" period Steele blew past the secondary and hauled in a 40-yard touchdown from Nico Ranieri. Then during the final "live" period, Steele had a 60-yard touchdown, juking numerous defenders and giving a stiff-arm to the facemask of Ivory Herd. Those two plays helped the offense win the 15-play live scrimmage with a score of 21-14.
The Rams will have their first two-a-day practices Tuesday, with the morning practice at the usual 7:45 time slot, and the afternoon practice beginning at 4.
New face up front: Freshman Weston Richburg, a product of Amarillo, Texas, worked with the first-team offense at the guard position.
Tasty treat: During fall camp the coaches' wives often bring snacks for the players and coaches to have after practice and before their next round of meetings. Monday morning the team was provided with popsicles.
Scrimmage stats: The passing game was effective for the first day in full pads. Pete Thomas was 3-3 for 69 yards and 1 touchdown. Ranieri was 2-2 for 16 yards. Klay Kubiak was 3-4 for 41 yards. On defense, Charles Green broke up a Kubiak pass, and earlier in the day, Momo Thomas intercepted a tipped pass and returned it for a TD.
Rocky Mountain Showdown tickets: Less than 1,000 student tickets remain on sale for the Sept. 4 game. Those tickets are $25, including all fees. All tickets are print-at-home and, when the student allotment sells out the only opportunity to purchase a ticket to the game will be at regular pricing, $55. To purchase tickets, visit the ticket page on CSURams.com.
Other Fairchild quotes from Monday morning...
On first day of hitting: "It was good. I thought our defense had a little better edge mentally. Offensively we weren't as sharp. I like the live periods we do; as a teammate or a coach you can start to figure out who you can count on to make plays and who's going to struggle."
"We are going to learn a lot more about our players when we have pads on."
On the running backs: "Tony Drake has some ability, obviously. We got to do a much, much better job with running backs at ball security than we are doing right now."
