FORT COLLINS — CSU Rams coach Jay Norvell said Monday he’s hopeful that he’ll have his best offensive weapon, wide receiver Tory Horton, available to play in arguably the program’s biggest game of the season.
“Tory is sore, but I think he’s going to be available to play,” the third-year Rams coach said of Horton, who left last weekend’s win over Northern Colorado with what Norvell described during his weekly news conference as a groin strain.
“So we’ll see how he progresses over the week.”
The senior wideout returned a punt for 78 yards in the first quarter against the Bears but left the game in the third quarter and didn’t return.
“Tory, he’s worked really, really hard to build his body up. He was shot out of a cannon on that punt return. … Hopefully he’s able to play.”
The 6-foot-3 California native caught three balls for 65 yards against UNC before exiting the contest.
Horton caught 16 passes for 133 yards against the Buffs last year at Folsom Field in a 43-35 loss in double overtime. Last season, he led CSU in catches (96) and receiving yards (1,136).
CSU hosts CU at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in a game televised nationally by CBS. It’s the first Rocky Mountain Showdown in Fort Collins since 1996 and the first ever at Canvas Stadium, which opened in 2017.
The Rams have split their first two games of the season, losing big at Texas (52-0) in Week 1 before returning to Fort Collins and beating Northern Colorado, 38-17, last Saturday night on Ag Day.
Norvell walked away from the latter displeased with what he considered an uneven performance against the Bears.
“We are a work in progress as a football team,” Norvell said after the game Saturday. “I was pretty irritated for most of this game because I just want our guys to play up to their potential. We do it at times. We scratch the surface at times, but I was not happy for most of this game. But I’m very proud of some of the efforts we had.”
Corey Masisak contributed to this report.
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