What to expect from CSU's newest playmaker

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — It was mostly a grim weekend for fans of Colorado State football. Between Collin Hill’s injury, the team’s defensive efforts on Saturday and the news that current Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup will miss at least a month with a knee issue, there wasn’t much for the Ram faithful to smile about on Monday.

However, there was one positive piece of information in Mike Bobo’s weekly press conference — a silver lining in what was otherwise a reaffirmation of misery and a prolongation of doom.

After Bobo told the press that Hill’s MRI would be put off until later Monday afternoon due to an issue with the machines being down on Sunday, he also confirmed that wide receiver Nate Craig-Myers will make his debut against Toledo. The 6-foot-2, 202-pound, junior wide receiver missed the first three games due to NCAA transfer rules but is now eligible for the rest of the season.

“Nate (Craig-Myers) has been awesome,” Bobo said. “Nate got here late and was able to start in the summer with the guys and have some meetings with coach (Joe) Cox but not much on-field work.”

Bobo explained that Craig-Myers has been an excellent teammate in his short time at CSU, and that the native of Dade City, Florida, was a participant for the scout team over the last three weeks. Although Craig-Myers wasn’t able to suit up or help the Rams win on game day, Bobo said the former SEC player has approached everything he does with the same attention to detail. Whether it’s learning the offense or working individually, Craig-Myers just seems to have the right mentality.

That being said, the fifth-year head coach of the Rams is looking forward to having another play-maker on the field and not with the scout team. Bobo knows the kind of impact that the athletic wideout can make in his offense and hopes to see it translate early.

“When we knew he was going to be eligible for this week, he came down and repped some with the offense,” Bobo said. “He’s in a good position. I feel like he’ll be ready to go and I’m excited to get him on the field.”

In 28 games with the Auburn Tigers, Craig-Myers totaled a modest 22 receptions for 394 yards (17.9 yard per catch) but did show a knack for finding the end zone. Despite being limited by Auburn’s run-first offense and a roster that was deep with other skill players, Craig-Myers scored four touchdowns between the 2016-18 seasons. This means that on 18.1 percent of his catches, Craig-Myers scored on the play.

Really, it makes sense that Craig-Myers was able to make the most of his limited action. Looking back at his high school figures, Craig-Myers was an absolute monster with 16 touchdowns during his senior season at Tampa Catholic (Fla.). As a result, the former prep star was ranked a top 10 wide receiver nationally by ESPN (No. 2), Rivals (N0. 3), 247 Sports (No. 6) and Scout (No. 8).

Similarly to Peston Williams at Tennessee, though, Craig-Myers never seemed to really establish a permanent role in the offense at Auburn. Unlike Williams, Craig-Myers didn’t appear to have any disciplinary issues but sometimes for one reason or another, it just doesn’t work out. Regardless, if Craig-Myers can produce at even half of the rate that Williams did last year, Bobo and the rest of the coaching staff will be thrilled.

Almost a hybrid between Gallup and Williams, Craig-Myers is versatile enough to line up on the outside or operate in the slot. But what really stands out about Craig-Myers is much like CSU’s other star wide receivers of the Bobo era, 50-50 balls in his vicinity are really more like 70-30 balls in the Rams’ favor.

Look for the staff to try and get the newly-eligible wide receiver frequent touches over the coming weeks. Considering CSU has already proven to have a couple of really talented skill players in Warren Jackson (junior) and Dante (Wright), adding another guy into the mix that can really stretch the field should only open up the offense that much more.

Ram fans will have their first opportunity to see Craig-Myers in action this Saturday against Toledo. The team will be wearing pumpkin and alfalfa uniforms in honor of CSU’s agricultural roots and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.