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Rypien Playing Well in First Few Games
From the annals of Duh, comes my headline. To say he's performing well is like saying the Pope makes a pretty good Catholic. He won't be able to talk to the press until Harsin deems him ready, which is probably when he stops dropping references to Pokemon characters in everyday speech. But the kid has definite football smarts, as he recognized a defender's placement as an opportunity to throw a TD pass to Sperbeck in the corner of the end-zone.
Johnson to Start as Kick Returner
Senior WR Terrell Johnson had a 27-yard kick return to open the half against Hawaii, and has earned the starting nod at the spot. Special teams have been something we struggled with week-to-week, and having a good kick returner can make a huge difference in the game. I think it's also nice to have a guy whose designated spot is returning kicks, to protect other role-players from injury. Let's see some returns for TDs now, Johnson! Congrats!
BSU/CSU Preview
Both teams are starting new quarterbacks, and although sophomore QB Nick Stevens leads the MWC with 10 passing TDs and 1,129 yards, he's also thrown 5 picks and lost a fumble. Deayon and Thompson are going to be ball-hawking, for sure! And let's hope Correa and Taimatuia can get a few strip-sacks in.
Matching up with Higgins
Colorado WR Rashard Higgins is a tough person to match up with, considering his 17 touchdowns last season averaged 35 yards. I don't know how many of those yards are after the catch, or him just getting wide open downfield, but Coach Yates is coaching his defense up to prepare for him. Coach Harsin had this to say:
We all remember him from last year. ... We need to know where he’s at at all times. Somebody’s going to be one-on-one with him; they’ve got to compete. I feel like we’ve got guys that can compete with him.
In Harsin We Trust.
Miscellinkeous:
Dad's take note: Pun competitions!