Rams Ready to Kick Off Summer Camp

Sonny Lubick hates expectations. Hates it when his team is the conference favorite, hates it when “you guys in the media” talk about the Rams going unbeaten. Hates it when the bar is set so high that nothing short of a league title will satisfy Ram fans. That’s probably why Lubick, entering his 12th season as head coach at Colorado State, is looking forward to the challenges that await his 2004 Rams.

No one is talking unbeaten season for CSU - not with games at Colorado and at USC the first two weeks of the new year. The non-conference slate is rugged - revitalized Minnesota comes to Fort Collins to open the home season the third week before Montana State arrives on September 25th. Not much time to breath before Mountain West Conference play begins against BYU - and few are even talking about the Rams winning a league title.

There’s also not much time for new starting quarterback Justin Holland to get adjusted to playing full time. The junior from Bear Creek has seen plenty of game action in relief of departed Bradlee Van Pelt the past two seasons, but has just one career start - last season’s San Francisco Bowl loss to Boston College - under his belt. Holland has shown flashes of brilliance, but also a penchant for throwing interceptions. That’s something Lubick hates more than high expectations.

Holland is a better pure passer than Van Pelt, but will not give the Rams the added running dimension his predecessor brought to the huddle. That proved critical - especially last season - to offensive success. Van Pelt was effectively the Rams running game last season, when no running back stepped up to make the job his own. Jimmy Green began the season well down the depth chart, but by the end of the year was CSU’s most productive back. This is a make or break senior year for Marcus Houston, the highly touted tailback who has not yet come close to living up to expectations.

There may not yet be the depth at wide receiver that Lubick’s team have been known for, but sensational David Anderson returns for his junior year after setting school records 72 catches for nearly 1,300 yards a year ago. If he can stay healthy, tight end Joel Dreessen could have a breakout year.

If there was an area that didn’t live up to expectations a year ago, it was on defense. Steve Stanard came in to replace Larry Kerr (who moved on to UCLA) as the defensive coordinator, and the Rams never really jelled on that side of the ball. This year, with only three starters returning, expectations will not be the problem, because they aren’t very high. CSU should be a little bit faster in the secondary, with one of last season’s starting corners, Ben Stratton, moving to safety.

With the schedule loaded - the Rams must also travel to league favorite Utah in November - Lubick’s Rams should be expected to battle for a bowl berth, and not a lot more.