Colorado State University Athletics
Trey McBride Building His Desired Reputation
10/29/2019 6:53:00 PM | Football
Blocking to the end suits him as much as an explosive catch
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The idea is picture perfect.
He can frame the moment, the one where he skipped past the Fresno State defender on his way down the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown. Frozen for all time, to hang on his brother's wall.
Merry Christmas, Toby McBride.
"He always gives me a hard time and tells me I'm slow and not athletic, and that I always get tackled," Trey McBride said. "I had to show him what I can do and kind of tell him I'm a little bit faster than him. That should prove it."
McBride is building his reputation as a big-play guy for the Rams, as all three of his career touchdowns have covered more than 40 yards. Two of them have come in the past two games, first drive, to open things up. As a true freshman in 2018, he played in all 12 games, starting five, but was limited to seven catches for 89 yards, the biggest gain his 48-yard score on the road against Florida.
Toby's assessment was Trey almost was caught from behind.
This season, Trey has blossomed in the passing game, up to 22 catches for 286 yards, averaging 13 yards a reception. The catches rank third on the team.
"Trey is a baller. I love Trey," said Warren Jackson, the Rams' current highlight creator. "I think Trey is a real good tight end. He's strong, he's fast, he's athletic – really athletic. I've played basketball with him before; he can dunk the basketball real well."
And, Jackson said, he's a monster when it comes to blocking.
CSU head coach Mike Bobo pointed out it has become a weekly occurrence for the officials to ask Trey to ease up a bit, because he plays to the whistle as instructed and does so with a vengeance.
"That's what we thought when we signed him; he had a chance to be an attached tight end, a guy who could get down the field vertically and run underneath routes and be able to block," Bobo said. "On the one touchdown Marcus McElroy had going into the tunnel side that he bounced out and outran the corner, he took his man and drove him 12 yards into the end zone.
"He's one of the guys the refs warn all the time that they're about to throw a penalty on him because he's always pancaking his guys. Sometimes he gets overaggressive and does some stuff he shouldn't, but I'd rather have a guy like that than a guy you're trying to get to be more physical."
That's the reputation Trey wants to have. His main target this season was to be a better, more feared blocker, someone who contributed to the run game with as much vigor, if less noticeable, than him running down the sideline.
So this week, he'll probably have another conversation with a referee.
"Definitely. I always get warned, at least once a game," Trey said. "That's something (tight ends coach) Nick Jones told me, if the refs aren't warning you, you're not playing hard enough. Every game the refs are always on me, telling me to ease up on blocks, but I kind of take pride in that. I want to be known as a good blocker, vicious and mean, so I take pride in that.
"That's' my goal, every time I block someone, I'm trying to put you in the dirt. I'm not trying to let up, and that helps, because that opens up the play-action. They always think I'm going to block, block, block, then I bloc for a second and run a route and it's usually open."
So, to McBride's liking, he'll leave most of the passing game in the capable hands of Jackson. As everybody knows, he's a hot target currently, and more importantly, the Rams are winning.
Besides, as fun as it is to see Trey break free, the plays they love to watch over and over on tape are those blocks.
"I love it. Man, he'll come back to the huddle, 'man, I just buried that dude.' Then I watch it on tape, it's like, 'wow, he really did,'" Jackson said. "He's a phenomenal athlete, but a better person. I'm glad we have him on this team."
Still, it's been a pleasure trying to shut his older brother up, and if Toby sees a square, thin present under the tree, he won't have to shake it to figure out what it is.
He can frame the moment, the one where he skipped past the Fresno State defender on his way down the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown. Frozen for all time, to hang on his brother's wall.
Merry Christmas, Toby McBride.
"He always gives me a hard time and tells me I'm slow and not athletic, and that I always get tackled," Trey McBride said. "I had to show him what I can do and kind of tell him I'm a little bit faster than him. That should prove it."
McBride is building his reputation as a big-play guy for the Rams, as all three of his career touchdowns have covered more than 40 yards. Two of them have come in the past two games, first drive, to open things up. As a true freshman in 2018, he played in all 12 games, starting five, but was limited to seven catches for 89 yards, the biggest gain his 48-yard score on the road against Florida.
Toby's assessment was Trey almost was caught from behind.
This season, Trey has blossomed in the passing game, up to 22 catches for 286 yards, averaging 13 yards a reception. The catches rank third on the team.
"Trey is a baller. I love Trey," said Warren Jackson, the Rams' current highlight creator. "I think Trey is a real good tight end. He's strong, he's fast, he's athletic – really athletic. I've played basketball with him before; he can dunk the basketball real well."
And, Jackson said, he's a monster when it comes to blocking.
CSU head coach Mike Bobo pointed out it has become a weekly occurrence for the officials to ask Trey to ease up a bit, because he plays to the whistle as instructed and does so with a vengeance.
"That's what we thought when we signed him; he had a chance to be an attached tight end, a guy who could get down the field vertically and run underneath routes and be able to block," Bobo said. "On the one touchdown Marcus McElroy had going into the tunnel side that he bounced out and outran the corner, he took his man and drove him 12 yards into the end zone.
"He's one of the guys the refs warn all the time that they're about to throw a penalty on him because he's always pancaking his guys. Sometimes he gets overaggressive and does some stuff he shouldn't, but I'd rather have a guy like that than a guy you're trying to get to be more physical."
That's the reputation Trey wants to have. His main target this season was to be a better, more feared blocker, someone who contributed to the run game with as much vigor, if less noticeable, than him running down the sideline.
So this week, he'll probably have another conversation with a referee.
"Definitely. I always get warned, at least once a game," Trey said. "That's something (tight ends coach) Nick Jones told me, if the refs aren't warning you, you're not playing hard enough. Every game the refs are always on me, telling me to ease up on blocks, but I kind of take pride in that. I want to be known as a good blocker, vicious and mean, so I take pride in that.
"That's' my goal, every time I block someone, I'm trying to put you in the dirt. I'm not trying to let up, and that helps, because that opens up the play-action. They always think I'm going to block, block, block, then I bloc for a second and run a route and it's usually open."
So, to McBride's liking, he'll leave most of the passing game in the capable hands of Jackson. As everybody knows, he's a hot target currently, and more importantly, the Rams are winning.
Besides, as fun as it is to see Trey break free, the plays they love to watch over and over on tape are those blocks.
"I love it. Man, he'll come back to the huddle, 'man, I just buried that dude.' Then I watch it on tape, it's like, 'wow, he really did,'" Jackson said. "He's a phenomenal athlete, but a better person. I'm glad we have him on this team."
Still, it's been a pleasure trying to shut his older brother up, and if Toby sees a square, thin present under the tree, he won't have to shake it to figure out what it is.
Players Mentioned
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