Info from CSU's first scrimmage last Saturday.
FORT COLLINS  Although nobody said it directly, the underlying theme coming out of Colorado State's first football scrimmage of camp was it's a good thing there's still three weeks before Weber State visits for the season opener Sept. 2.
The defense made it a rough day for Kyle Bell, who gained just 21 yards on 11 carries, but it also allowed an 86-yard bomb to Damon Morton and a 70-yard run by third-string back Michael Myers.
"It was fairly similar to most of them, that you have some good as well as bad on both sides," CSU head coach Sonny Lubick said. "As far as the coaches wanting consistency at this point, but you never get that with 10 practices.
"This was probably the longest first-day scrimmage we've had. It was close to 100 plays (98). I was kind of happy, but it's hard to single out any individuals."
The scrimmage wasn't run like a game, but broken up into situations. The day began with the offense pinned on the 3-yard line, but the team also worked some in the red zone, on short- and long-yardage situations and went through the four-minute drill, with the offense trying to run out the clock and the defense trying to get a three-and-out stop.
"I was pleased, especially with the 1s and the 2s," defensive coordinator Steve Stanard said. "The big play, that's the big thing right now. We've got to develop some consistency back there in the secondary and not give up the big play. If we can do that, we'll be all right."
The defense looked best during the four-minute drill and also on third-and-2 plays, keeping quarterback Caleb Hanie, who was 10-of-14 for 142 yards throwing, from picking up a first down on two successive sneaks.
"There's definitely a lot of things we have to clean up, some mental mistakes we have to clean up, but overall, I thought we did well as a defensive line," defensive tackle Erik Sandie said. "We did pretty good stopping the run, but there's some things to clean up. There's hope for the future, and we definitely looked better than we have the last couple of years."
His neighbor, Blake Smith, still was a bit frustrated with the overall feel of the day, especially the big plays.
"My opinion is Kyle is the best back in the conference and probably one of the best in the country, but seeing Mike Myers taking it to the house for 70 yards ... I didn't think it was that great of a day," Smith said. "I guess any day we don't stop them 100 percent, it's not a good day to me.
"I feel every day at practice we're getting better, and we're better than what we showed today. Something was missing today. We did do some good things today, so I don't want to take anything from anybody."
Two things stood out to offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt  one on each side of the ledger.
"Two live situations, we've had no turnovers. That was huge," he said. "We're doing a lot more now, we've got the spread, we've got the whole deal, so there was some confusion out there. We have a lot of offense. With all that, and not turning the ball over, it was positive.
"The four-minute drill wasn't good. It was the first time we've done it, and obviously the guys don't understand it. We got pounded in there. The thing we've got to work on most is when we need to pound the ball running it."
Bell just tipped his hat to a defense he said was fired up for the event.
"The defense came out ready. I thought we came out ready, too, but it was one of those days where we're still getting a feel for some things," he said. "It's still really early. We're pleased with what we did today, but we still have a lot to do. After a week and a half in, I can say we're where we need to be."
The defense did record four sacks, with defensive end Jesse Nading accounting for one and a half.
Offensively, Morton hauled in four passes for 127 yards, while Rashaun Greer, George Hill and Luke Roberts also had four catches each. Myers finished with 110 yards on seven carries, while Gartrell Johnson picked up 42 yards on 13 rushes.
