Four takeaways from CSU football's spring game
On to the regular season.
The Colorado State football team hosted its spring finale Saturday, with a "green and gold" spring game scrimmage at Canvas Stadium.
The unique game format from coach Jay Norvell is "1's vs. the World" where the starters make up one team and the backups the other.
The backups start with a 21-0 lead, with the starters tasked with engineering a comeback win.
The starters did it with ease, winning 34-24 with four first-half touchdowns, one in the second and limiting the backups to just three points. The first half was normal timing rules. The second half was played under a running clock.
Here are four takeaways from the spring game and surrounding festivities.
Top offense moves the ball
The No. 1 offense was missing its lead running back (we don’t quite know who that will be in the fall) and top receiver (Tory Horton has been limited through camp) but still moved the ball with efficiency.
Keep in mind that it’s against backups, but Clay Millen and the offense were efficient and rarely under pressure.
Millen only played in the first half, but he connected on 11 of 16 pass attempts for 183 yards (unofficial count) and a touchdown. He was sacked once.
Millen’s best throw was a beautiful 29-yard pass to Louis Brown, who made an over-the-shoulder touchdown grab.
Running game a good offensive line sign
Two details were a good sign for the Rams' retooled offensive line:
Millen was sacked just once
Walk-on running back Vann Schield ran for nearly 100 yards in the first half
CSU’s running backs room is in flux, with the 2023 starter likely not with the team in spring due to a variety of circumstances (injury, team suspension, incoming freshmen and transfers).
Schield, the walk-on from Rock Canyon High School in Colorado has had a strong camp and had 19 carries for 83 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. He finished well over 100 yards for the game.
More: Meet the most important position group on the Colorado State football team
That’s a good sign of not only his strong running effort, but that the line is clearing lanes. The hope is the new backs coming in will be able to exploit those holes and the QB protection will be much improved.
“I think our offensive line has done a great job this season," Millen said. "We have a lot of new guys I’m really excited about them."
For Schield, it was an chance taken to try and earn playing time in the fall.
"My goal was to show the coaches what I'm capable of and capitalize on the opportunities I was given," Schield said.
Defense was fine
CSU’s defense hasn’t been shy about its goals of being at the top of the Mountain West.
Big goals on D: ‘No reason we shouldn’t be the best’ in Mountain West
They allowed the backups to move the ball efficiently on the first drive (which led to a field goal) but didn't concede much after that.
The unit will be disappointed to have not forced any turnovers, which has been a focus of camp.
But starters Chigozie Anusiem (cornerback) and Drew Kulick (linebacker) were out, as were defensive linemen Matt Thomas and Kennedy McDowell.
For a somewhat shorthanded unit, it was a solid day. They’re a veteran group. The proving ground is in the fall, not now.
More than $40,000 raised for cystic fibrosis research
The second annual CSU Grit Run 5K took place prior to the game.
More than 300 runners participated in the race to raise money for cystic fibrosis research. The race was started by Kim Norvell, wife of CSU coach Jay Norvell, who battles CF.
The Norvells donated $15,000 to fund summer fellowships for research with CSU’s Dr. Jennifer Mueller.
Former CSU men’s basketball star Ryan Yoder donated another $15,000 through a grant from the company where he works, Northwestern Mutual. The rest of the money raised came via race registrations for a total of more than $40,000.
"Coach (Norvell) and I have a common passion, which is cystic fibrosis research and finding a cure," Yoder said.
Yoder said his family is affected by CF and has operated the Yoder Christmas Basketball Camp since 2010, which has raised more than $100,000 for CF research.
“Because of the great research that’s been done, with the breathing materials, the great drugs they’ve come up with, the quality of life for people with this disease has really improved and my wife is a living example of that,” Jay Norvell said.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Four takeaways from Colorado State football's 2023 spring game
