Olson, Saipaia Thriving in Rams’ Four-Year Plan
There is no better indication of a college football program’s health than its seniors.
Are they thriving or stagnating?
Are they bitter or better than when they arrived?
Colorado State coaches point to seniors Erik Olson and Blane Saipaia and tell recruits: This could be you.
Neither was highly recruited out of high school. Yet both are four-year starters who have improved so much that scouts say they will get a chance to play in the NFL.
Olson, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound safety from Ventura High, had started 40 consecutive games before an emergency appendectomy caused him to miss losses to Fresno State and San Diego State. He came back less than two weeks after surgery to play in a victory over Wyoming and he had nine tackles in the Rams’ 31-24 victory over Utah on Thursday.
“Erik is really good, probably the best defensive back we’ve had in my four years here,” said assistant coach Dan Hammerschmidt, a former Colorado State defensive back who played one season in the NFL.
“I lacked the speed Olson has. He’s a big, tough guy, but people underestimate his speed.”
Saipaia (6-4, 310), a two-way mainstay at Channel Islands High, has played tight end, center and tackle at Colorado State.
“We’ve never had an athlete like him on the offensive line,” Hammerschmidt said. “Scouts think he can play tight end in the NFL. He’s a smart kid. He knows every position on the offensive line and he knows coverages better than half of our receivers. He just loves football.”
Colorado State has other success stories among its 32 players recruited from California. The woes of UCLA and USC haven’t dampened enthusiasm for seeking overlooked nuggets in the state.
“There are so many kids [in California],” said Hammerschmidt, who spearheads Colorado State’s recruiting in Southern California. “You just fall into kids. It’s like Texas is for Eastern and Southern schools, a gold mine.
“If we work at it, we’ll bring in eight to 10 kids a year from there.”
*
The Colorado State roster also includes two receivers from the region: Jose Ochoa of Sylmar and Joey Cuppari of Westlake.
Hammerschmidt, the Rams’ receivers coach, lauds both.
On Ochoa, a sophomore starter at tight end: “Jose only played football for a year or so when he came here. He’s learned to block and run routes. He has good speed for a 250-pound guy.”
On Cuppari, a freshman reserve at slotback: “Next year we’ll probably move him outside. He gets better every week. When we play a team in a zone defense, he gets open and makes the catch. He might be our best hands guy.”
Ochoa has six catches for 47 yards and two touchdowns; Cuppari has 12 catches for 126 yards with no scores.
*
National-championship ring on his finger, linebacker Judd Granzow of Tennessee was ready to lend a helping hand.
The former Moorpark College All-American played sparingly behind Raynoch Thompson as a sophomore last year but contributed 33 tackles to the Volunteers’ unbeaten season.
Thompson is back--he’s a semifinalist for the Butkus Award--but Granzow’s decreased playing time is a result of other factors. He has only four tackles--all on special teams.
Granzow injured a shoulder in May and missed spring practice. Then his father passed away late last summer and Granzow missed part of training camp. And only last week he injured a groin muscle and sat out Saturday in a 30-7 victory over South Carolina.
Tennessee, 6-1 and ranked No. 4 in the nation, is the only Division I or I-AA team in the nation that has not given up a rushing touchdown this season. Granzow probably will have to wait another year before he is an integral part of that defense.
