Holker reels in accolades, declares for draft
CSU tight end was runner-up for Mackey Award
Colorado State junior tight end Dallin Holker picked up two more All-american honors Monday morning before making his decision to leave CSU and declare for the NFL draft public on social media Monday evening.
Holker was named a secondteam All-american by the Associated Press and the Football Writers Association of America on Monday. Those honors came after he was named a second-team
All-american by USA Today, Walter Camp and Sports Illustrated.
He was also named runner-up for the Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end, last Friday. Georgia’s Brock Bowers won the award.
In his first, and only, season in Fort Collins, Holker’s 64 receptions and 767 receiving yards were the most by any tight end during the 2023 regular season and ranked No. 40 and No. 69, respectively, among all pass catchers while his six touchdown receptions ranked third among tight ends.
Within the program’s singleseason record book, Holker’s six touchdown receptions tied for the most in a single season by a CSU tight end and his receptions and receiving yards rank No. 3 and No. 2, respectively.
Holker became the seventh Ram all-time to be named to the Walter Camp All-american team joining Trey Mcbride (2021), Michael Gallup (2017), Rashard Higgins (2014), Kapri Bibbs (2013), Greg Myers (1995), and Mike Bell (1978). He joins Mcbride (2021) and Keli Mcgregor (1984) as the only Colorado State tight ends to be recognized by the AP.
Kamara, Gatkouth honored
Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year Mohammed Kamara was also honored with a second-team All-american honor by the FWAA. Kamara led the league in sacks (13.0) and tackles for loss (17.0) and ranked among the nation’s best in both categories. He is the first Colorado State defensive player to be
named to the FWAA’S Allamerica team since Greg Myers (1994) and just the third all-time.
His 13 sacks were the third-most in a single season in program history while his 17 tackles for loss ranked No. 8. For a career, Kamara left his mark on the program by finishing second in sacks (30.5) and third in TFLS (45.5).
The only other Rams to earn postseason honors past league accolades was defensive lineman Nuer Gatkuoth. Gatkouth was named to The Athletic’s freshman All-american team after racking up 53 tackles including 6.5 for loss, an interception, forcing one fumble, and breaking up two more passes.
Gatkuoth is the fifth Ram over the past four full seasons to earn freshman Allamerica honors joining Dante Wright (2019), Jack Howell (2021), Clay Millen (2022), and Grady Kelly (2022). He is the first defensive end to earn freshman All-america recognition since Nordly Capi in 2011.
Transfer portal update
As of Tuesday, six Colorado State football players have entered the transfer portal.
Offensive lineman Ethan Erickson, quarterback Jackson Stratton, defensive back TJ Crandall, linebacker Tramayne Mejia-paster, defensive back Mychai Williams and defensive end/tight end Clay Nanke have all announced their intentions to continue their college careers elsewhere.
Crandall is the most notable of the transfers. The true freshman played in 10 games for CSU, starting five, and finished the season with 19 tackles and an interception. Paster, who transferred to CSU from Cal, played in 11 games and recorded 10 tackles for the Rams last season.
Stratton didn’t see the field for CSU in 2023, but he appeared in four games as a true freshman in 2022. Nanke appeared in five games over two seasons, mostly on special teams. Both Williams and Erickson never saw game action during their time at CSU.
As of Tuesday, CSU has not added any players from the portal.
Two other Rams declare for draft
Holker also isn’t the only Ram to announce his intentions to enter the NFL draft. Defensive back Chigozie Anusiem also did so via social media on Dec. 4 and defensive back Ron Hardge III did so as well on Dec. 6.
Anusiem, who transferred to CSU after playing four years at Cal, had 93 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one interception in two seasons with the Rams. Hardge, who played at four different schools during his five seasons of college football, had 12 tackles for the Rams last season and returned a fumble for a touchdown against Colorado.