Kelly Lyell

kellylyell@coloradoan.com

Quarterback Judd Erickson, rated the No. 4 prospect in Colorado by 247Sports, is joining CSU's football program as a preferred walk-on next fall, coach Mike Bobo said Tuesday.

Erickson threw for 3,255 yards and 33 touchdowns, with just seven interceptions, last fall as a senior at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch. The 6-foot-5, 204-pounder completed 225 of 391 passes for a team that went 5-5.

Erickson, rated ahead of three other in-state players the Rams signed in their 2017 recruiting class by 247Sports, impressed Bobo and his staff during two camps last summer.

"We're really excited about Judd and him coming to Colorado State," Bobo said. "He was a guy that came to camp last year; he came to our team camp and he had a renegade team, and he did a really good job in team camp. He came back to our one-day camp and impressed us with his arm strength and his ability to see.

"To come in and run a team that he knew nobody (on), and he took leadership, I'm excited to see him and what he can do for us in the future."

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CSU used the only scholarship it planned to offer a quarterback on Justice McCoy out of Saint Augustine High School in New Orleans.

Erickson's decision to join the CSU program as a walk-on was confirmed earlier in the day in a tweet from the school's official football Twitter account, congratulating him and two signed recruits, linebacker Corte Tapia of Windsor and running back Marcus McElroy from Denver's Mullen High School, for receiving scholar-athlete awards from the Colorado chapter of the National Football Foundation.

Erickson couldn't be reached for comment.

CSU has three quarterbacks on its roster this spring, senior Nick Stevens and sophomores Collin Hill and J.C. Robles. Hill is still recovering from surgery in October to repair a torn ACL, so he's being held out of full-contact and full-team drills while Stevens runs the first-team offense and Robles directs the second-string unit.

Erickson is more than just another arm for camp, Bobo said. He's going to get the same opportunity to prove himself and play as the four scholarship quarterbacks.

"I think he can play at this level," Bobo said. "I think he's a guy that can one day possibly earn a scholarship and be on the football field. Ultimately, it's up to him and our coaches and us getting him ready. … I see a guy that hopefully can put himself in the position to compete one day."

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NEW CORNERS: Receiver Anthony Hawkins, a sophomore, and senior safety Justin Sweet are both getting a look at cornerback in practices this week in an effort to improve the Rams' defense, Bobo said.

"We have not been as productive as we want to be, really not just at corner, (but) defensively as a whole," Bobo said.

Two of the Rams' top cornerbacks, seniors Shun Johnson (shoulder) and A'Keitheon Whitner (concussion) are sidelined with injuries.

Hawkins, a 5-foot-10, 185-pounder from Arlington, Texas, caught two passes for 27 yards as a true freshman last fall and ran for 81 yards on 11 carries on end-arounds and reverses. Bobo said the Rams will give Hawkins a look at cornerback for the final two weeks of spring practice and make a decision afterward about where he can help the team most this fall.

"He's a guy that we think has got short-area quickness and has got some toughness," Bobo said.

OTHER MOVES: Hawkins and Sweet weren't the only moves coaches made in an effort to fix a defense that has been beaten badly in two spring scrimmages.

They also moved senior defensive tackle Darnell Thompson to nose tackle with the No. 1 defense, sliding sophomore Toby McBride in at defensive tackle, and put junior defensive lineman Caleb Smith at the "buck" outside linebacker position in an effort to improve the run defense. Sophomore Arjay Jean, a pass-rush specialist, had been playing the "buck" position — a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker spot in CSU's 3-4 scheme — with the No. 1 defense.

"We're just trying to do some things to get our best players on the field defensively and give ourselves a chance," Bobo said.

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

Offense way ahead of defense in CSU's 2nd scrimmage