Settiing the Stage: Homecoming

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Colorado State (1-4, 0-1) vs. San Diego State (3-1, 0-1)
Canvas Stadium, Fort Collins
Saturday, 8:05 p.m.

GAME LINKS

Rams continue to explore usage of Wright

Creating Chances

When it comes to true freshmen, none have been more productive than Colorado State's Dante Wright this year. He ranks 45^th nationally by averaging 115 all-purpose yards per game, the best among first-year players.

Memphis running back – the aptly named Kenneth Gainwell – is a redshirt freshman who took advantage of the NCAA rules and played four games last season; he leads all freshmen in the category at 127 yards per game.

The difference is the position they play, leaving Colorado State coach Mike Bobo to be as creative as he can in trying to get Wright the ball.

"He's got a big space on the sheet of trying to get him touches in our offense," Bobo said. "Every time you don't win a game, and that's been four of them, you feel like, well, maybe he should have touched it more. It's more difficult to get a receiver the ball than it is a running back. Now we have used him as a running back, but guys can do different things to take jet sweeps away."

What San Diego State does naturally on defense fits into the category.

Wright is averaging around nine touches per game, taking into account his job as the punt returner. Those touches are generating 13.1 yards per touch. Even against a defense like the Aztecs, Bobo said an explosive player has a chance to make a coach look good against the wrong scheme.

Eventually, the Rams will also be able to line up Warren Jackson and Nate Craig-Myers on the outside, with Wright in the slot. The feeling is not all three can be covered.

"The more weapons you have, the better," Bobo said.

Young Guns

Three of the Rams' top tacklers this year are players who are getting their first real looks on the field. Logan Stewart and Dequan Jackson are first-year starters, and Cam'Ron Carter is turning into the type of player CSU wants on the field more often than not.

Jackson is second on the team with 34 tackles, Stewart is fifth at 27 and Carter sixth at 22. Carter is also fourth on the team with three tackles for loss.

"I think these guys are starting to come into their own and starting to pull the trigger and play more aggressive and not sit on their heels," Bobo said. "I think that was evident the other night, watching our game and some of the plays they made. Utah State still got some plays against us and did some successful things at times, but we were able to play better because of their aggressiveness and understanding what we're doing."

Not just a flash of action, Bobo said all three were great at practice Tuesday, with Stewart's the best effort he's had in a while as the junior college transfer is consistently trending toward becoming the hard-hitting safety they project him to become. All of them, the coach said, are becoming the "Alpha dogs" the Rams seek.

Seniors are taking note, and appreciating what they bring to the table, not just individually, but collectively to the unit.

"Most definitely. The more reps the first-year dudes take, the better we play," Jamal Hicks said. "The better they perform, the better we perform, too."

Back When

Bobo has reiterated all week just how hard it is to attack the Aztec defense, but he's also had success in doing so. Back in 2016, the last time the two teams met, the Rams had 507 yards of total offense and scored 63 points on a damp night.

As an added bonus, they put a roadblock up for running back Donnel Pumphrey, who gained just 53 yards on 18 carries.

"Obviously we watched that," Bobo said, referring to the film. "But we've got different players, he's got different players. You look at tape from every year. The thing about Coach (Rocky) Long and his defense is, it's hard to find schemes and concepts that work against him. They're so good against everybody. You're searching for things people did you were successful."

So the Rams have watched film of other games that have worked, whether they've included CSU or not. If he can find something he thinks they can incorporate and work, they'll do it.

At the end of his chat with the media on Wednesday, Bobo's phone rang – it was former offensive coordinator Will Friend. So he put him on speaker phone and played reporter, stating that everybody in the room wanted to know how Tennessee (where Friend is the offensive line coach) was going to handle Georgia's defensive front this week.

The answer: Inaudible.

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Nate Craig-Myers

Jamal Hicks

Dequan Jackson

Warren Jackson

Logan Stewart

Dante Wright

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