Practice Notes: 8/12

With the first two-a-days in the books at Colorado State University, the coaches are starting to get a better feel for what each player can do in full pads and there were several groups of individuals who really showed their stuff on Wednesday.

Chris Nwoke... WOW!

I still haven't quite memorized the CSU roster yet, so when I asked who that talented fullback was wearing number 45, I was informed that it was actually Thunder Ridge graduate Chris Nwoke. Wow is he huge! But not in a "slow me down" type of way, he's simply a power back that loves to run to the outside. After one of his better runs, some of the defensive guys on the sideline were joking that Nwoke is going to be 240 pounds by next season.

Mason looking consistent

Leonard Mason is looking like the starting running back right now due to his consistency on every play. Last week it was hard to tell due to no one being in pads, but after attending my first padded session I can tell you that Mason looks legit both on the ground and on the receiving end of things. It's going to be an intense battle between him and Mosure for that true number one spot.

Raymond Carter

Just a quick mention. He doesn't get very many snaps right now, but when he does he is fun to watch. He's just so light on his feet it's ridiculous. Cut left, cut right, barely changing speeds while doing so. CSU fans are going to have a BLAST watching him in 2010.

Offensive line

I've been talking about how good these running backs looked out there today, but I almost feel like I could run through those holes the offensive line was making. I mean no running back really ran for less than seven yards on a play unless they got tripped up in the backfield. GoldandGreenNews member CSUFizzer brought up something to me during practice that was pretty accurate, defensive coordinator Larry Kerr was throwing several different blitz types at this CSU offensive line and the big hefty's up front picked each of them up nicely. These guys look good.

Strong secondary

I'm really liking what I see out of these guys. Most people knew to expect good things from Klint Kubiak, Elijah-Blu Smith, Nick Oppenneer and Gerard Thomas, but the number two's are really looking stout. Travis Ford is playing well, Brandon Owens seems like he is starting to get the hang of things again and Jarrad McKay is picking up right where he left off before his ACL tear last summer.

Gardner gets the day off

Ryan Gardner is a wide receiver who is definitely making some noise. Coaches have been very impressed with him so far, but today they gave him the day off. It looks like he had a minor hamstring injury and coaches just didn't want to risk anything. He probably could have gone today, but better safe than sorry when it comes to your number three wide out.