What We Saw: Two of the Best Rams Ever

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – He thought about it all.

Not just the night at hand, his last in a Colorado State uniform. Not the season as a whole, but the entirety of his career. Ryan Stonehouse couldn't help but do so.

"You talk about it with guys, and you sit there and think, this season, my career, all the ups and downs," Stonehouse said. "I think about my sophomore year, and you think about all of those things and you think it's gotten me to here, to this point.

"It literally goes by in a second. That all comes out in the last couple of minutes. You think about what happened."

At 3-9, the season was not what anybody around the Colorado State football program hoped for or envisioned. As the season started fresh, they pictured wins, success and a turnaround. In the end, there's still more soul searching to do.

But what fans got to witness beyond the final 52-10 defeat was the end of two of the greatest players to ever suit up for the Rams at their position. They witnessed Stonehouse and Trey McBride exit as stalwarts.

There has never been a punter more successful at Colorado State. In fact, there's never been a punter more successful in NCAA history than Stonehouse, whose career average of 47.8 per punt is unmatched. His 50.9 average this year is a school record, breaking the one he already owned. His four full-season averages all rank in the top seven at the school, three of them in the top five.

Nobody has ever has ever had more 50-yard punts in a career (106). No one has averaged 40 yards in a game more often than Stonehouse (39). Only one Ram, Jake Schlager (56), appeared in more games than Stonehouse's 53.

Trey McBride

Addazio only had 16 games with the two of them, but he quickly learned to appreciate what they meant to the team and who they were as people.

"I've coached a lot of great players, and I love Trey, and I love Stoney," he said. "They're great dudes, they're fun to be around, they're loyal guys. They're CSU Rams, and they're just good people. I'm excited for them."

McBride has a very strong case to become the John Mackey Award winner, presented annually to the nation's top tight end. It would make him just the second major award winner in program history – Greg Myers won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1994 – and the numbers should make his selection clear cut.

He finished the season with 90 catches for 1,121 yards with one receiving touchdown, and he did it as a true tight end. More than 70 percent of his snaps came with him attached at the line of scrimmage, a true throwback as a player who can help the run game and be a threat through the air. None of the other candidates block as much, or as effectively. He led all tight ends in the country in receptions and yardage.

Rushing, too. His final play in a CSU uniform was taking a direct snap on a fake punt and going 69 yards – with a monster stiff arm to clear the final hurdle – for the team's only touchdown in the game.

On the sidelines, you think about it all.

"I think just being at CSU, man, this is the best four years I've had," McBride said. "I love CSU, I love Fort Collins; there's a lot of good people here. It made it an easy decision to come back. Like Stoney said, my teammates, I can't thank them enough. My coaches, Coach Bobo, Coach Addazio. I can't thank them enough, for what they've done for me. My teammates, running routes to get me open. It's a bond that will never be broken, and the friendships I've built here at CSU are special and something I'll cherish for a lifetime."

He could have exited for the NFL a year ago, but returned, and the payoff may be a first-round selection. The numbers added up to him being the most productive tight end in CSU history with 164 receptions and 2,100 yards, both of which rank in the top 10 for a career for all Ram receivers. This season ranks him fourth in a single season for receptions and eighth in yardage. His season yardage total ranks fifth all time in FBS history.

Down the stretch, Stonehouse stuck close to those he was closest with, the members of the special teams unit, to which he credits much of his success. He said eight years ago, he wasn't a very good punter. Now, his average is the best the NCAA has ever seen.

That's nice, but not the best part.

"I think I'm going to miss just being around the guys here. I think there's something really special here," he said. "I know the results don't really show that, but I think internally, there's something really good going on, and that's what I look back at the most, is the camaraderie among the guys here who stayed, it's a strong bond. I think that's the most important thing I look back on. Records and awards and everything, they're one thing. The bond you have with your teammates and the guys around you is what I won't forget."

So, as the seconds on the clock ticked away toward the inevitable conclusion, they weren't really focused on any one thing. The losses stung, especially the way they piled up at the end of the season. The dreams which went unmet also hurt.

But overall, they took it all in, and the numbers showed over time, they gave Colorado State their very best. And that was the best the program has ever seen.

But in college football, there always has to be a final chapter.

"You've got a million things rolling through your mind. So many memories, so many things to be excited about," McBride said. "I love this place, I loved playing at CSU, playing with Toby, that's special, and something not many people can say they've done. Just a million things going through my mind. It's just bittersweet that my time here is done. I wish I could play here forever, but now it's time to leave."

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