Colorado State University Athletics
Rams impress coach in first scrimmage of fall camp
8/10/2019 5:13:00 PM | Football
McBride shines in an extended look
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After nearly two years of inactivity, Toby McBride had a load of pent-up energy to release Saturday.
Running mainly with the second unit, but seeing a fair amount of action with the first unit, the junior defensive tackle showed up early and often in Colorado State's first scrimmage of fall camp.
Knowing who the McBride of old was is nice, but head coach Mike Bobo needed to see how far the Fort Morgan product has come since being sidelined by a back issue early in his true sophomore campaign in 2017.
"It's exciting. We're trying to have him on a snap count because of his issues, but we felt three weeks away from the first game, we wanted to get him a little bit of action and not hold him out, because he has not played a lot of football in a year and a half," Bobo said after running the team through a 113-play scrimmage at Canvas Stadium. "It's one thing to try to get him ready for the game, but we've got to see if he can play. I think today's going to give him a lot of confidence. I mean, he was fired up today. He was challenging the offensive line, so that was good to see. I'm happy for him. Knock on wood, hopefully he can stay healthy."
McBride played plenty of snaps, and he moved with fluidity. He finished with six tackles, 4.5 for loss, 2.5 of them sacks.
As a true freshman in 2016, he led the Rams with four sacks. A healthy McBride can be a boon to a unit that is already feeling better about its depth heading into the season. As starting defensive tackle Ellison Hubbard said, the more the merrier, and McBride is someone who can push for a more active role.
"It's amazing to watch Toby up front dominate," Hubbard said. "He's been out with a back, and I didn't think he'd be the same, but man, he's up there killing 'em up front. That's what's giving us the nervous system up front on the ones, because he could come up there and take over. Which is fine with me, because we need everything we've got to win the championship."
Moving forward – Quarterback Collin Hill had a strong outing, hitting 18 of 23 throws for 191 yards and four touchdowns. Two of the scores came in move-the-ball drills, a 37-yarder to Marvin Kinsey Jr. and a 6-yard connection with Warren Jackson. He and Jackson connected on the first play of a red-zone set from the 15, adding a short pass to Adam Prentice in goal-line work.
Bobo said it was just a continuation of the eight days prior in camp, estimating Hill's thrown around 200 passes with only two of them intercepted. One was off a deflection, the other came in the scrimmage when safety Logan Stewart cut off a throw in third-down work and went 35 yards for a score.
Bobo didn't like the decision, and neither did Hill. Yet the junior feels good about the direction he's headed.
"You know, I thought we executed pretty well," Hill said. "I do feel like I'm progressing. I am getting more comfortable. You know, there's … I wish I had that one play back on the third-down drill. But you know, I'll learn from it."
First glance – For the true freshmen and transfers, it was a chance to put game action on film for the coaches. Bobo has liked receiver Dante Wright in camp, and he wished they would have provided him with more touches in the scrimmage. He also mentioned classmates Mohamed Kamara, Ty McCullouch, Alex Azusenis, Christian Hunter and Tyreese Jackson. As for defensive transfer Jalen Bates, Marshaun Cameron and Andre Neal, Bobo liked what they showed in terms of their understanding of the defensive scheme.
Update – The team will continue to practice in the morning, though the Rams will start an hour later this week. They will scrimmage again next Saturday, this one under the lights, beginning at 8 p.m.
Running mainly with the second unit, but seeing a fair amount of action with the first unit, the junior defensive tackle showed up early and often in Colorado State's first scrimmage of fall camp.
Knowing who the McBride of old was is nice, but head coach Mike Bobo needed to see how far the Fort Morgan product has come since being sidelined by a back issue early in his true sophomore campaign in 2017.
"It's exciting. We're trying to have him on a snap count because of his issues, but we felt three weeks away from the first game, we wanted to get him a little bit of action and not hold him out, because he has not played a lot of football in a year and a half," Bobo said after running the team through a 113-play scrimmage at Canvas Stadium. "It's one thing to try to get him ready for the game, but we've got to see if he can play. I think today's going to give him a lot of confidence. I mean, he was fired up today. He was challenging the offensive line, so that was good to see. I'm happy for him. Knock on wood, hopefully he can stay healthy."
McBride played plenty of snaps, and he moved with fluidity. He finished with six tackles, 4.5 for loss, 2.5 of them sacks.
As a true freshman in 2016, he led the Rams with four sacks. A healthy McBride can be a boon to a unit that is already feeling better about its depth heading into the season. As starting defensive tackle Ellison Hubbard said, the more the merrier, and McBride is someone who can push for a more active role.
"It's amazing to watch Toby up front dominate," Hubbard said. "He's been out with a back, and I didn't think he'd be the same, but man, he's up there killing 'em up front. That's what's giving us the nervous system up front on the ones, because he could come up there and take over. Which is fine with me, because we need everything we've got to win the championship."
Moving forward – Quarterback Collin Hill had a strong outing, hitting 18 of 23 throws for 191 yards and four touchdowns. Two of the scores came in move-the-ball drills, a 37-yarder to Marvin Kinsey Jr. and a 6-yard connection with Warren Jackson. He and Jackson connected on the first play of a red-zone set from the 15, adding a short pass to Adam Prentice in goal-line work.
Bobo said it was just a continuation of the eight days prior in camp, estimating Hill's thrown around 200 passes with only two of them intercepted. One was off a deflection, the other came in the scrimmage when safety Logan Stewart cut off a throw in third-down work and went 35 yards for a score.
Bobo didn't like the decision, and neither did Hill. Yet the junior feels good about the direction he's headed.
"You know, I thought we executed pretty well," Hill said. "I do feel like I'm progressing. I am getting more comfortable. You know, there's … I wish I had that one play back on the third-down drill. But you know, I'll learn from it."
First glance – For the true freshmen and transfers, it was a chance to put game action on film for the coaches. Bobo has liked receiver Dante Wright in camp, and he wished they would have provided him with more touches in the scrimmage. He also mentioned classmates Mohamed Kamara, Ty McCullouch, Alex Azusenis, Christian Hunter and Tyreese Jackson. As for defensive transfer Jalen Bates, Marshaun Cameron and Andre Neal, Bobo liked what they showed in terms of their understanding of the defensive scheme.
Update – The team will continue to practice in the morning, though the Rams will start an hour later this week. They will scrimmage again next Saturday, this one under the lights, beginning at 8 p.m.
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