The Colorado State football team added a lot of experience and age to many of their positional groups this offseason. One of the exceptions to that is the linebacker room.
The Rams lost two All-Mountain West Conference-level talents in Cam’Ron Carter and Dequan Jackson, leaving Chase Wilson as the longest tenured linebacker for the Rams.
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Despite Wilson only playing 17 total games heading into his redshirt junior year, linebackers assistant coach Adam Pilapil still looks to him to be the leader of the room.
“I think Chase Wilson immediately stepped into a role the day after the New Mexico game,” Pilapil said. “I think he’s done an incredible job of just really trying to lead in his own way. He’s different than DJ, he’s different than Cam (Carter), but I think he’s doing a great job leading our guys. He does a great job motivating the younger guys.”
“I think one of the special things on defense is that everybody’s got to do their 1/11th for the defense to work as a whole.” –Chase Wilson, CSU linebacker
Wilson turned heads in the team’s final game last season against New Mexico. He tallied seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss, giving fans a glimpse of who he can truly be when given the opportunity to lead this group.
“It’s taken a lot of work to get here, and I’m grateful for all the people that have allowed me to get to the position I’m in, and I think it’s a privilege to be able to lead this linebacker room,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of talent and a lot of special guys, a lot of great young men, a lot of great young players in the room, so it’s really a privilege.”
Now at the helm, Wilson is ready to improve on last year and truly help take the defense to the next level.
“I think one of the special things on defense is that everybody’s got to do their 1/11th for the defense to work as a whole,” Wilson said. “Last year, I feel like we had a decent year, but there’s obviously always improvements to be made and strives to make, so I think we’re just keeping the pedal to the metal and really strive to answer that question.”
Over half of the linebackers on the CSU roster are freshmen. One thing head coach Jay Norvell has been adamant about is trying not to play freshman. He reiterated this by saying that for every freshman you start, you lose a game.
One of the transfers CSU brought into the linebacker room was Tramayne Mejia-Paster. Mejia-Paster came over to CSU from California. As a graduate transfer, he brings in veteran leadership to help out the young linebacking unit.
“From the day he got here, (he) has just been humble and hungry for success,” Pilapil said. “He comes from a really good program, and they did a lot of good things there, and so he’s able to bring some of those things to us.”
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Mejia-Paster immediately came into the spotlight after asking fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, to give him recommendations for the best places to eat in Fort Collins. He said he still has a lot of places to try, but for now he has found his favorite spot.
“I’m going to tell you right now: Krazy Karl’s wings — specifically the wings,” Mejia-Paster said. “That place is fire. I’ve been there quite a few times.”
Despite being the oldest linebacker on the CSU roster, Mejia-Paster still came into the fall camp ready to learn.
“I’ve been playing college football — this is my fourth year now — but honestly all of these guys are smart,” Mejia-Paster said. “They’ve been teaching me, and I’ve accepted the fact to be a forever learner. … Just because I’m older doesn’t mean I know it all, but I definitely know some things. I’m still learning a lot.”
As the start of the season looms over the CSU football team, expectations are heightened for the Rams. Pilapil expects his unit to go out and play their hardest in order to meet those expectations.
“I hope we play really, really hard,” Pilapil said. “I hope we play with precision, we play with execution and I hope we’re running the ball and making plays. If we can play with tremendous effort and play really hazardously, I think that’ll make up for some of the lack of playing time … because they’re playing really hard, and they love each other, and they love the guys around them.”
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
