Colorado State Football: Players To Watch In 2020

Who should Rams’ fans pay attention to this season? Here are six players to keep an eye on when the 2020 season kicks off.

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Colorado State Football: Players To Watch In 2020

The Rams bring a load of talent to the field. We look at some players to keep an eye on.

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Who do Rams fans need to keep an eye on?

The 2020 season is in some doubts. At best it looks to be a conference only schedule. At worst the entire season will be postponed or cancelled. Let’s hope for the best and take a look at some talent to keep an eye on for this Colorado State squad.

The obvious candidates are Warren Jackson, Dante Wright, and Trey McBride. But we’re going to go a different route and list those role players who could have a bigger than expected impact on this Rams squad this season.

Offense

1. Jaylen Thomas, RB

Coming into the 2019 season, Thomas wasn’t expected to see the field much. However he immediately made a good impression on the coaches to earn playing time. He was behind Marvin Kinsey and Marcus McElroy and only earning a few touches. When Kinsey was dismissed from the team Thomas saw his touches increase from an average of four per game to 9.6 per game.

Thomas looks to build on his decent stat line from his freshman year. He finished the 2019 season with 68 attempts for 222 yards and three scores. He also added 14 catches for 113 yards, becoming the Rams primary receiving threat out of the backfield when Marvin Kinsey left. If Thomas can stake his claim on the RB2 position on the depth chart, the Rams could have an electric backfield combo this season.

2. Cameron Butler, TE

The man you can’t sleep on according to Warren Jackson. Coming into the 2019 season, both Butler and Trey McBride were placed on the Mackey Award watch list. Butler had just come off an impressive two year run as an underclassman and was expected to take on an expanded role. He put in work in the offseason to become a better blocker and unfortunately that work caught up to him. Butler got bit by the injury bug and he missed the Rams final five games of 2019.

If Butler can get over that bout with the injury bug the Rams can potentially claim to have one of the better tight end duos in the nation. All of the attention will be on McBride, but Butler can sneak in there and make defenses remember that the Rams aren’t a one man show at the tight end position.

3. Elijah Johnson, OL

Not a player you would expect to be on this list. Johnson was hurt for most of his career at Boston College, playing in just three games since his freshman season in 2016. But he, along with Cam Reddy and Adam Korutz, brings a knowledge of head coach Steve Addazio’s systems.

Nothing can replace actual playing experience, which the three transfers don’t have a lot of, but the knowledge they do bring can help bring the line up to speed faster and help them gel quicker as a unit. Chemistry has been the one thing this unit has seemed to struggle with for the past couple of years. Johnson could be a key piece to bring that chemistry back.

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