Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: CSU Athletics Communications
Spring movers out to continue their momentum
8/5/2019 9:00:00 AM | Football
Stewart understands depth chart can change daily
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Opportunity awaits.
It's the fabric of spring camp in football programs around the country. Players graduate, some are still nursing injuries and reps in those 15 practices fall to folks who weren't getting many at all in the fall.
It's no longer the scout team. It's a chance. And each spring, a player or two will rise up the depth chart and surprise. The key is to not get lost in the shuffle one again in fall camp, as teammates have healed and the next wave arrives in the form of transfers and recruits.
For Logan Stewart, it was never about rising up the depth chart, and this fall is not about holding his ground. In fact, the former walk-on who rose to the top of the safety depth chart in the spring hasn't changed his approach one bit.
"It really didn't change my mindset. I wasn't complacent or anything," he said. "I was eager to get out there, but still have the same mindset that I have to get better at this thing, this thing. I knew in the spring they were going to give people chances. I wasn't worried about where I was on the depth chart, I was more worried about what I was doing on the field, my effort and really standing out."
That happened in short order, and before long, Stewart's name kept coming up on a regular basis when head coach Mike Bobo spoke with the media.
He was a local kid, from Mountain View High School in Loveland, but he had never been on Colorado State' radar. It's where he wanted to play, having sold concessions at Hughes Stadium and having a sister who is a graduate of the university. But he had to take the junior college route, making two stops before returning home.
"Sometimes you get a guy like Logan who comes along and is a blessing for us and a blessing for our team, really," Bobo said, adding he's one of the Rams' better defenders at this point.
When Stewart first arrived, he was a cornerback. The teammate who helped him out most was another walk-on, Adonis Rufran, who like Stewart, made his move in the spring. As fall camp opened, he runs with the top unit at cornerback opposite Rashad Ajayi. At linebacker, Troy Golden was so hard to stop, he made the top of the depth chart and Bobo is convinced they have to find a way to utilize his athleticism.
As unique as they are in build, they are very similar in approach. It took time in the coach's office to learn, time on the field to perfect technique and effort to open eyes. It was effort where Stewart said he started, and from each other, they gain encouragement.
"I think our play really motivates each other," Stewart said. "You see somebody working, making plays, it puts that hunger in you, I've got to get mine too."
Rufran gives away a lot on the roster, listed at 5-foot-8, 173 pounds. But he can run with anybody on the team, and he doesn't shy away from a challenge. In fact, Stewart knows Rufran cherishes the moments when the 6-6 Warren Jackson is lined up on the other side of the ball.
"That's a big height difference. David and Goliath, but he's not scared of anybody, and that's what I love about Ruff," Stewart said. "He has a dog mentality, and he wants to lineup against anybody."
Taking advantage of the moment is a step, but the season opener is still weeks away. Holding on to a position is not as simple as maintaining, but requires continued improvement.
Andre Neal and Marshaun Cameron both arrive to challenge on the corner, and freshmen with promise litter the entire secondary, as well as at linebacker. Becoming a factor and remaining one are not the same, which is why Stewart believes in his mind nothing has changed.
He may be running with the first unit now, but his feeling is one bad day is something he cannot afford. As he puts it, "somebody is always chasing my tail."
"You control what you can control. You don't judge your success on other people's failures," Bobo said. "You go out and work and get better, and the results take care of themselves. That's what I tell each and every one of them, nobody has arrived. It's competition going on out here every day, and we're evaluating people. We've added more depth behind guys, and that creates competition."
It's the fabric of spring camp in football programs around the country. Players graduate, some are still nursing injuries and reps in those 15 practices fall to folks who weren't getting many at all in the fall.
It's no longer the scout team. It's a chance. And each spring, a player or two will rise up the depth chart and surprise. The key is to not get lost in the shuffle one again in fall camp, as teammates have healed and the next wave arrives in the form of transfers and recruits.
For Logan Stewart, it was never about rising up the depth chart, and this fall is not about holding his ground. In fact, the former walk-on who rose to the top of the safety depth chart in the spring hasn't changed his approach one bit.
"It really didn't change my mindset. I wasn't complacent or anything," he said. "I was eager to get out there, but still have the same mindset that I have to get better at this thing, this thing. I knew in the spring they were going to give people chances. I wasn't worried about where I was on the depth chart, I was more worried about what I was doing on the field, my effort and really standing out."
That happened in short order, and before long, Stewart's name kept coming up on a regular basis when head coach Mike Bobo spoke with the media.
He was a local kid, from Mountain View High School in Loveland, but he had never been on Colorado State' radar. It's where he wanted to play, having sold concessions at Hughes Stadium and having a sister who is a graduate of the university. But he had to take the junior college route, making two stops before returning home.
"Sometimes you get a guy like Logan who comes along and is a blessing for us and a blessing for our team, really," Bobo said, adding he's one of the Rams' better defenders at this point.
When Stewart first arrived, he was a cornerback. The teammate who helped him out most was another walk-on, Adonis Rufran, who like Stewart, made his move in the spring. As fall camp opened, he runs with the top unit at cornerback opposite Rashad Ajayi. At linebacker, Troy Golden was so hard to stop, he made the top of the depth chart and Bobo is convinced they have to find a way to utilize his athleticism.
As unique as they are in build, they are very similar in approach. It took time in the coach's office to learn, time on the field to perfect technique and effort to open eyes. It was effort where Stewart said he started, and from each other, they gain encouragement.
"I think our play really motivates each other," Stewart said. "You see somebody working, making plays, it puts that hunger in you, I've got to get mine too."
Rufran gives away a lot on the roster, listed at 5-foot-8, 173 pounds. But he can run with anybody on the team, and he doesn't shy away from a challenge. In fact, Stewart knows Rufran cherishes the moments when the 6-6 Warren Jackson is lined up on the other side of the ball.
"That's a big height difference. David and Goliath, but he's not scared of anybody, and that's what I love about Ruff," Stewart said. "He has a dog mentality, and he wants to lineup against anybody."
Taking advantage of the moment is a step, but the season opener is still weeks away. Holding on to a position is not as simple as maintaining, but requires continued improvement.
Andre Neal and Marshaun Cameron both arrive to challenge on the corner, and freshmen with promise litter the entire secondary, as well as at linebacker. Becoming a factor and remaining one are not the same, which is why Stewart believes in his mind nothing has changed.
He may be running with the first unit now, but his feeling is one bad day is something he cannot afford. As he puts it, "somebody is always chasing my tail."
"You control what you can control. You don't judge your success on other people's failures," Bobo said. "You go out and work and get better, and the results take care of themselves. That's what I tell each and every one of them, nobody has arrived. It's competition going on out here every day, and we're evaluating people. We've added more depth behind guys, and that creates competition."
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