Can Gartrell Johnson adequately replace Kyle Bell as CSUs featured running back?
Bell’s knee injury sent shock waves through the CSU team. He ran for 1,288 yards as a sophomore last fall and appeared poised for another highly productive season. But CSU coaches also are high on Johnson, who worked hard in the offseason to fulfill the promise he brought to CSU from his hometown of Miami. Johnson isn’t a burner, but he’s tough, hits the hole hard and doesn’t go down easily. 3 Will CSU’s abysmal run defense of 2005 improve? It probably will, and maybe by a lot. There’s nowhere to go but up for a unit that yielded 223 yards a game on the ground, a figure that ranked an embarrassing 115th among the 119 Division I-A teams. The return of Luke Adkins and Ben Stratton from knee injuries should help, as will the added experience of a group of improving linemen. CSU fans are crossing their fingers running backs won’t still be salivating to play against the Rams. 4 Who are some young, emerging players to watch? Obviously, Johnson will be depended on heavily. Sophomore safeties
