CSU Football update: A tale of two scrimmages (videos)

The Colorado State University football team has completed its two scheduled scrimmages and the two couldn’t be more different. In the first scrimmage the offense was praised, a starter at quarterback was named and coach Mike Bobo got a better look at his wide receiver depth. In the second scrimmage, the defense didn’t allow the offense to score.

That being said, the offense was a little banged up going into Saturday’s scrimmage. With Treyous Jarrells out two weeks with a knee scope, Bobo opted to not risk injury to his starting running backs, giving Jasen Oden and Dalyn Dawkins only one series each. Rashard Higgins has a hamstring that has been bothering him so they only gave him a little bit of work in which he hauled in two receptions for 10 yards.

https://youtu.be/l7xMrqrRmsQ

Not to say the defense wasn’t flying around. Coach seemed impressed with the way the secondary was breaking on the ball saying, ”We threw it a lot but we probably completed under 50 percent and threw four or five inteceptions.” Coach continued to say, “It was good to see, we didn’t handle it well [on offense]. We had some guys open, we missed, we hit them in the chest a couple times and they dropped it but a lot of the time the defense made plays.” The scrimmage stats tell the same story with Kevin Pierre-Louis getting 6 tackles and a pick and Cory James making five tackles, four of them solo.

Coach Bobo wants to see how the offense responds. Players like Jake Bennett, Fred Zerblis and Rashard Higgins are shaking off some rust but getting healthy just in time for their first game Sept. 5 against Savannah State. It is crucial for this coaching staff to get players in the correct positions so they can begin to build rapport with the guy lining up next to him.

Speaking of getting guys in rhythm, coach Bobo seemed especially excited about the prospect of getting tight end Kivon Cartwright back in the mix. “The most explosive and best threat of the offense is still out right now in Kivon Cartwright,” Bobo explained. “I am really, really impressed with that young man and gal dang, he is going to do really special things for us.” Coach addressed that he is taking it slow with Kivon explaining, “If we were playing he could go and I told you all that we were going to be patient with him. He is a little bit frustrated but it is a long season.”

The defensive line registered on all the stats which led to Bobo describing their performance, “…they really disrupted the whole day.” Which is a positive. Yes, the quarterback is young and they are still toying with the offensive line but this offense is stacked with players who can catch and run.

This coaching staff has an impressive resume and should be able to put players in the right positions. While they do that, they are going to need a defense that can keep them in games and give the offense more opportunities to learn and gain confidence. With a game only 12 days away you can expect to see the Rams fill any player positions still up for grabs soon. Those worthy will get the reps and coaches will stress the finer details with their starters. It is bust your butt week at CSU and the last chance for players to show they have the mental and physical facilities to make squad.

In the end, coach Bobo was glad to see his defense fired up and flying around and he appreciated that his offense was able to face some real adversity before the season begins. The way the coaches set up the scrimmage shows they want to put players in the tough situations and coach them through them in detail. Details like field position. Coaches are teaching how to reverse bad field position by gaining crucial first downs when they’re backed up to their own goal line.

It is all about intensity with this group, from the way the practices are orchestrated, to the situational football they stress in scrimmages and the coaches expectation of each player.

Expect Colorado State to be competitive this year.