Kelly Lyell

kellylyell@coloradoan.com

There’s one every year.

The CSU football player who stars in spring practices before fizzing in the fall. There will be one this year, too. We just don’t yet know who.

Last spring, it was receiver Cole Anderson, a senior transfer from Valparaiso. He caught four passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns in the first spring scrimmage, five passes for 52 yards and one TD in the second and four passes for 86 yards in the spring game.

He was the real deal, right? Listening to first-year coach Mike Bobo and his staff singing Anderson’s praises, you figured he’d be catching nearly as many passes in the fall as Rashard Higgins and Joe Hansley.

Anderson’s total number of catches that fall? Zero.

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“When you see guys balling out like Cole and then come fall time, he doesn’t really get that chance, it’s a bummer for him,” said Hansley, who describes Anderson as a close friend. “But at the same time, we’re all here, competing, trying to earn a spot, so you can’t feel bad for anyone.

“That’s just how it is in college football. Not everyone gets to play. You’ve got to make your opportunities count.”

The circumstances of spring football often give players that might not have much opportunity show what they can do in the fall what they have to offer. The previous year’s seniors are gone, and most of the new recruits haven't arrived. And some of the top players who already have proven themselves are sometimes held out or given limited work to allow injuries to heal.

So a running back such as Bryce Peters, then a redshirt freshman from Houston, gets more carries in the spring than he would in fall camp.

In 2014, he was the player we all were talking about during spring practices — the running back who was going to fill the void left by Kapri Bibbs’ jump to the NFL after just one season at CSU.

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Peters, battling converted safety Jasen Oden Jr. for the top spot on the depth chart, ran for one touchdown in the first spring scrimmage and for two in the second. He and Oden were locked in a tight battle coming out of spring practices, coach Jim McElwain said.

Then, junior college transfer Treyous Jarrells signed with the Rams over the summer, and Dee Hart transferred in from Alabama. By the time the season rolled around that fall, Peters had fallen far down the depth chart. So far down that he only made it into one game all season, carrying twice for 18 yards.

It’s a lesson Peters, now a junior, believes will serve him well this spring. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder who served as backup fullback last season is No. 3 on the depth chart at running back this spring behind returnees Dalyn Dawkins and Izzy Matthews. And he’s well aware the Rams signed three talented freshmen running backs who will be arriving this summer to join the competition for playing time come fall.

His chance to prove himself is now, in the spring, before coaches start giving his carries to the newcomers to see what each of them can do.

“Coming in as a freshman, you kind of see it in a different perspective,” Peters said. “You’re kind of like, ‘Oh, it’s spring ball.’ When you’re an upperclassman, you’re like, ‘Hey, this is just as important as fall camp during the season.’ It’s all connected, for the most part, and it’s just as important as if we were playing CU or Boise (State) or any of those other games.”

Bobo said Thursday he and his staff expect the same level of focus and execution in the 15 spring practices as they do during fall camp and in-season practices.

Still, spring practices aren’t the same as those in the fall, former players Matt Yemm, also a receiver, and Hansley said. There’s not as much pressure to perform at a high level.

“It’s a different environment, or a different feel as far as practice from fall camp to spring ball,” Hansley said. “Spring ball is so much more relaxed, and a lot of players have the ability to go out there and play at a level that they’re comfortable. They’re not nervous, because it’s just spring and stuff like that, and they kind of just allow themselves to play well.

“And then you get into fall camp, you had a good spring, there’s pressure to play well. And, unfortunately, a lot of guys just don’t turn over to more of a scheme concept when you’re practicing against other teams. The intensity is kind of bumped up, your teammates are going a little harder. It’s completely different.”

Not getting their shot

Chris Robinson was the player to watch coming out of spring practices in 2013. The 6-foot-4, 170-pound walk-on from Orlando, Florida, made a couple big catches in the first spring scrimmage and was the leading receiver in the annual Green and Gold Game, hauling in five passes for 51 yards.

Fifteen players caught passes for the Rams that fall, and Robinson wasn’t among them. He spent three seasons at CSU and never played in an actual game.

Derek Good, a walk-on from Berthoud, was the spring star of 2011, running for 89 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries in the second scrimmage and for 75 yards and one TD on 10 carries in the Green and Gold Game. The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder had just 99 yards on 15 carries during the regular season; although, he was the team’s top kick returner with 778 yards on 32 returns.

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In 2010, it was T.J. Borcky, a one-time quarterback who was going to do a bit of everything for the Rams that season after running, throwing and catching passes for touchdowns in three scrimmages that spring. He was the best athlete on the team, coach Steve Fairchild said throughout the spring.

Unlike some other spring stars, Borcky didn’t completely disappear the following fall. But he never really got the opportunity we expected given what he had done in the spring, catching just 18 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown, running three times for 7 yards and never throwing a pass.

Running back Jonathan Gaye was the one to watch in 2009. Gaye was moved to cornerback and never played for the Rams. In 2008, it was safety Scott Zick, a walk-on transfer who played as a freshman Fort Hays State in Kansas. He was the Rams’ leading tackler in the second spring scrimmage and again in that year’s spring game. But the only action he saw that season came on special teams.

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A good spring is important, and players need to make the most of whatever opportunities they have. Particularly walk-ons like Robinson, Good and Zick, said Yemm, who was a teammate of Zick’s at Fort Collins High School.

“A lot of these guys we’re talking about are walk-ons, and it’s awesome to see them do well and get their shot,” Yemm said. “But realistically sometimes — I, personally, don’t like it; I think it’s unfortunate; it’s not fair — but if a guy’s on scholarship, they get preferred looks over the guy who’s a walk-on.”

Ultimately, though, whatever opportunities are given, whenever they’re given, players need to make the most of them. Whether it’s a spring practice in shorts with no pads or the last scrimmage of fall camp.

“It’s a continual process,” Bobo said. “… If you’re not continually growing and trying to get better, you’re going to get passed by.”

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