BY KELLY LYELL • KellyLyellcoloradoan.com • August 15, 2009 Even though the stands will be empty, the intensity level will be ratcheted up another
notch or two today when the CSU football team participates in its first scrimmage of fall camp today at Hughes Stadium. “I think when you’re in the stadium, you’re in game mode,” sophomore cornerback Gerard Thomas said Friday after the first of two practices on the fields south of Moby Arena. “Everything’s just fast and alive. It’s like, ‘OK, it’s game time.’ ” Coach Steve Fairchild decided Thursday to close all of the scrimmages at Hughes Stadium that he’ll put his team through prior to the Sept. 6 season-opener in Boulder against the University of Colorado, so no fans will be allowed. But he’s expecting to learn a lot more about his team during a scripted session he said will have nearly 120 plays, about a third of them at full speed with full contact. “It’s always a lot more competitive once we’re out in the stadium,” senior guard Adrian Martinez said. “Just being there, you get kind of excited for the season. Both teams want to do better than the other side of the ball. There’s something about being at Hughes.” Fairchild said besides getting a chance to see who can make tackles and who can break them, he also wants to make sure his team isn’t making the kind of mental mistakes that can cost them a victory or more this fall. > GIVING BACK – CSU’s players and coaches spent a few minutes after the morning practice getting to know 15 to 20 clients and about an equal number of volunteers from Respite Care, a privately funded nonprofit organization that provides short-term care for up to two weeks at a time in a home-style atmosphere for Larimer County youths up to age 21 with developmental disabilities.
“They do great work for those kids, and I think it’s a good chance for our team to see how fortunate we really are to have our health and to have an opportunity to play college football, so I’m glad that they get a chance to interact with them,” Fairchild said.