His service in the NFL has taught new Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild not to be in a rush.

Fairchird didn't bother to look at much film of his team last season heading into spring practice -- he didn't want to have any preconceived notions. By spring's end, Fairchild hadn't even developed a depth chart.

"Most of our staff is new, myself included," Fairchild says, "so most of winter conditioning and our spring practice was a chance, really, just to get to know our players a little bit better, learn about their work ethic, learn about their talents and kind of start piecing our schemes together based on what we have.

"We're still kind of a work in progress."

The progress in turning the program around for 2008 hinges on the battle at quarterback between senior Billy Farris and junior Grant Stucker, though Fairchild says incoming freshman Alex Kelly will get a look in the fall. The wide receiver corps also must develop, but the running game looks strong with a seasoned offensive line blocking for backs Gartrell Johnson and Kyle Bell.

The Rams also are looking for playmakers on defense. Gone are several experienced defensive linemen, but CSU has potential breakout players on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary. Fairchild says the unit looked like a steady group in spring, but he's waiting on some leadership to emerge.

Fairchild says he'll wait until a week or two into fall camp to establish a depth chart. By then, he should have formed a thought or two on his team and whether it can turn around the fortunes of a program that won conference championships when Fairchild was an assistant under Sonny Lubick but has labored through a 17-29 record in Lubick's final four years.

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