FORT COLLINS — Colorado State’s secondary took another hit as senior safety Preston Hodges is no longer with the team.

CSU assistant athletic director for communications Paul Kirk confirmed Thursday through head coach Mike Bobo the removal of Hodges, who had become academically ineligible and was dismissed from the team.

Hodges’ departure eliminates more experience from a secondary unit that lost three starters to graduation at the end of last season. He started 28 games overall in his three seasons with the Rams, including eight last year at cornerback. At the beginning of spring practice, he was listed second on the depth chart at safety.

Earlier this summer, one of the Rams’ top recruits, defensive back Devron Davis, was granted a release from his scholarship for family reasons.

Offensive lineman Blake Nowland was no longer part of the roster in the spring. A junior from Castle Rock, missed all of last season with a broken leg after appearing in three contests as a redshirt freshman the year before.

CSU currently has 103 players on roster, two under the allotted maximum in the offseason.

The Rams did pick up two players in the offseason, adding transfers Anthony Giusti, a linebacker out of City College of San Francisco, and offensive lineman Paul Thurston from Nebraska. Both are eligible to play immediately, with Giusti having three years of eligibility remaining, and Thurston just one as a graduate transfer.

— By Mike Brohard