FORT COLLINS — Jeff Horinek looks like a middle linebacker, acts like a middle linebacker.

Square jaw. Solid build. Steady demeanor. Hard worker. Good guy.

"That's what I'd call him — just a real guy," Colorado State defensive coordinator Steve Stanard was saying of Horinek on Wednesday as the Sept. 1 opener against rival Colorado at Invesco Field at Mile High fast approaches.

"Jeff is incredibly loyal to his team and his teammates. You know he's going to give everything he has on every play of every practice, and that can be contagious."

Horinek, the Rams' third-year starter at middle linebacker, is one of the tested veterans on a defense blessed with talent and experience.

The brother of an all-conference punter for CSU in the late 1990s, Deone, Jeff started every game for CSU last season after getting a good amount of playing time as a redshirt freshman in 2005.

The younger Horinek was a focal point of a defense that improved dramatically from 2005 to 2006, and Horinek thinks a similar improvement will happen from last year to this.

"We had it in the back of our minds throughout the whole offseason how bad it felt to lose all those games last year," Horinek said of a 2006 season that started with promise but ended with seven consecutive losses. "We stepped up to the plate in the offseason workouts because no one wanted to feel that feeling again. It was a pretty awful thing to go through."

Horinek, along with lineman Jesse Nading and a handful of others, is viewed as one of the CSU defense's most influential leaders. He's not a rah-rah guy, but he gets his point across.

"Jeff's just been excellent, ever since the first day he got here," CSU coach Sonny Lubick said. "He's the kind of guy who's always going to work, always going to go that extra mile for you. You can't work him hard enough in the weight room or on the field in practice.

"And he's just getting better and better physically. He's 230, he can run, he's a great tackler. Jeff should really have a season this year. He's what a football player should be about."

Horinek had an impressive legacy to follow. Deone Horinek ranks as one of the finest punters in CSU history. And though Deone played a far different position, Jeff knew what to expect when he committed to CSU.

"I think the No. 1 thing my brother taught me is how important it is to be mentally strong," said the junior linebacker, who has a 3.7 grade-point average in health and exercise science. "I may not be the fastest linebacker out there, but I have some natural strength and I really, really want to be good. I think that's 90 percent of whatever you do in life."

Stanard will take a guy with that kind of mind-set every time.

"He's as quality of a guy as you could have on a team," Stanard said. "His work ethic, his mental preparation, all that stuff is top-notch."

ETC.: Defensive lineman Wade Landers and offensive lineman Cole Pemberton returned to practice Wednesday after tweaking their ankles. Defensive lineman Bob Vomhof should return early next week after minor surgery to repair cartilage in his knee. . . . Lubick said the Rams are spending about half their practice time preparing for CU against scout- team players and the other half "giving ourselves a good look against our own guys."

holtzr@RockyMountainNews.com