Article Contributed on: 8/29/2006 9:02:02 AM
Losing the last game of your season can leave a sour taste in your mouth. Getting embarrassed on national television is even worse. For
Colorado State football, mediocrity is not acceptable.
As soon as we got back from Christmas vacation, our entire team dedicated themselves to the off-season strength and conditioning program. For the entire spring semester, we had weight-training four days a week, and team running three days a week. The spring is where we really started to gel as a team.
The summer portion of the off-season conditioning program was extremely rigorous. We would run and lift weights four days a week. There were about 75 players who took part in the summer workouts, which is the most since I've been at CSU, and several of us also went to summer school. We had a great summer and really became close as a team.
All off-season coach
Sonny Lubick has been talking to the media about the chemistry of this team. When Coach Lubick says this team is special, he is being honest. This year's team has by far the most chemistry of any of the CSU teams I have been a part of. We have a small but outstanding group of seniors, some of whom are the last group of current players to be a part of a conference championship team. Our juniors have really stepped into leadership roles due to the lack of seniors.
One player in particular,
Caleb Hanie, our starting quarterback, is one of the best leaders I have ever been around. There are others who are also great leaders as well, but having the leadership he provides coming from the quarterback position is vital to the success of our team.
We just recently wrapped up fall training camp, and we're now on our regular season schedule. Luckily, we made it through training camp without any season-ending injuries. There have been a few minor injuries, but as of now everyone should be ready for our season opener at 3 p.m. Sept. 2 against Weber State. Our coaches and players alike are expecting big things from this team.
For me individually, the expectations for my performance are a lot higher coming into this season. I have been able to see my name on several pre-season Mountain West All-Conference teams, and even some preseason All-American teams. The preseason accolades and hype are nice, but they don't mean a thing once the season has started. All that matters is how I perform on game days. I have set my individual goals pretty high this season, which has pushed me to work harder than ever this off-season.
Official CSU athletics web site
Jimmie Kaylor is the punter for the Colorado State University football team and a Northglenn native.