Colorado State University Athletics
RamWire: Rams' young front comes together to lead rally in 2014 Showdown
8/12/2019 2:00:00 PM | Football
Backs Hart, Jarrells both rush for better than 100 yards
This season marks the final time for the Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver. This is the third story of a five-week series as we look back at some of the best Mile High moments for Colorado State in the rivalry.
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Coach Jim McElwain asked the members of the press if they remembered the TV show The Partridge Family.
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Specifically, he wanted to know if they could recall the intro to the show, when the mama partridge leads a parade of her offspring. It was his way of referencing the importance of tackle Ty Sambrailo for the 2014 season.
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"Let's go back now," McElwain said at media day. "You know at the beginning where there's the big partridge and then there's these little partridges following along … That guy is the leader of the Partridge Family, and it's awesome."
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Sambrailo, now heading into his fifth NFL season, was the one experienced offensive lineman the Rams had heading into the season opener against Colorado. And on the first play of the second series, he went down with an injury.
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Jake Bennett, who made his first career start at center in the game, still feels bad about the play, because the guy he blocked rolled up onto Sambrailo's leg, causing him to miss the rest of the contest and two starts afterward. What transpired afterward was a young line starting to gain experience, cohesion and confidence, leading to a 31-17 victory.
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"It was really cool, because it was my first start, Fred Zerblis' first start, Sam Carlson's first start," Bennett said. "Moose (Mason Myers) had played a little, and Nick Callender came in when Sambo got hurt. I mean, it was really cool because it was pretty much five guys who hadn't played together or really at all, and we started running the (heck) out of the ball and took it over with Dee Hart and Treyous Jarrells."
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Not that anything immediately clicked. By the end of the season, quarterback Garrett Grayson was the Mountain West player of the year, throwing for 4,006 yards and 32 touchdowns and receiver Rashard Higgins was a consensus first-team All-American after 96 catches for 1,750 yards and 17 TDs. By the end of the night, Higgins had one catch for 16 yards, Grayson just 134 yards passing.
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"We couldn't throw the ball. Thanks Grayson," Bennett quipped.
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So what's an offense to do? Obviously, lean on a young offensive line to pave the way for two first-year backs.
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Colorado was in front 10-0 before the first sign of a spark came late in the first half, when Hart, a transfer from Alabama, introduced his physical style, scoring on an 8-yard run with 2:39 before the break, finishing it off in the portion of the end zone with the CSU student section.
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"It was after halftime we just started running the ball. It started out 3-, then 4-, then 5-yard gains, then Dee started clipping off runs and running really hard," Bennett said. "It made it easy for us to just keep trusting the run. We had Rashard Higgins, and that was a threat on the edge to keep them honest and allowed us to run."
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Colorado pushed its lead to 17-7 coming out of halftime, but by then, the young front started to feel it was gaining an edge, even with Sambrailo sidelined.
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Hart was looking for contact, and Jarrells was finding seams. He scored on a 3-yard run in the third, the start of 24 consecutive points for the Rams. The lone Higgins catch was a touchdown to put the Rams in front for good, and Hart tacked on another scoring run from 3-yards out. Jared Roberts put the final margin on the board with his 52-yard field goal.
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Beating a rival is always a good feeling, but the most important development was knowing the offensive line was going to do its part. Behind the group, Hart rushed for 139 yards, Jarrells another 121 as the team rushed for 260 on the night.
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At season's end, it was an offense with balance, setting a then school-record by averaging 480.9 yards per game, leading to the first 10-win season since 2002. And that young line continued to pay dividends through the years.
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Sambrailo earned first-team All-MW honors at the close of the season, and Zerblis was honorable mention. He would move to the second team in 2015, first team in 2016. Bennett made the team twice (second in 2016, first in 2017), and Callender and Carlson were honorable mention picks in their careers.
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"I just always thought we were pretty good up front because of how close we were," Zerblis said. "We'd live together, we did everything together. We ate together, fished together. I think it's a big thing."
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Coach Jim McElwain asked the members of the press if they remembered the TV show The Partridge Family.
Â
Specifically, he wanted to know if they could recall the intro to the show, when the mama partridge leads a parade of her offspring. It was his way of referencing the importance of tackle Ty Sambrailo for the 2014 season.
Â
"Let's go back now," McElwain said at media day. "You know at the beginning where there's the big partridge and then there's these little partridges following along … That guy is the leader of the Partridge Family, and it's awesome."
Â
Sambrailo, now heading into his fifth NFL season, was the one experienced offensive lineman the Rams had heading into the season opener against Colorado. And on the first play of the second series, he went down with an injury.
Â
Jake Bennett, who made his first career start at center in the game, still feels bad about the play, because the guy he blocked rolled up onto Sambrailo's leg, causing him to miss the rest of the contest and two starts afterward. What transpired afterward was a young line starting to gain experience, cohesion and confidence, leading to a 31-17 victory.
Â
"It was really cool, because it was my first start, Fred Zerblis' first start, Sam Carlson's first start," Bennett said. "Moose (Mason Myers) had played a little, and Nick Callender came in when Sambo got hurt. I mean, it was really cool because it was pretty much five guys who hadn't played together or really at all, and we started running the (heck) out of the ball and took it over with Dee Hart and Treyous Jarrells."
Â
Not that anything immediately clicked. By the end of the season, quarterback Garrett Grayson was the Mountain West player of the year, throwing for 4,006 yards and 32 touchdowns and receiver Rashard Higgins was a consensus first-team All-American after 96 catches for 1,750 yards and 17 TDs. By the end of the night, Higgins had one catch for 16 yards, Grayson just 134 yards passing.
Â
"We couldn't throw the ball. Thanks Grayson," Bennett quipped.
Â
So what's an offense to do? Obviously, lean on a young offensive line to pave the way for two first-year backs.
Â
Colorado was in front 10-0 before the first sign of a spark came late in the first half, when Hart, a transfer from Alabama, introduced his physical style, scoring on an 8-yard run with 2:39 before the break, finishing it off in the portion of the end zone with the CSU student section.
Â
"It was after halftime we just started running the ball. It started out 3-, then 4-, then 5-yard gains, then Dee started clipping off runs and running really hard," Bennett said. "It made it easy for us to just keep trusting the run. We had Rashard Higgins, and that was a threat on the edge to keep them honest and allowed us to run."
Â
Colorado pushed its lead to 17-7 coming out of halftime, but by then, the young front started to feel it was gaining an edge, even with Sambrailo sidelined.
Â
Hart was looking for contact, and Jarrells was finding seams. He scored on a 3-yard run in the third, the start of 24 consecutive points for the Rams. The lone Higgins catch was a touchdown to put the Rams in front for good, and Hart tacked on another scoring run from 3-yards out. Jared Roberts put the final margin on the board with his 52-yard field goal.
Â
Beating a rival is always a good feeling, but the most important development was knowing the offensive line was going to do its part. Behind the group, Hart rushed for 139 yards, Jarrells another 121 as the team rushed for 260 on the night.
Â
At season's end, it was an offense with balance, setting a then school-record by averaging 480.9 yards per game, leading to the first 10-win season since 2002. And that young line continued to pay dividends through the years.
Â
Sambrailo earned first-team All-MW honors at the close of the season, and Zerblis was honorable mention. He would move to the second team in 2015, first team in 2016. Bennett made the team twice (second in 2016, first in 2017), and Callender and Carlson were honorable mention picks in their careers.
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"I just always thought we were pretty good up front because of how close we were," Zerblis said. "We'd live together, we did everything together. We ate together, fished together. I think it's a big thing."
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Players Mentioned
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