Kelly Lyell

kellylyell@coloradoan.com

Mike Bobo is going to keep a secret from University of Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre involving who the Rams will start at quarterback when the two teams meet Sept. 2 in Denver.

Take that Buff fans.

“I don’t know that I’m going to name a starter,” Bobo said Wednesday. “I’ll know by Monday who I’m going to start, but I probably won’t let Coach MacIntyre and them know who we’re starting.”

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Bobo said all three contenders – junior Nick Stevens, graduate transfer Faton Bauta and true freshman Collin Hill – are all doing good things in practice. But none of the three have yet seized the job by separating himself from the pack.

Bobo said all three quarterbacks made some mistakes in an Aug. 11 scrimmage, and that “some of them” also made some good decisions that day. The Rams will hold another scrimmage Saturday, and Bobo expects to know who his starter will be by the time he reviews video of that session.

“I’m waiting for somebody to step up,” he said. “We haven’t had enough consistent play to say, ‘Hey, thi is the guy, and I want him to lead this football team for the 2016 season.’

“… I want somebody to step up and say, ‘It’s my football team.’ And you do that with your play and you do that with how you make other guys better around you. It could be a check in the run game, protection. It could be just putting balls in tough, tough situations or not forcing a ball downfield. There’s a lot of things that go into that.”

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Stevens was the Rams’ starter last season, throwing for 2,679 yards and 21 touchdowns with 12 interceptions while leading Colorado State University to a 7-6 season and third consecutive bowl game.

Bauta, a senior, spent the past four years as a backup QB at Georgia, serving as the holder for point-after touchdowns and field goals last season but playing quarterback for just one game, a 24-3 loss to Florida. He completed 15 of 33 passes for 154 yards with four interceptions.

Hill put himself into the competition by graduating a semester early from Dorman High School in Moore, South Carolina, so he could take classes at CSU last spring and participate in spring drills. He was a two-time all-state, all-area and all-region selection.

MORE WALK-ONS EARN SCHOLARSHIPS: Bobo awarded scholarships for the 2015-16 school year to two more walk-ons, senior safety Eric Williams and senior receiver Robert Ruiz.

Williams was a special-teams standout, playing on the kickoff, kickoff return, punt and punt return teams in 2014 but missed most of last season with a knee injury. Bobo expects Williams, a former running back, to play a key role on special teams again this season.

Ruiz suffered a season-ending knee injury during fall camp a year ago and missed the entire season. He was getting a lot of work at the slot receiver position with the Nos. 1 and 2 offenses when he was hurt. Ruiz could be the Rams’ top punt returner this season, Bobo said.

Bobo told players Monday night that he was putting junior defensive lineman Jakob Buys on scholarship.

“You want to reward guys that, like I said earlier about Jakob, are going to play a key role on your team,” Bobo said.

ON THE MEND: Bobo hopes to have two of the team’s four injured noseguards practicing again next week. Redshirt freshman O’Shea Jackson is recovering from a sprained ankle but could be back in time to participate in Saturday’s scrimmage, Bobo said. And true freshman Christian Colon, who has yet to practice because of a stress fracture in his right foot, might be good to go by Monday, the coach said.

DAY OFF: The Rams will have a day off Thursday to join other CSU student-athletes in helping freshmen move into their dorm rooms. They’ll be back on the practice field for two sessions Friday and a scrimmage Saturday, then get another day off Sunday.

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

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