Colorado State University Athletics
Spring Football Notebook: Practice 6
3/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
After last Saturday's practice, head coach Mike Bobo said that the Rams were a day behind on install, but after Tuesday's practice, the sixth of the spring, the Rams are nearly caught up.
The Colorado State coaching staff was able to install redzone on Tuesday, and they plan to install more sets before Saturday's closed scrimmage.
"We are almost back on track," Bobo said. "We got our redzone in that we missed on Saturday and then we went ahead and did our short yardage stuff today, introduced it. We have our one-minute that we are behind on, but we'll install the one-minute and goal line on Thursday."
Bobo was quick to compliment the team when asked about daily improvement.
"There is improvement every day, and sometimes it is hard to see because we're being demanding and sometimes they (the players) don't feel like there has been improvement," Bobo said. "I'm trying to point out every day that there has been a little bit improvement, and some days it has been bigger than others."
Other than the quarterback battle, Rams fans want to know who will replace 1,200-yard rusher in Dee Hart. The Rams return plenty of talent and also introduce a new back in Purdue transfer Dalyn Dawkins. Bobo said Treyous Jarrells, who rushed for 450 yards in 2014, and Dawkins has stood out this spring.
"Treyous, I'm really pleased with how he runs the football," Bobo said. "He's not a very big guy, but he runs it extremely hard. He has the ability to break tackles. He's very, very smart. He probably understands our offense better than anybody on offense: signals, code words and being able to tell guys what to do. We've been really pleased with him."
Bobo continued on Dawkins.
"Dalyn Dawkins has been another guy that has caught my eye. We've got to get him to slow down a little bit. He runs so hard and a little bit out of control. He needs to get patience, but he is not afraid of anything."
The Rams will return to practice on Thursday as they continue to install the new schemes before Saturday's closed scrimmage.
Spring Notebook
FA'APITO: After Tuesday's practice, Coach Bobo was asked about Nu'uvali Fa'apito's transition from linebacker to fullback and the first-year head coach spoke highly of the senior.
"I've been really, really pleased with Nu'uvali," Bobo said. "I've had some good fullbacks in years past at the University of Georgia, and he has a chance to be as good as any of them. He's not afraid to strike, he's athletic, he can bend and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. When he learns what to do, he's going to be a very good player for us."
ANOTHER QB UPDATE: For the second consecutive practice, Bobo was asked about the performance of the running backs. According to Bobo, redshirt sophomore Nick Stevens still holds an advantage over Coleman Key and Craig Leonard.
"Nick (Stevens) is doing a nice job," Bobo said. "Nick is probably further along understanding what we're trying to do, than Coleman (Key) and Craig (Leonard). His footwork has got to improve, but he has good anticipation on his throws. He does a nice job of standing in there. There is still a lot where we are thinking too much. There is a lot of thinking going on and not being able to play fast and react, but that is natural. It's going to be a struggle for most of spring, but hopefully we'll see instances where a play or two will click."
UPCOMING EVENTS: On Saturday, April 11, the Rams will conduct a spring scrimmage at the Broncos' Paul D. Bowlen Memorial Broncos Centre at Dove Valley at 10 a.m. MT.
Admission to the Dove Valley scrimmage will be made available exclusively to Colorado State football season ticketholders and Ram Club members who have renewed for 2015.
For information on how to purchase season tickets for Colorado State Football, and to join the Ram Club, please call 800-491-RAMS.
Spring practice will end with the annual Green and Gold Spring Game on Saturday, April 18, at 11 a.m. The game will be held at Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. More details surrounding the game to come.
THE GRIND: The second episode of The Grind -- Spring Ball will be released soon. Fans can expect to see interviews with offensive lineman Sam Carlson, linebacker Bryan Ohene-Gyeni and wide receiver Xavier Williams.
Bryan Ohene-Gyeni sits down for #TheGrind https://t.co/HOXhOMKEfH
-- Stan Gilliland (@Stanton_G) March 30, 2015
