Colorado State University Athletics
Defense Focused on Challenge Ahead
9/17/2025 2:00:00 PM | Football
UTSA back Henry Jr. leads country in rushing
Every so often, a catchphrase develops for a week. This is one of those periods of time for Colorado State's defense.
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Get him on the ground.
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Short. Sweet. Basic. Direct and to the point. And with a reason.
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UTSA back Robert Henry Jr., will enter Canvas Stadium this Saturday as the nation's leading rusher, 480 yards in the course of three games. He is the literal Roadrunner, having peeled off a run of 74 yards or longer in each outing. He can also be the anvil, with an ability to run inside effectively and gain the punishing yards. He's averaging 10.2 yards per carry, and if you remove those three long totes, he's still covering 5.8 per carry.
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Consider Colorado State impressed.
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"He can do all of it. I think the beauty for him is they've got a counter game that's designed to hit inside, and he runs the ball inside well," CSU defensive coordinator Tyson Summers said. "And they get into some of their duo and their inside-zone plays, and those are all designed to kind of bounce out. So, he can kind of do it all. He does it very intentionally."
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Simply put, get him on the ground. Don't let him bounce and break one off. Don't allow him to gain a rhythm, and as a defense, never fall asleep.
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If he's down, he's not as dangerous. The defense will hear it over and over again, and they'll repeat it back.
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"A lot," linebacker Owen Long said. "I mean, that's football for you, but you've just got to live to play another down."
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Discipline will play a role, as the Rams have to seal off edges and not allow Henry to break free. They understand a play can be designed to go to one place, and if the path is blocked, Henry has proven to be very adept at finding an alternate route to his destination.
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Texas A&M has seen it. So too have Texas State and Incarnate Word.
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"A lot of respect to him. He's a baller. We've been watching film," defensive end Mukendi Wa-Kalonji said. "We see that he makes a lot of plays out of nothing, so we have to just stay disciplined, do our job, stay in our gaps, 5, 6, 7 seconds, however long it takes, and the rest of the team rally up and tackle him.
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"We want to prove ourselves to the rest of the country, showing them that just because he's one of the best rushers in the nation, he's going to have to earn it against us. There's no freebies. And if he does, that's good for him, but we're going to show that it's not going to be easy. Earning every single yard he's going to try to gain, he's going to have to work for it."
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For Summers, that remains the key point. A back who can break off a long run is a game changer, and he's convinced his defense that would be its biggest sin this Saturday. The Rams can regroup after a short run, even a mild explosive one.
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In those situations, the Roadrunners have to line up and snap it again after the ball has been handed to the line judge. If it's being tossed to the back judge by the goal posts, there's six points on the board.
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"Everything's got to be about 12 limited explosions," Summers said. "There's a delicate balance in there between limiting explosions and being able to create havoc at the same time, and so that's been the message we've had this week."
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The challenge is obvious; the messaging is clear. To a man, this is what Colorado State's players signed up for, the chance to play against really skillful players and prove their own worth in those matches.
Â
This time, it's the nation's top ball carrier. For some perspective, only one back in all of 2024 had more than three runs between 70-79 yards – Aston Jeanty of Boise State. He had five in 14 games.
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"It's awesome. It's a great challenge, and it's a challenge that I promise you we're going to do our best to rise to," Long said. "We're going to go out there, and just 11 dudes are going to do their job and play as one unit, and it should be pretty fun to watch. We're going to go give everything we got."
Â
Â
Get him on the ground.
Â
Short. Sweet. Basic. Direct and to the point. And with a reason.
Â
UTSA back Robert Henry Jr., will enter Canvas Stadium this Saturday as the nation's leading rusher, 480 yards in the course of three games. He is the literal Roadrunner, having peeled off a run of 74 yards or longer in each outing. He can also be the anvil, with an ability to run inside effectively and gain the punishing yards. He's averaging 10.2 yards per carry, and if you remove those three long totes, he's still covering 5.8 per carry.
Â
Consider Colorado State impressed.
Â
"He can do all of it. I think the beauty for him is they've got a counter game that's designed to hit inside, and he runs the ball inside well," CSU defensive coordinator Tyson Summers said. "And they get into some of their duo and their inside-zone plays, and those are all designed to kind of bounce out. So, he can kind of do it all. He does it very intentionally."
Â
Simply put, get him on the ground. Don't let him bounce and break one off. Don't allow him to gain a rhythm, and as a defense, never fall asleep.
Â
If he's down, he's not as dangerous. The defense will hear it over and over again, and they'll repeat it back.
Â
"A lot," linebacker Owen Long said. "I mean, that's football for you, but you've just got to live to play another down."
Â
Discipline will play a role, as the Rams have to seal off edges and not allow Henry to break free. They understand a play can be designed to go to one place, and if the path is blocked, Henry has proven to be very adept at finding an alternate route to his destination.
Â
Texas A&M has seen it. So too have Texas State and Incarnate Word.
Â
"A lot of respect to him. He's a baller. We've been watching film," defensive end Mukendi Wa-Kalonji said. "We see that he makes a lot of plays out of nothing, so we have to just stay disciplined, do our job, stay in our gaps, 5, 6, 7 seconds, however long it takes, and the rest of the team rally up and tackle him.
Â
"We want to prove ourselves to the rest of the country, showing them that just because he's one of the best rushers in the nation, he's going to have to earn it against us. There's no freebies. And if he does, that's good for him, but we're going to show that it's not going to be easy. Earning every single yard he's going to try to gain, he's going to have to work for it."
Â
For Summers, that remains the key point. A back who can break off a long run is a game changer, and he's convinced his defense that would be its biggest sin this Saturday. The Rams can regroup after a short run, even a mild explosive one.
Â
In those situations, the Roadrunners have to line up and snap it again after the ball has been handed to the line judge. If it's being tossed to the back judge by the goal posts, there's six points on the board.
Â
"Everything's got to be about 12 limited explosions," Summers said. "There's a delicate balance in there between limiting explosions and being able to create havoc at the same time, and so that's been the message we've had this week."
Â
The challenge is obvious; the messaging is clear. To a man, this is what Colorado State's players signed up for, the chance to play against really skillful players and prove their own worth in those matches.
Â
This time, it's the nation's top ball carrier. For some perspective, only one back in all of 2024 had more than three runs between 70-79 yards – Aston Jeanty of Boise State. He had five in 14 games.
Â
"It's awesome. It's a great challenge, and it's a challenge that I promise you we're going to do our best to rise to," Long said. "We're going to go out there, and just 11 dudes are going to do their job and play as one unit, and it should be pretty fun to watch. We're going to go give everything we got."
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Players Mentioned
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