Kelly Lyell

kellylyell@coloradoan.com

Players were on the practice field on time and running around quickly from drill to drill.

There were plenty of mistakes, especially from the newcomers.

But second-year coach Mike Bobo seemed generally pleased with his team Thursday morning, after the first of the Rams’ 29 practices leading up to the Sept. 2 season opener against the University of Colorado in Denver.

There was more focus on tempo than execution in the 2-hour, 10-minute session on the practice fields south of Moby Arena. Players wore jerseys, helmets and shorts. They won’t be in full pads until Monday.

“We want to practice extremely fast to get ourselves in condition,” Bobo said. “I talked to the team after practice; we want to create a crisis and put ourselves in the fourth quarter every day, so we can make Saturdays easy.”

Bobo said players appeared to be more fit after participating in the offseason conditioning program, and he believes his team has more overall speed this year than it did last fall.

“I was proud of how they prepared to this point, but this is a whole other level; you’re not just running and touching lines or changing directions, you’re having to do all that and execute assignments. … You’ve got to be able to play fast and think, and that’s part of camp.”

FROSH D-LINEMEN INJURED: Two true freshmen the Rams were hoping could contribute right away on the defensive line missed the first practice of fall camp with injuries.

Christian Colon, a 6-foot-3, 335-pound nose tackle from Charlotte, North Carolina, has a stress fracture on his right ankle or foot and worked out on the side with trainers, wearing a protective boot.

Anthony Smith, a 6-3, 250-pound defensive end from Las Vegas, is still recovering from surgery last fall to repair a torn ACL.

Bobo expects Colon to be back in three-to-four weeks. Smith will undergo more tests in three-to-four weeks, Bobo said, that will help coaches decide whether to try to get him ready to play this season or have him sit out as a redshirt.

SCOTT LIMITED: Sophomore Braylin Scott, a potential starter at safety, is practicing with a cast on his right wrist and wearing a red jersey to restrict contact. Scott had surgery on his left wrist last spring and on his right wrist earlier this summer, Bobo said.

Bobo said the cast and red jersey are a “precaution” and Scott will be able to practice and play right away this fall.

“He’s going to be fine,” Bobo said.

CLYBURN STILL SIDELINED: Senior linebacker Deonte Clyburn didn’t participate in practice because of an unspecified injury that also kept him out of spring drills.

Clyburn started the final seven games last season at middle linebacker and finished as the Rams’ fourth-leading tackler with 74, including 40 solo stops.

The 6-foot, 235-pounder is on the 105-man roster — the most players the NCAA allows — for fall camp but spent the first day in shorts and a T-shirt helping coach the other linebackers.

“He has not been cleared yet, medically,” Bobo said. “I don’t want to talk about his medical condition. I might talk to Deonte and see if he wants to make an announcement, but I’m going to leave that up to him. Right now, he’s not with us.”

Bobo said the linebacker “looks great; he’s been working out. It’s just something that he’s going through, and our prayers are just with him right now.”

PARSONS QUITS: Sophomore tight end Mitch Parsons, a transfer from Vanderbilt, left the team last month but plans to continue taking classes at CSU, Bobo said.

“Mitch Parsons decided not to be part of this football and team and just be a regular student,” Bobo said.

The 6-4, 255-pounder was named to The Denver Post’s All-Colorado team for all classifications as a junior and senior at Chaparral High School in Parker in 2012 and 2013 and was rated the No. 2 prospect in the state and No. 7 tight end in the country by Rivals.com.

Parsons was the Rams’ No. 3 tight end, behind seniors Nolan Peralta and Danny Nwosu, during spring practices. He came to CSU as a mid-year transfer in January 2015 and practiced but didn’t play last season.

THREE SIGNEESS MISSING: One player who signed with CSU in December and two more who signed in February are not yet with the team.

Darneail Jenkins, one of two junior-college tight ends the Rams signed in February, didn’t meet academic requirements to transfer and will not play for CSU, Bobo said.

Defensive back Chris Gaston, another one of the 26 players in the 2017 signing class, “is still working on some things, academically,” Bobo said, and could be part of the team before fall camp is over.

Cornerback Dominique Williams, who signed a financial-aid agreement in December to join the program, wasn’t able to join the program for the spring semester and still isn’t with the team. But both he and Gaston are on the official roster for fall camp.

NCAA rules prohibit Bobo and other CSU officials from commenting on Williams. The cornerback previously did not meet initial eligibility requirements to enroll at Eastern Kentucky after signing with the program coming out of high school in 2014. Williams played on three straight state Class 4A championship teams at Fulton High in Knoxville, Tennessee.

STEVENS ON UNITAS WATCH LIST: Quarterback Nick Stevens, locked in a battle to retain the starting job he earned last season, was named to the watch list Thursday for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given annually since 1987 to the nation’s top quarterback, based on character, scholastic achievement, leadership and athletic success.

The winner must be a college senior or fourth-year junior, who is on track to graduate on time.

Stevens is one of 43 quarterbacks on the watch list and one of two from the Mountain West, joining San Jose State’s Kenny Potter.

Stevens set a school record for a sophomore last season, throwing for 2,679 yards and 21 touchdowns with 12 interceptions, while guiding the Rams to a 7-6 record and third straight bowl game.

He’s battling Faton Bauta, a graduate transfer from Georgia, and Collin Hill, a true freshman from Moore, South Carolina, for the starting job in a race Bobo said is wide open entering fall camp.

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news