3 takeaways from CSU football’s second spring scrimmage

Spring football is nearing its conclusion for CSU.

The Rams participated in their second of three spring scrimmages on Sunday.

The scrimmage was closed to the public and media and no stats were taken. Here are three takeaways from what coach Mike Bobo told reporters at the conclusion of the scrimmage.

Eyes on the quarterbacks — Redshirt freshman Justice McCoy is making a push to edge ahead of J.C. Robles in the battle to be the top quarterback in spring.

McCoy led the No. 1 offense Sunday, taking the unit on a touchdown drive on its first drive of the day, Bobo said. The unit stalled in red zone work later in the scrimmage.

J.C. Robles ran the No. 2 offense, which struggled against the No. 2 defense. Robles did throw two touchdown passes in red zone drills.

“I thought they did a good job. They didn’t turn the ball over, which was good. I thought they were going to the right receivers in passing situations,” Bobo said. “It was crisp. I thought we knew what we were doing offensively. I thought they had better protection today for the most part.”

McCoy, Robles and redshirt freshman walk-on Judd Erickson were thrown into the spotlight when presumed starter Collin Hill tore his ACL before the start of spring ball.

The most likely starter come fall is graduate transfer K.J. Carta-Samuels, but he can’t participate until he enrolls at CSU for the summer semester. For now it’s on the shoulders of McCoy and Robles to try and lead the team.

“They’re still trying to figure themselves out a little bit. They’ve got to take a little more ownership of the football team. Somebody’s got to take charge,” Bobo said. “They haven’t taken that next step to take charge yet. … A big part of that growth will be this summer.”

Numbers game — Sunday’s scrimmage wasn’t too different from a normal practice and was a far cry from the more than 100-play scrimmage last week.

With the team battling depth problems due to injuries, Bobo said they can’t run that full a scrimmage.

Still, the group was able to work on many situational spots. The No. 1 defense had another solid day, bouncing back after a first-drive touchdown allowed to get two red zone stops. The No. 2 defense shut down the No. 2 offense in its drive attempts.

Linebacker Tre Thomas blocked a field goal attempt late in the scrimmage and receiver Preston Williams had a big play to help spark the No. 1 offense to a touchdown on its first drive.

“The juices were flowing to start practice,” Bobo said. “They probably would have liked to put the ball down and scrimmage like we did last weekend. We can’t afford to do that right now, we’re so thin on numbers. I think we got what we needed out of today’s practice.”

Incomplete squad — The spring is a valuable time for repetitions, especially for young players and a chance to instill the offense and defense.

It’s also an incomplete picture, because the team on the field Sunday and the one that will participate in the spring game Saturday is far different than the one that will take the field for the 2018 opener on Aug. 25.

“I feel like we’re in a good spot, this is going to be a big summer for us. A large majority of our team that will play next fall is not practicing,” Bobo said. “We’re not where we need to be right now, but I don’t know who is, really, in spring ball.”

Both sides of the ball are missing several potential starters. Starting safeties Jordan Fogal and Jamal Hicks have been out as well as cornerback Christian Cumber and defensive lineman Toby McBride. The offensive line has been limited as well with Ben Knox and Jeff Taylor hurt, with Taylor just rejoining practice this week.

The spring game will be a chance for some players, especially younger ones, to state their case for playing time going into the fall.

The Rams have practices Wednesday and Friday before concluding spring football with the spring game at noon Saturday, which is at the Colorado State University stadium and open to the public.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle.

More on CSU football:

►Transfers play key role for CSU football

►Graduate transfer K.J. Carta-Samuels gets spring sneak peek at Colorado State football

►Demolition of CSU's Hughes Stadium begins