The 2008 season resulted in winning the New Mexico Bowl over Fresno State, and now they have to replace their top offense contributors from 2008. The Rams had four players go to the NFL either through the draft or rookie free agent signings.
Those players were Gattrell Johnson who was the lone draftee and he rushed for 1,476 yards and twelve touchdowns, the other running back Kyle Bell was a free agent signing, just as the rest of the Colorado State players, Bell had 215 yards rushing.
The others were quarterback Billy Farris and tight end Kory Sperry, so it is safe to say that the Rams will have to rebuild for 2009. The main focus is to find a new quarterback and a few running backs to try to
The running back has been a huge concern this spring and coach Steve Fairchild has not been happy with the caliber of p lay this spring:
"We have some big concerns at running back, we haven't had a running back play like he belongs here. I think we are further away from being where we need to be than I thought. Somebody has to prove they can do it and I'm waiting to see that."
Quarterback is another position that is struggling and Coach Fairchild was not pleased:
"The fact that we're so far away at quarterback right now is what stands out," he told the Fort Collins Coloradoan of senior Grant Stucker and junior transfer Jon Eastman. "They were just awful. I mean, it was embarrassing (during the final spring scrimmage)."
If the Rams can find a quarterback then they have a shot because at Rashaun Greer and Dion Morton both are play-makers at the wide receiver position.
The defense is on the right track, but in this league to compete with BYU, TCU, and Utah they will need to be able to score points.
The defense took a hit with the loss of their top two linebackers but the Rams should be fine with Alex Williams, Chris Gipson and Michael Kawulok look to replenish the line-backing corp. The strength of the unit is the secondary, but CSU could be in trouble in the front seven if it loses any more players.
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