Let’s start the Colorado State Football 2014 Spring Wrap Up by taking a look back at the 2013 season.

Colorado State’s 2013 Season In Review 

The 2013 season did not start well for the Rams. They were three point favorites in their season opener against their in-state rival, the Colorado Buffaloes, but they were repeatedly torched on defense in a 41-27 loss. Then after blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead in a loss the next week at Tulsa, it was looking like another long, painful year ahead in Fort Collins. 

However, the Rams would go on to win eight of their final 12 games, including their first bowl appearance and win since 2008. This was, in no small part, due to the incredible season of Kapri Bibbs. Bibbs ran for 1,741 yards and 31 touchdowns, becoming just the fourth player in FBS history to rush for 30+ scores.

With their first winning season under head coach Jim McElwain under their belt, the Rams will now set their sights on competing for a Mountain West title.

CSU Strengths Entering 2014

For the first time in seemingly forever, the Rams have some stability at the quarterback position. Garrett Grayson narrowly emerged as the starter in a three-way competition for the starting quarterback job in the spring of 2013, but he ended up breaking the school’s single season passing yardage record. Grayson, who will be a senior in 2014, is now the unquestioned leader of the Rams offense. 

The Rams also boast one of the strongest sets of linebackers in the Mountain West, if not the entire country. Aaron Davis and Max Morgan return as the two middle linebackers in the Rams 3-4 defensive scheme after combining for 254 tackles in 2013. Losing 2013 Mountain West defensive player of the year Shaquil Barrett will hurt, but Cory James has racked up 15.5 sacks in the first two years of his CSU career and should do a lot to help offset the loss of Barrett.  

CSU Weaknesses Entering 2014

As much as Rams fans were hoping Kapri Bibbs would stay for another season, it didn’t come as a great shock when he decided to declare for the NFL Draft. Donnell Alexander’s recent decision to transfer to Akron, on the other hand, blindsided the CSU program. Alexander was the team’s leading rusher in 2012 and was likely going to be the starting running back in 2014. His decision to transfer leaves the Rams with virtually zero FBS experience in their backfield heading into 2014. The situation is so severe that Jasen Oden, who was a defensive back last season, looks like the best bet to start the year as the team’s starting running back.

The team also has to replace four of the five starters from last year’s stellar offensive line. Left Tackle Ty Sambrailo is the only player who didn’t graduate following the 2013 season. While the coaching staff has expressed confidence in their young lineman, no one really knows what to expect from a position group that was so strong last season.

Potential Breakout Players 

Rashard Higgins: Higgins was a long shot to be on the active roster in 2013. He was one of four true freshman wide receivers on the team, and he wasn’t the most highly touted recruit of that group. So all Higgins did was have the best freshman season from a wide receiver in the history of the program. He led the team in receptions and receiving yards by a considerable margin. Higgins seems to have a good connection with Garrett Grayson, and he looks like he could be the first Rams receiver in over a decade to go over 1,000 yards receiving in a season. If he does so, Higgins would be a solid bet for first-team All Mountain West in 2014.

Trent Matthews: The Rams secondary was pretty shaky at times in the 2013 season, but Matthews was a bright spot. His four interceptions were the most in a season by a Ram since 2009, and his 69 tackles were the fifth-most on the team. Matthews already has 26 starts at free safety in his college career and he has two years of eligibility remaining. The Rams pass defense should improve with another year of experience for Matthews and Kevin Pierre-Louis next to him at strong safety.

Kivon Cartwright: There may not be a player on CSU’s roster that’s a better all-around athlete than Cartwright. He’s 6’4” and 245 pounds but he runs like a deer. Cartwright was an All-Mountain West honorable mention last season despite being the #2 tight end behind Crockett Gillmore. With Gillmore gone and likely to be selected in the NFL draft, Cartwright will now be taking over the starting spot. There are people who believe Cartwright is actually a better NFL prospect than Gillmore because of his elite athleticism, but Rams fans would like to see him reach his potential in Fort Collins first.

Position Grades 

Quarterback: A  Garrett Grayson gives the Rams senior leadership at the quarterback position. Grayson could be the first Ram QB to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Nick Stevens, a redshirt freshman, has been heavily praised by the coaching staff and is a solid backup if anything happens to Grayson.

Running Back: D+ It’s probably more accurate to give this position a grade of “incomplete”. Jasen Oden, Bryce Peters and JUCO transfer Treyous Jarrells all have potential, but none of them have ever played a down of FBS football at running back.

Wide Receiver: B+  Rashard Higgins should be even better as a sophomore, and he’s one of the best receivers to come through Fort Collins in recent years. Joe Hansley is a playmaker as the second wide receiver, but he was a non-factor in some games for the Rams last season. Kivon Cartwright is technically a tight end, but he will probably be a big part of the passing game this season and creates match-up problems for defenses.

Offensive Line: C-  Ty Sambrailo is a very solid, talented player over at Left Tackle, but no one really knows what to expect from the other four spots. Between this group and the running backs, it’s nearly impossible to know what to expect from the Rams running game in 2014.

Defensive Line: B  Despite losing all three defensive line starters from 2013, this group should be solid this year. A couple of talented junior college transfers and some promising young recruits means the line should make up for a lack of experience with strong depth.

Linebackers: A  The unquestioned strength of the defense. Max Morgan, Aaron Davis and Cory James are all proven contributors. The only question is how SteveO Michel or one of the other young linebackers does as the other outside linebacker across from James.

Defensive Backs: B  The two safety positions should be strong with Trent Matthews and Kevin Pierre-Louis returning. The cornerback spots raise some concerns though. Replacing Shaq Bell, who graduated, and Jasen Oden, who’s now playing running back, might prove to be a challenge.

Special Teams: B+  Jared Roberts, last year’s 2013 All-Mountain West first team kicker, returns. Hayden Hunt was very good at punter as a redshirt freshman last season. Tyree Simmons isn’t spectacular as a return man, but he’s solid. The kick and punt coverage teams were shaky at times last year, but there’s no real reason to believe that it should be a problem in 2014.

2014 Season Outlook 

The Rams will probably go as far as their young offensive line can take them in 2014. If that group holds up, then this squad should be looking to compete for a Mountain West title in 2014. That’s a pretty large “if” though.

Garrett Grayson should be one of, if not the best quarterback in the conference in 2014, and as previously mentioned, the linebacker core should be outstanding. Those two strengths alone should be good enough to put CSU in the upper-tier of Mountain West teams.

This team stills seems like it’s a year or two away from passing Boise State for division supremacy. It’s hard to picture a scenario in which any team will win this division with any fewer than seven conference wins, and there are a few too many question marks to feel confident in the Rams ability to do that. That being said, I believe the team takes another step forward after last year’s 8-6 mark.

Best-Case Scenario: The offensive line is able to pick up where last year’s unit left off, and the Rams don’t see a noticeable drop-off in their offensive production. The team upsets Boise State on the road in week two and doesn’t look back, winning 10 or 11 games and appearing in the Mountain West title game for the first time in program history.

Worst-Case Scenario: The Rams struggle to fill the holes that graduation created in the roster. The offensive line struggles and no real solutions are found at cornerback.  The team struggles to get to six wins and once again, it’s a two horse race between Boise State and Utah State for the Mountain West’s Mountain Division title.

My Prediction: 9-3 (6-2 in conference), 2^nd place in the division behind Boise.

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Nolan Lees is the author of our Colorado State Football 2014 Spring Wrap Up. For more analysis and commentary about Colorado State Football, please visit his blog at wrtym.blogspot.com and follow him on Twitter @NolanLees.

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