Pack back has a plan - show some hustle

By JOE E. CERVI, THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Thomas Baker wants to be first.

First in drills. First to help gather equipment. First in conditioning.

"The more you get seen, by making plays or hustling, the better your chances of making the team and getting playing time," said Baker, a freshman running back from Denver.

Early Wednesday morning at Dutch Clark Stadium, Baker, wearing a tattered No. 52 lineman's jersey borrowed from Pueblo West High School, spent most of Colorado State University-Pueblo's second spring football practice running with the first unit. At 5-foot-8, 167 pounds, Baker is small enough to get lost among the linemen but fast enough to outrun defensive backs. He has good hands and a strong work ethic.

He and teammate Markus Turner, a junior college player from Glendale, Ariz., are trying to catch the eye of the ThunderWolves coaching staff. They would like to be the first players in the backfield when the school opens its first football season in August after more than 20 years. 

"It was another good day," CSU-Pueblo head coach John Wristen said. "We looked a little better than the day before in a lot of areas. We had to teach them where to go at the first practice and they did a good job of being where they were supposed to be today.

"We're trying to teach them minute-by-minute, period-by-period. I'm encouraged so far by what I've seen." 

CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/JOHN JAQUES Colorado State University-Pueblo running backs coach Steve Sewell (right) talks with running backs Markus Turner (66) and Thomas Baker (52) after the second day of spring football practice at Dutch Clark Stadium.

Baker graduated from Denver North High School. His last season, the Vikings went 5-5 - a far cry from the 1-9 seasons they were accustomed to. He also grew up watching the Denver Broncos. His position coach in college is Steve Sewell, a former Broncos running back.

"Coach Sewell has so much knowlege. So does coach Wristen and all the coaches," Baker said. "They're giving us all we can handle, all we can eat. If you study your films and you know what's going on, you have a better chance of playing."

Sewell, a former first-round draft pick out of Oklahoma, said coaching a team without any returning starters is a challenge.

"All the jobs are wide open, so you coach all the kids the same," Sewell said. "You can't really judge running backs until you put on pads and start hitting. Right now, it's more mental. We throw a lot of stuff at them to see who can handle it and what the learning curve is for kids in college. The kids who can handle it mentally are usually the ones you can count on."

Sewell said he is encouraged by some of the players on the field already.

"It's good to know that there are some guys out here now who can play and who will be with us in the fall," he said.

In other spring football news, veteran trainer James Paul, who hasn't had to worry about spring football since his days at the University of Utah back in the mid 1980s, said there were just three injuries of note. Chris Coffey, a 6-foot-2, 295-pound lineman from Kansas and a potential starter at center, underwent surgery Monday for appendicitis.

Paul said one player suffered a fractured finger and another player suffered a dislocated finger.

Practice today begins at 7 a.m. Sunday, players will don pads for the first time. All CSU-Pueblo spring practices are free and open to the public.