CSU report: Rams suffer bad break

By Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 25, 2008 at 10:04 p.m.

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Colorado State will have a new kicker and punter Sunday when the Rams face the University of Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Invesco Field at Mile High (5:30 p.m., FSN Rocky Mountain).

Jason Smith, a senior from Arapahoe High School, was slated to handle both the kicking and punting duties, but he broke his upper right arm during Saturday's noncontact scrimmage.

"It's not a season-ending injury, but he will be out for an undetermined length of time," CSU coach Steve Fairchild said Monday. "I'm fairly certain he will be back this year. He is definitely out for Sunday.

"Our noncontact has a little contact. We try to stay off the ground, but there was an errant snap and it could have been avoided, but those things happen. . . . When it happened, I was standing right there, and I just thought he bruised his arm. He walked off, and I didn't think it was anything serious at the time. But, unfortunately for him and us, it is."

Smith has made 33-of-45 field-goal attempts for the Rams and ranks third on their all-time field-goal percentage list at .733. He has made 67-of-68 career extra-point attempts.

Ben DeLine, a freshman from Steamboat Springs, will take over the place-kicking and kickoff chores. Anthony Hartz, a junior-college transfer from Santa Barbara (Calif.) College, will punt. "Everybody has injuries, and people have to step up," Fairchild said.

DeLine is the son of former CSU kicker Steve DeLine, and his uncle, Dave, kicked three seasons for CU. "If he's half as good and as tough as his dad, he'll be a great kicker for us," Fairchild said of Ben DeLine. "He's young, and if this was ideal, Jason Smith would be on the field Sunday night."

CSU Welcome to the roster

Twenty-five newcomers were on the CSU depth chart released Monday.

There were five true freshmen, 16 redshirt freshmen and four junior-college transfers. Of those, one freshman (DeLine), two redshirt freshmen (linebacker Mychal Sisson and cornerback Brandon Owens) and one junior-college transfer (Hartz) were listed as starters.

Coach bullish on rivalry

Fairchild pitched his thoughts about keeping the CSU-CU game alive - and playing it in Denver.

He never got a chance to play in a CU-CSU game when he was a quarterback for the Rams (from 1978 to '80).

"They didn't play it back then, but we're smart enough to play it now, and I hope we're smart enough not to ruin it," he said. "We all know what the right thing to do for the state of Colorado is. It's a rivalry game. It's a fantastic setting.

"We ought to be down there (in Denver) playing that game for all time. The kids look forward to it. I think everybody in the state looks forward to it, and you get memorable-type things in those kind of games."

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