Green & Gold Report | 2022

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Co-Publishers Greg Hoffman Scott Titterington Editor Shane G. Gilster Copy Editor Kristin Titterington Creative Director Emily Zaynard Advertising Director Greg Hoffman Advertising Sales Shane G. Gilster Greg Hoffman Scott Titterington Contributing Writer Justin Michael Photography CSU Athletic Communications Advertising Inquiries Shanegilster@gmail.com Greg.rmpublishing@gmail.com Scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com

CONTENTS FOOTball A Change for the Better 6 Ram coaches providing a breath of fresh air for the CSU community

10

Q & A with Jay Norvell

18

Football Schedule Preview

38

Football Recruiting Colorado’s top 12 instate recruits—class of 2023

POSITION BREAKDOWN Rocky Mountain Publishing PO Box 740 Fort Collins, CO 80522 (970) 221-9210 Green & Gold Report is an unofficial, independent source of news and features relating to CSU athletic programs and is not affiliated in any way with the school, team or league.

Green & Gold is a special publication of Rocky Mountatin Publishing, Inc. Publication of this magazine does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services advertised. RMP reserves the right to refuse any advertisement for any reason. The opinions expressed by contributors or writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rocky Mountain Publishing, Inc. Copyright 2022 Rocky Mountain Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Quarterbacks Running Backs Receivers Tight Ends Offensive Line Defensive Line Linebackers Defensive Backs

volleyball 30 2022 CSU Volleyball Schedule 32 2021 CSU Volleyball Roster 34 Moby Madness Can home court help Rams make it back to the NCAA Tournament?

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Ram coaches providing a breath of fresh air for the CSU community

A Change for the Better

By Justin Michael

Freddie Banks Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

F

ollowing an embarrassing 52-10 defeat in the 2021 season finale, a night where Steve Addazio was ejected before halftime in front of a halfempty stadium, it was easy to see that Colorado State desperately needed change.

Fortunately, for the CSU faithful, that change has come. Now led by Jay Norvell, CSU has roughly 70 new players on the roster

6 | Green & Gold Report

and is running completely different systems on both sides of the football.

“It’s not going to resemble the Colorado State team that played last year at all,” Norvell said of the 2022 Rams in a one-on-one interview.

On defense CSU is running a 4-2-5 under coordinator and defensive backs coach Freddie Banks. Banks will try to replicate the success he had at Montana State where

his defense allowed just 15 points and 226 yards of total offense per game en route to an appearance in the 2021-22 FCS National Championship Game. His system produced a couple of NFL Draft picks as well, including linebacker Troy Anderson, who was snagged by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round with the 58th overall selection.

According to the players

on the team, Banks is a passionate leader on the field and is an extremely demanding coach. He is also relatable, though, something that seems to be a common theme for the individuals brought in by Norvell to help run the program.

And of course, on offense the Rams are now operating with the principles of the Air Raid, but out of a pistol

doors, welcomed back alumni/former players that had been ignored under previous regimes, and he’s just generally engaged the community in ways that have not been seen since the days of Sonny Lubick.

During practice the Rams have music bumping in the background from start to finish. Fans are now able to attend as well. Both contribute to a palpable energy that can be felt in the facility. But the biggest reason that the players seem to enjoy playing under Norvell, aside from the new systems being significantly more aggressive and inherently more fun, is the way the coaches treat the players with respect.

Norvell and his staff are stern with the guys when

coaching them during practices. You won’t, however, see them cursing out players, verbally berating them, or trying to coach through intimidation.

In less than one year’s time the general atmosphere has really done a complete 180 — something that is not lost on CSU’s players that were here last year — many of which have been very open with how much they like the change.

“It’s just guys flying around and having fun,” senior wide receiver Ty McCullouch said of the practice style back in the spring.

Not to mention that the former Nevada players that came over, like QB Clay Millen and WR Tory Horton, were honest with how much continuing to play for Norvell

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

formation, something that Norvell and associate head coach Matt Mumme developed together at Nevada.

“Matt is amazing. He’s super smart,” Norvell said of his right-hand man, before explaining that anyone can run drills, but what separates Mumme from other coaches is his attention to detail and the ability to explain “the why”.

While there is a lot of excitement for the fundamental changes CSU has made on both offense and defense, and justifiably so after last season’s 3-9 debacle, the Rams have experienced just as much change, if not more, when it comes to leadership and the way that the program operates. Since taking the job in December 2021, Norvell has opened up

Matt Mumme is transforming the Ram offense

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Jay Norvell is taking a different approach with the CSU football program features five freshmen from California. “We have a very young offense,” Norvell said.

While the hope is that an influx of young talent combined with a medley of veteran transfers allows the Rams to be slightly more competitive than Nevada was in Norvell and Mumme’s first year in Reno — the Wolf Pack went just 3-9 in 2017 — the coaches know that there will

be highs and lows early on.

If the Rams stay on track, though, and are able to battle through the challenges that will inevitably come, by the time the winter rolls around CSU may just have a shot to be in the mix when it’s all said and done.

It would obviously take drastic improvement from last season and probably an upset or two. That said,

the 2021 MWC Champions, Utah State, had a first-year coach and a team full of transfers. In the modern era of college football, anything is possible.

“Our goal is always to be competitive, to win, and to put ourselves in position by November to compete for a championship and we’ll never change those goals,” Norvell said.

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

and Mumme factored into their decisions to follow them over from UNR. Millen even went so far as to say it was the biggest factor for him, that it was a decision to stay with his coaches and not necessarily him picking one school over another.

According to Mumme, those key relationships do get established through the work coaches put in on the field with the players, but to him, the beauty of coaching is that you get to develop relationships that extend beyond the gridiron. Mumme, whose father, Hal is credited with being the founder of the Air Raid, taught him that if you are not out there to be there for the kids then you are coaching for the wrong reasons.

“We love getting to know them and talking to them off the field just as much as we do on the field,” Mumme said. “It’s fun when a guy comes by and sits down in your office and says, hey, coach, these are my hobbies, or my girlfriend’s from here and here’s what she’s majoring in, or, you know, here’s what my mom and dad are doing.”

Although he had praise for everyone on his staff, Norvell referred to Mumme as an invaluable resource and said that his expertise in the Air Raid is a major advantage for CSU, especially as they try to develop a stable of freshmen quarterbacks and a wide receiver room that

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Q&A

with Jay

norvell

By Justin Michael

Talk about your offense and how that unit is coming along.

with what we want to do.

We’re not experimenting, we have a plan.

NORVELL: I think we had a good start.

You know, we have a very young offense and we have a lot of new players.

We brought over players from Nevada, we got an offensive guard from Tulsa, we got an offensive tackle from Florida International, we got two more (linemen) that played for Nevada.

And so, bringing all these players together and getting them to understand things the same way is really what we worked on all spring. We’ve been here since December, so we’re off to a great start. I think the thing about our offense is that we’re very specific

You mentioned the former Nevada players and other transfers, has the portal shifted the way coaches think going into Year 1? Is there more pressure to be competitive right away?

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NORVELL: Obviously, everybody wants to be competitive right away. What I think is that there’s really an unknown factor, and a lot of things contribute to it. But everybody’s team is going to change probably more drastically than it has in the past in the offseason.

And so, it could be positive or it could be negative. But I think the most important

thing is from the time the season ends in December, January, until the time you line up and play in September — boy you have to really develop your team and add pieces to it the best you can — and then be ready to put a competitive team on the field in September. I think the other part of that is that you’re going to see teams develop a lot during the season.

The more the kids play together, the teams that can continue to improve and get better in September, October, November, in those three months, are really going to be the teams that end up being the best teams at the end of the season. So, you know, it’s a process, it’s more of a process now than it’s ever been. You have an opportunity to change

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

But we’ve added close to 70 new players between last fall and the spring, including the new walk-ons that we have.

So, it’s a completely different team. It’s not going to resemble the Colorado State team that played last year at all. And we’re building on all those new additions.

Is that the goal for year one?

Incremental improvement?

Do you like where the team culture is? You mentioned after the spring game that you likely made more progress off of the field than you did on it.

NORVELL: No doubt. I think that’s probably been the biggest part of our foundation that we’ve had to set. You know, building our leadership and really setting the standards of what we expect. And we need to transfer that leadership from our coaching staff to our captains, our older players, and our better players. They need to really take the football team and make sure that they put pressure on each other to hit those standards. And we’re getting closer there.

I think that if we continue to have a great summer and build on what we did in the spring that you know, we’ll make considerable progress.

Photo Courtesy of Nevada Athletics

NORVELL: Yeah, I think our biggest goal is, number one, we want to establish a foundation that we can build on. And that comes from establishing a culture, you know, everybody understanding the expectations, getting in great shape. And then

it’s establishing a style of play that we can build on. I mean, our goal is always to be competitive, to win, and to put ourselves in position

by November to compete for a championship. And we’ll never change those goals.

I think our players need to have that expectation — to be able to reach those goals you’ve got to be able to fight through the peaks and valleys of the season, and the adversity that you face.

But I like our team, I like our players, I like how they›ve responded so far.

your team in much different ways than you did in the past. And we really don’t understand, or I guess we don’t have a big enough sample size, to know how the portal is going to affect college football.

But last year it showed that teams can drastically change their roster by adding a handful of players. And so, we’ve added quite a few. I don’t know the exact number.

Tory Horton is one of the Nevada transfers expected to make an impact for CSU. Green & Gold Report

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Do you like the state of college football right now? What changes would you like to see?

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

NORVELL: I would like to see more parity. One of the things that we’re seeing right now with NIL is really a distancing of the upper echelon programs away from those that don’t have the resources.

And I think that’s bad for the fans. I think that’s bad for college football. One of the greatest things that we have in college football is the regular season, and how important the regular season is, and how upsets can happen every week. I think it’s part of the appeal of college football.

We don’t want to go to a system where the schools that have the most money, the most resources, only get the best players and other teams can’t compete with that. It’s trending in that direction

right now. I don’t think fans want to see a team play that has the best NIL collective, and that can raise the most money and purchase the best players. I don’t think that that’s good for college football.

We’ve always had some sense of parity. There were 85 scholarships for all Division One teams. Right now, that’s getting skewed because of the NIL money. And right now, as a mid-major school like CSU, we’re not able to recruit the same kids that we even were six months ago because of NIL. You know, average power five players that we recruited six months ago, we’re not able to touch right now. And that’s not good for college football. There’s going to have to be some major changes to some of the new rules that have just been implemented, or we’re going to start to see some really drastic changes to a game that has been so popular for over 100 years.

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2022 DATE OPPONENT LOCATION SCORE Sep 3 (Sat)

Michigan

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Sep 10 (Sat)

Middle Tennessee

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Sep 17 (Sat)

Washington State

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Sep 24 (Sat)

Sacramento State

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Oct 7 (Fri)

Nevada

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Oct 15 (Sat)

Utah State

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Oct 22 (Sat)

Hawaii

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Oct 29 (Sat)

Boise State

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Nov 5 (Sat)

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Football Schedule Preview

By Justin Michael Michigan (Away) September 3

Colorado State does not have the benefit of opening against a pushover. Instead the Rams will kick off the 2022 campaign against the Michigan Wolverines in front of more than 100,000 people at the Big House.

Only the second time these teams will have ever played — the first was the 1994 Holiday Bowl, a 24-14 victory for the Wolverines — the 2022 opener obviously provides unique challenges.

For one thing, there are very few atmospheres in the FBS that compare to Michigan Stadium, it’s the biggest football cathedral in the country, and that includes the NFL. And just when you wrap your head around the intimidating environment, the reality of facing a team that participated in the 2022 CFB Playoff sets in.

As daunting as facing off with Jim Harbaugh’s squad is, particularly as a firstyear program, the matchup is equally as exciting for a young Rams team that has been completely revamped on both sides of the ball.

CSU will have to deal with an experienced Michigan defensive line that even after losing a couple of top NFL Draft picks is still littered with upperclassmen and formerly highly touted recruits. Not to mention the Wolverines signed a top 10 recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports (No. 9).

Of course, the silver lining of the situation is that after facing a team as talented as the Wolverines on their own turf, the rest of the slate doesn’t look quite as scary.

We’ll see if the 2022 Rams can benefit from competing with a powerhouse football team

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like past CSU teams have after showing well against No. 1 Alabama in both 2013 and 2017.

Middle Tennessee State (Home) | September 10

While Middle Tennessee does not move the needle, with a trip to Big 10 country already under their belts and a game at Washington State still looming, the home games in the nonconference slate provide important chances to secure crucial wins early. The thing is, MTSU is not exactly a cupcake.

In 2021 the Blue Raiders started slow, losing four of six in the first half of the season.

But after stumbling out of the gate, MTSU responded by winning five of the final seven, including the Bahamas Bowl versus Toledo.

It will be interesting to see who is under center for MTSU this fall. Chase Cunningham is back for his senior season after missing half of his junior year with a knee injury. However, it would not be surprising if it’s the sophomore Nicholas Vattatio running the show, especially after successfully taking the reins as a true freshman.

On defense MTSU should benefit from an experienced defensive line that returns all of its key pieces. One guy the Rams will really have to pay attention to is redshirt freshman defensive end Jordan Ferguson who racked up 16.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three forced fumbles in a breakout 2021 season.

Washington State (Away) September 17

When CSU played Washington State in the 2013 New Mexico Bowl, it produced one of the most memorable matchups of all-time. While it seems unlikely that the 2022 game will be as dramatic, it

does present the opportunity for the Rams to steal a pac-12 win, which is always big for a school from the group of five.

The Cougars are coming off of a wacky season in which their head coach Nick Rolovich, along with a substantial portion of the staff were dismissed for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. After riding out the storm and surviving the media circus caused by their former coaches, though, Washington State managed to salvage a 7-6 season under Jake Dickert.

No longer the interim head coach, Dickert will look to build off of the success his team found in conference play, but he will have to do so with a new gunslinger running the offense after last year’s starting quarterback Jayden De Laura transferred to the University of Arizona in the offseason. Washington State’s most productive skill player from the last couple of seasons, running back Max Borghi, is no longer there to lean on. Neither is wide receiver Travell Harris.

Much like CSU, Washington State is currently a program in transition. They are a team trying to establish a new identity after a coaching hire that went wrong in just about every way imaginable. And many of the faces on the field this fall are going to be new.

Sacramento State (Home) September 24

For the second year in a row CSU will face a talented team out of the FCS and that’s always unnerving because unlike the Michigan matchup, all of the pressure will be on the Rams in this one.

While the Green & Gold should be expected to beat a team from a lower

subdivision, coming off of a 9-3 season, Sacramento State is not a team that can be taken lightly.

The Hornets went 5-1 on the road in 2021, with their only loss coming at the hands of Cal in a competitive game (42-30). They even went into Washington-Grizzly Stadium and beat Montana on their own turf — which is about as impressive of a road win as you can have at the FCS level.

Now, it’s a new year, so there is no guarantee that the Hornets will be the same dangerous group.

Considering many of the team’s leading offensive contributors return, such as tight end Marshel Martin, one would assume that a team that averaged 30 points per game on 467 yards of total offense last year should still be competent in 2022.

Nevada (Away) October 7

The schedule makers for the Mountain West knew what they were doing when they pitted Nevada against CSU in the conference opener.

In what will undoubtedly be a hostile environment, Jay Norvell makes his return to Reno, Nevada with a Rams team stacked full of former UNR players.

When these teams played in 2021 wide receiver Tory Horton put on a show with four catches for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Running back Avery Morrow had a career-high 88 rushing yards and a touchdown for UNR too.

Both are now playing for the other side, though.

This sort of situation would have seemed impossible a decade ago but in the player movement era, all it takes is one domino falling to set off a chain

Utah State (Home) October 15

Nobody expected the Aggies to win the MWC under Blake Anderson in his first year as head coach but Utah State’s high-powered offense was able to propel them to the top in a weird year for the league.

What’s going to be interesting to see is whether or not USU can replicate that offensive success now that wide receiver Devin Thompkins and their two other leading receivers from 2021 are all out of the picture.

A big part of what made USU so dangerous last year was their deep passing game, so there are big shoes to fill for redshirt freshman wide out NyNy Davis and senior receiver Justin McGriff.

The Aggies do bring back QB Logan Bonner and running back Calvin Tyler Jr. The wild card of the situation, though, is likely Levi Williams, who transferred over from Wyoming. The former Cowboys QB is 1-1 in two starts against CSU in his career but really played pretty well in both contests. Considering Anderson pulled Bonner for Andrew Peasley on multiple occasions last year, who on a side note is now playing at Wyoming, it would not be shocking if the Rams end up seeing Williams in this game.

Hawaii (Home) October 22

Timmy Chang expected to be coaching in Fort Collins this fall. The former Nevada wide receivers coach initially followed Norvell over to CSU and even helped the Rams sign part of their 2022 recruiting class.

However, once Todd Graham was fired for losing control of the Hawaii football program, the opportunity for Chang to return home and be the head coach of the Warriors presented itself.

And in a unique situation, Chang ended up leaving CSU, with essentially the entire country rooting for him to succeed, including Ram fans.

While the Ram faithful in large do hope Chang is able to bring some stability back to his alma mater, on this day of course, they will be rooting for him to come up short. What they definitely don’t want is a repeat of 2021 or 2018, when CSU allowed Hawaii to go off for 45 points and 43 points, respectively, in a pair of wins for the Warriors.

Boise State (Away) October 29

CSU has faced Boise State eleven times in the MWC and so far the Rams remain winless. In order for that to change in 2022, CSU is going to have to limit a Boise State offense that returns quarterback Hank Bachmeier, running back George Holani and wide receiver Stefan Cobbs.

The Broncos looked much more mortal in 2021 than they previously have over the last decade or so, but they are still a program that recruits well.

According to the rankings by 247Sports, even after a lackluster 7-5 year, Boise State signed the top ranked recruiting class in the MWC for the 2022 cycle.

The big question at this point is how can head coach Andy Avalos take advantage of that talent in his second

Football Schedule Preview

reaction. In this instance it was Norvell being poached

by CSU and taking his offensive staff with him.

Leading UNR now is longtime Wolf Pack defensive assistant Ken Wilson. Wilson coached in Reno from 19891998 and again from 20042012. Although he never overlapped with Jay Norvell, he did spend six years at Washington State under Mike Leach, so he should actually have a strong idea of how to defend the Air Raid. This game is not about the Xs and Os, though, at least not going in. It’s about all of the juicy storylines.

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Football Schedule Preview

season running the show?

Boise fans were relatively patient in year one but obviously the expectations are high after a quarter of a century’s worth of winning.

With a veteran QB and a favorable schedule, this feels like a championship or busttype year for the Broncos.

San Jose State (Away) November 5

San Jose State came back down to earth last season after a bit of a shocking run to the 2020 Mountain West Championship Game.

Including a 32-14 loss to the Rams at Canvas Stadium and a narrow 27-24 loss to Norvell’s Wolf Pack, the Spartans finished the 2021 campaign with a 5-7 record.

With a revamped offense that includes former Hawaii QB Chevan Cordeiro and one-time Nevada receivers Elijah Cooks and Justin Lockheart, the Spartans could be in position to contend once again, though, especially with who SJSU brings back on defense.

Cade Hall (DL) and linebacker Kyle Harmon (LB) have been two of the more productive defensive players in the MWC for the last three seasons. Both are returning for one last run at

the postseason.

On paper the Spartans at least appear to be a team that should at least qualify for a bowl bid, so it would be surprising to see the Rams beat them by double digits for the fourth straight time.

That said, it is likely going to be the most winnable road game on the slate, so a loss would be significant.

Wyoming (Home) November 12

Wyoming was decimated by transfers last winter, which caused head coach Craig Bohl to publicly admit he needs to establish better relationships with his players.

With so much roster turnover, 20 transfers to be exact, the Cowboys are not going to be a team that anyone picks to win the league in the preseason.

That said, while they may not be a popular pick this year, you’d still have to think this is a pivotal season for Craig Bohl’s standing with the Cowboy fans.

Wyoming is just 45-50 since Bohl came to town in 2014 and while they do have an appearance in the title game, the Pokes have yet to win the conference under him.

Bohl has already lost to a first-year CSU coach twice

in his tenure, Mike Bobo (2015) and Steve Addazio (2020). Depending on how Wyoming’s season has gone up to this point, a Border War loss in 2022 could really raise the temperature of his seat.

Conversely, bringing the Bronze Boot back home to Fort Collins is always going to be a priority for Ram Nation, and beating Wyoming would certainly go a long way with the CSU fans for Jay Norvell.

Where the Falcons could potentially see a falloff is on defense. In 2021 Air Force had the 16th best scoring defense in the country at 19.8 points allowed per game. But after losing multiple starters to the NFL, including defensive lineman Jordan Jackson, we shall see if Calhoun’s group can replicate that same success again.

Air Force (Away) November 19

CSU has not lost to its longtime conference foe since 2009 and while no disrespect is intended towards the Lobos, that streak should not be expected to end anytime soon.

Out of 130 FBS teams, UNM was dead last in points per game (12.2) last season. Five different times they were held to 7 or less points in defeat and that included a 36-7 thumping from the Rams.

Odds are one of these years the Lobos are finally going to get even with the Rams after coming up short eleven-straight times. But after getting outscored 106-117 over the final three weeks of 2021, it’s tough to feel much confidence about the program’s direction, and that is a shame because UNM appeared to be making positive strides in 2020.

On a year-to-year basis there are few teams that are tougher to project than Air Force due to the uniqueness of their program. Practices are completely closed and very little information gets out of Troy Calhoun’s camp, which is just how he likes it. The one thing you can guarantee with the Falcons, though, is that their tripleoption offense is bound to be a headache to deal with.

Air Force closed out 2021 with a four-game winning streak, including victories over CSU and a Jay Norvellled Nevada team on their way to a 10-3 finish. Two of the team’s biggest contributors on offense, QB Haaziq Daniels and fullback Brad Roberts, are both back this fall.

New Mexico (Home) November 25

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2022 COLORADO STATE

FOOTBALL ROSTER #

Name

Position

Ht. Wt. Yr.

Hometown/ High school

0 Melquan Stovall Wide Receiver 5-8 190 Sr. Lancaster, Calif. / Junipero Serra 1 A’Jon Vivens Running Back 5-11 200 R-Sr. Denver, Colo. / Mullen 2 Justice McCoy Wide Receiver 6-1 200 5th New Orleans, La. / Saint Augustine 2 CJ Onyechi Defensive Line 6-1 245 5th West Orange, N.J. / Rutgers 3 E.J. Scott Wide Receiver 6-1 190 Gr. Atlanta, Ga / McEachern 4 Angel King Defensive Back 6-0 190 Jr. Los Angeles, Calif. / Locke Academy 5 David Bailey Running Back 6-0 235 5th Ridgely, Md. / Boston College 5 Dequan Jackson Linebacker 6-1 225 5th Jacksonville, Fla. / Robert E. Lee 6 Ty McCullouch Wide Receiver 6-0 175 Sr. Moreno Valley, Calif. / Rancho Verde 7 Chigozie Anusiem Defensive Back 6-1 200 R-Sr. La Habra, Calif. / Sonora California 8 Tywan Francis Defensive Back 5-11 200 5th New Orleans, La. / Landry-Walker 10 Logan Flinta Wide Receiver 5-11 170 Fr. Aledo, Texas / Aledo 11 Henry Blackburn Defensive Back 6-0 205 Jr. Boulder, Colo. / Fairview 11 Clay Millen Quarterback 6-3 200 R-Fr. Snoqualmie, Wash. / Mount Si, Nevada 12 Cam’Ron Carter Linebacker 6-1 225 5th Tucker, Ga. / Tucker 12 Giles Pooler Quarterback 6-5 220 R-Fr. Louisville, Ky. / St. Xavier 13 Bam Amina Linebacker 6-0 215 Jr. Waianae, Hawaii / Mililani 14 Brandon Guzman Defensive Back 5-11 180 R-So. Pasadena, Calif. / Covina 14 Tory Horton Wide Receiver 6-2 180 Jr. Fresno, Calif. / Washington Union, NV 15 Brandon Hickerson-Rooks Linebacker 6-0 220 5th Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East Lackawanna CC 15 Jackson Stratton Quarterback 6-5 190 Fr. La Jolla, Calif. / La Jolla 16 Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi Quarterback 6-1 185 Fr. Aledo, Texas / Aledo 17 Jack Howell Defensive Back 5-10 200 So. Chandler, Ariz. / Hamilton 18 Thomas Pannunzio Wide Receiver 5-8 170 5th Pueblo, Colo. / Pueblo South 19 D’Andre Greeley Defensive Back 5-10 185 So. Monroe, La. /City College of San Francisco 20 Langston Williams Defensive Back 5-9 155 R-Fr. Aurora, Colo. / Eaglecrest 22 Dante Wright Wide Receiver 5-8 175 Sr. Navarre, Fla. / Navarre 24 Duante Davis Defensive Back 5-8 180 R-Fr. Windsor, Colo. / Poudre 25 Robert Floyd Defensive Back 5-8 170 So. Pompano Beach, Fla. / Deerfield Beach 25 Avery Morrow Running Back 5-11 215 Jr. Seattle, Wash. / Garfield Nevada 27 Jaylen Thomas Running Back 5-10 220 R-Jr. Colorado Spring, Colo. / Vista Ridge 28 Vann Schield Defensive Back 5-11 195 Fr. Castle Pines, Colo. / Rock Canyon CSU-Pueblo 29 Alex Berrouet Running Back 5-11 205 R-Fr. Acton, Mass. / Acton-Boxborough 30 Chase Wilson Linebacker 6-1 225 R-So. Arvada Colo. / Ralston Valley 31 Matt Greenwald Wide Receiver 6-0 195 R-So. Boulder, Colo. / Fairview 32 Liam Huber Defensive Back 5-9 180 R-Fr. Erie, Colo. / Fairview 34 Titus Jones Defensive Back 6-0 200 R-Jr. Kingston, Ga. / Woodland Alabama A&M 35 Aaron Moore Linebacker 6-0 225 R-So. Oakland, Tenn. / Oakland 37 Riley Kinney Wide Receiver 6-4 195 R-Jr. Loveland, Colo. / Loveland N. Colorado/NE 38 Mason Veve Running Back 5-8 190 R-Fr. Erie, Colo. / Erie 39 Sanjay Strickland Linebacker 6-1 230 R-So. Arvada, Colo. / Pomona 40 Dawson Menegatti Wide Receiver 6-2 180 R-So. Pueblo West, Colo. / Pueblo West 41 Tanner Arkin Tight End 6-5 250 R-Fr. Fort Collins, Colo. / Fossil Ridge

#

Name

Position

Ht. Wt. Yr.

Hometown/ High school

41 42 42 43 43 45 46 46 47 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 57 58 61 62 63 67 68 71 72 73 74 75 79 80 81 84 86 87 90 91 92 93 94 95 95 97 98 99

Paddy Turner Mohamed Kamara Peter Montini Troy Golden Jaseim Mitchell Malakai Grant Devon Edwards Cody Pettitt David Aggrey Drew Kulick Owen Snively Justin Michael Dontae Keys Nuer Gatkuoth Tavian Brown Ches Jackson Trevyn Heil George Miki-Han Sammy Norris Moritz Oberhofer Joey Treccia Gray Davis Cam Bariteau Brian Crespo-Jaquez Dirk Nelson Gage Gaynor Dante Bivens Jacob Gardner Tex Elliott Damir Abdullah Dane Olson Gary Williams Gerick Robinson Drake Martinez Grady Kelly James Mitchell Mukendi Wa-Kalonji Teivis Tuioti Devin Phillips Cayden Camper Tyler Quinn Clay Nanke Michael Boyle Brycen Heil

Punter Linebacker Tight End Defensive Line Linebacker Linebacker Linebacker Long Snapper Running Back Linebacker Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Defensive Line Linebacker Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Defensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Offensive Line Wide Receiver Wide Receiver Tight End Wide Receiver Tight End Defensive Line Defensive Line Defensive Line Defensive Line Defensive Line Kicker Defensive Line Defensive Line Kicker Defensive Line

6-5 6-1 6-0 6-1 6-1 5-10 6-1 6-0 5-9 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-0 6-4 6-2 6-0 5-9 6-4 6-1 6-4 6-1 6-5 6-1 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-3 6-3 5-10 6-2 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-1 6-4 6-3 6-1 6-3 6-1 6-6 6-1 5-10

Ararat, VIC, Australia / Marian, Nevada Newark, N.J. / Central Plesanton, Calif. / Foothills Nevada Orlando, Fla. / Olympia Colorado Springs, Colo. / Harrison Palm Coast, Fla. / Flagler Palm Coast Mead, Colo. / Mead Fort Collins, Colo. / Fossil Ridge Bronx, N.Y. / Rangeview Aurora, Colo. / Regis Jesuit Fremont, N.H. / Tilton Fort Collins, Colo. / Poudre Fayetteville, N.C. / Jack BrittFIU Edmonton, AB / Austin O’Brien Demopolis, Ala. / Demopolis Tifton, Ga. / Tift County Aurora, Colo. / Grandview Irvine, Calif. / Mater Dei Las Vegas, Nev. / Centennial Altdorf, Bavaria, Germany / Nurnberg Parker, Colo. / Ponderosa Dallas, Texas / Parish Episcopal, NV Wareham, Mass. / Peddie School Fort Collins, Colo. / Poudre Visalia, Calif. / Central Valley Christian Parkland, Fla. / Stoneman Douglas Houston, Texas / Klein Collins Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. / Los Osos Indianapolis, Ind. / Cathedral West Covina, Calif. / Charter Oak San Diego, Calif. / San Marcos Charlotte, N.C. / Vance Las Vegas, Nev. / Centennial Cypress, Texas / St. Thomas Navarre, Fla. / Navarre Duncanville, Texas / Duncanville Aurora, Colo. / Grandview Laie, Hawaii / Southeast (NE) Monroe, La. / Neville Pueblo, Colo. / Pueblo County DeSoto, Texas / Duncanville Denver, Colo. / Regis Jesuit Washougal, Was. / Camas Aurora, Colo. / Grandview

200 240 225 230 205 195 230 220 205 215 305 270 325 310 225 290 290 305 280 290 285 285 295 320 305 285 320 300 305 205 185 235 175 215 270 300 235 270 305 215 275 210 180 280

R-Fr. Sr. Jr. R-Sr. R-Fr. R-Fr. R-So. R-Fr. R-Sr. R-Fr. R-So. R-Fr. 5th Fr. R-Jr. R-Sr. R-Fr. R-Fr. R-Fr. Fr. Fr. 5th Jr. R-So. R-So. R-So. 5th Jr. R-So. R-Fr. R-Jr. R-Sr. R-Fr. R-Fr. R-Fr. Jr. R-Fr. R-So. 5th Sr. R-Fr. R-Fr. Sr. R-So.

2022 Coaching Staff Jay Norvell Matt Mumme Freddie Banks Bill Best James Finley Jeremy Moses Marcus Patton Tommy Perry Adam Pilapil Chad Savage Buddha Williams Tim Cassidy

Head Coach Associate Head Coach — Quarterbacks Defensive Coordinator — Defensive Backs Assistant Coach — Offensive Line Assistant Coach — Tight Ends Assistant Coach — Running Backs Assistant Coach — Cornerbacks Assistant Coach — Special Teams Coordinator Assistant Coach — Linebackers Assistant Coach — Wide Receivers/Recruiting Assistant Coach — Defensive Line Senior Associate A.D./Football Chief of Staff

Jordon Simmons Conditioning Coach Kaden Beavers Colton Bosnos Rafal Ciepiela Jeremy Copeland Kelli Fogt Lucas Gauthier Tyler Gilliam Dan Hislop Adam Hodge Chase Holbrook

Assistant Head Coach - Head Strength and Graduate Assistant — Defense Director of Football Operations Athletic Trainer (FB) Director of Player Development Director of On-Campus Recruiting Director of Player Personnel Analyst — Special Teams Associate Director of Strength and Speed Director of Video Operations Analyst — Offense

Greg Jensen Lee Land Matt Lesser Hope Nepstad Nash O’Fallon Melissa Sampson Ricky Santo Danny Shultz Mario Stevenson Bryson Travasos Jake Vang Craig Watts, Jr.

Head Football Athletic Trainer Associate Football Athletic Trainer Assistant A.D. for Equipment and Operations Assistant Director of Strength and Speed Assistant Director of Player Personnel Athletic Trainer (FB, WTN) Director of RAM Life Programs Graduate Assistant — Offense Assistant Director of Strength and Speed Graduate Assistant — Defense Analyst — Defense Graduate Assistant — Offense

Green & Gold Report

| 21

Position Breakdown:

QUARTERBACKS Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

By Justin Michael

Clay Millen

T

he Rams have a new gunslinger running the show and his name is Clay Millen.

One of 11 transfers that followed Jay Norvell from Nevada to CSU, the former 4-star recruit has been highly anticipated ever since his days of tearing up the Washington prep scene for Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie.

Initially in line to succeed Carson Strong, Millen technically saw his first FBS action in garbage time during last year’s season finale, a

52-10 beatdown of the Rams

by Strong’s Wolf Pack on Nov. 27, 2021. Funny enough, less than one month later, Millen was in Canvas Stadium once again — this time as a new member of the Green & Gold.

When asked about the decision to follow Norvell, Matt Mumme and Co. to CSU this past spring, Millen was honest about the situation.

He explained that the reason he committed to Nevada over multiple power five offers in the first place was almost exclusively because of the

QUARTERBACK ROSTER

YEAR Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi Freshman Clay Millen RS Freshman Giles Pooler RS Freshman Jackson Stratton Freshman

22 | Green & Gold Report

HEIGHT WEIGHT

6’1 6’3 6’5 6’5

185 lbs 200 lbs 220 lbs 190 lbs

coaching staff.

“I wanted to play in that system. That’s why I chose Nevada,” Millen said. “So as soon as they came here, the decision was easy. It was the same choice as high school.”

While operating with the ones throughout the 15 practices during spring ball, Millen’s arm strength, as well as his accuracy with the deep ball were consistently on display. And in the spring game Millen threw for just shy of 300 yards and four touchdowns in what was a little taste of what Ram fans hope to see on a weekly basis this fall.

“The thing I’ve loved about Clay so far through the spring is he’s been very consistent,” Mumme said of Millen in March.

Mumme continued,

explaining that while there is still a long way to go when it comes to Millen’s overall development, what’s encouraging is that he was likely further along at this stage of his career than Strong was at UNR. The arm talent is there, and so is the understanding of the system.

What’s going to be key for Millen, according to Mumme, is just learning to let the game slow and working through his progressions.

Outside of Millen, there are three other young quarterbacks on the roster, only one of which was on the team in 2021. Giles Pooler, a redshirt freshman from Fort Collins, decided to stick around after joining the team as a walk-on under Steve Addazio. And to Pooler’s credit, the local product has done enough to be in the mix for the backup role this fall.

“I was really pleased with Giles Pooler,” Norvell said after the spring game. “He has had an amazing spring.”

Finally, rounding out CSU’s quarterback room are the true freshmen, Jackson Stratton and Brayden FowlerNicolosi, both of which were verbally committed to Norvell at Nevada and then flipped to CSU. Neither is expected to play much early on — Millen and Pooler, respectively, were first and second on the depth chart all spring. In a limited sample size so far, though, both Stratton and Fowler-Nicolosi have flashed legitimate arm talent.

Position Breakdown:

RUNNING BACKS

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

By Justin Michael

A’Jon Vivens

W

hen you think of the Air Raid offense, running back is not exactly the first position that comes to mind. It’s all about big-armed quarterbacks stretching the field vertically and play-making wide receivers bringing in highlight grabs on the outside.

While running backs may not necessarily be the headliner in a system that aims to produce north of 50 pass attempts in every game,

they will deceptively play an important role in CSU’s offense this fall.

Whether it’s a swing route here or there, taking in a screen pass, running a Texas route, etc, all of the backs are going to have to be reliable options as receivers out of the backfield. Nevada’s starting running back in 2021, Toa Taua, averaged three catches per game. The other backs on the team combined for 31 more receptions last

RUNNING BACK ROSTER YEAR David Aggrey RS Senior David Bailey Fifth Year Alex Berrouet RS Freshman Avery Morrow Junior Jaylen Thomas RS Junior Mason Veve RS Freshman A’Jon Vivens RS Senior

HEIGHT WEIGHT

5’9 6’0 5’11 5’11 5’10 5’8 5’11

205 lbs 235 lbs 200 lbs 215 lbs 200 lbs 190 lbs 200 lbs

fall. So, it’s definitely part of the game plan.

Outside of providing yet another receiving option and occasionally carrying the ball between the tackles, arguably the most important role for a running back in the Air Raid is serving as the last line of defense for the QB. They have to be stellar in pass protection, and that’s why A’Jon Vivens seems perfectly suited to function as the team’s top running back in 2022. He’s a natural pass catcher and route runner due to his wide receiver background, which is obviously important, but Vivens is also the team’s best pass-blocking running back.

After being used primarily as an alternate back to change up the pace in previous seasons, Vivens has an opportunity to really

make a name for himself in this new system. As does Avery Morrow, who rushed for a career-high 88 yards on 17.5 yards per carry against the Rams in 2021.

Much like Vivens, Morrow has always been second or third on the depth chart in his career in previous seasons, but now in this year in the system, one would assume that he is going to play a much larger role.

If his performance against CSU last season was any indication of what’s to come, Ram fans will be ecstatic.

But at the very least, Morrow should be a guy that along with Vivens, Norvell will be able to lean on at any point of the game.

Perhaps the biggest wild card for CSU this season is David Bailey. The former Boston College starter led the Rams in carries (197), rushing yards (757) and total touchdowns (9) in 2021. As the injuries and touches added up for him, though, he was increasingly ineffective.

Bailey was fairly productive as a pass catcher in the Red Zone in 2021, particularly in the first couple games of the season.

Considering his experience and his size, there is a chance that he could be an impactful Red Zone option for CSU in 2022 too.

However, outside of getting promoted due to injuries, it seems unlikely that Bailey will serve as the lead back under Jay Norvell.

Green & Gold Report

| 23

Position Breakdown:

RECEIVERS

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

By Justin Michael

Dante Wright

J

ay Norvell was honest when addressing the state of the wide receiver position when he was introduced as CSU’s head coach last December. With only five scholarship receivers on the roster at the time, the Rams didn’t have enough bodies to practice the way that the staff would like to.

So, he knew that adding talent to the wide receiver room was going to be a massive priority early on.

Tory Horton and Melquan Stovall were the first additions to the team, following their head coach over from Nevada. Both are extremely talented playmakers and will be a big part of the offense in 2022.

Stovall, like Dante Wright, is smaller but extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands. He is not afraid to go up for a contested catch either — something he showed off on multiple occasions in the spring.

24 | Green & Gold Report

Horton, though, might just be the next Rashard Higgins.

A really fluid athlete, with elite hands and smooth hips, Horton runs crisp routes and just always seems to be open. 50-50 balls are no longer 50-50 when Horton is in the equation. And what’s been great is despite both of these Nevada transfers showing how skilled they are, they’ve also been great teammates since the first day they arrived on campus.

Before the team even began spring ball, Stovall, Horton and Clay Millen took it upon themselves to start introducing their new teammates to the system and what was going to be expected of them by the coaches.

Some of the players they helped get familiar with the Air Raid include Wright and Ty McCullouch, both of whom decided to return for their senior seasons and were able to make strong

impressions with the new staff immediately. After being misused during the past couple of seasons, it would not be surprising at all to see these two get a chance to shine in 2022.

Outside of the aforementioned, there are not many other veterans expected to make significant contributions at receiver, though E.J. Scott, Justice McCoy and Thomas

RECEIVER ROSTER

Pannunzio are all back for one last ride. Pannunzio, also known as “Tadpool”, will likely be an impactful special teams player, both as a gunner and a returner. But other than Stovall, Horton, Wright and McCullouch, the other receivers in the mix are probably going to be firstyear players.

CSU has seven true freshmen, five of which came from California, that all could earn playing time this season. Mekhi Fox, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound four-star recruit was originally committed to UCLA before flipping to CSU last December.

The former Pasadena High School star is someone to pay attention to, as are the former Inglewood High School stars, Louis Brown and Justus Ross-Simmons.

The local product from Cherry Creek High School, Ky Oday Jr., received high praise from Norvell last winter as well.

YEAR Louis Brown Freshman Logan Flinta Freshman Mekhi Fox Freshman Matt Greenwald RS Sophomore Rex Haynes Freshman Tory Horton Junior Justice McCoy Fifth Year Ty McCullouch Senior Ky Oday Jr. Freshman Thomas Pannunzio Fifth Year Gerrick Robinson RS Freshman Justus Ross-Simmons Freshman E.J. Scott Graduate Student Melquan Stovall Senior Dante Wright Senior

HEIGHT 6’2 5’11 6’1 6’0 6’4 6’2 6’1 6’1 5’11 5’8 5’7 6’2 6’1 5’8 5’8

WEIGHT 180 lbs 170 lbs 190 lbs 195 lbs 195 lbs 180 lbs 200 lbs 175 lbs 170 lbs 170 lbs 175 lbs 210 lbs 190 lbs 190 lbs 175 lbs

Position Breakdown:

TIGHT ENDS

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

By Justin Michael

Gary Williams

R

eplacing the best tight end in America is a tough task. The reality is there are just not very many football players as talented as Trey McBride, and however many there are, there are even fewer that also have the killer mindset No. 85 played with.

Fortunately, what’s encouraging from CSU’s perspective is that Jay Norvell does not need any

one individual to shoulder as much production as McBride did for the Rams in 2021.

For starters, the offense is inherently less reliant on the tight end. Well, really, all offenses are less reliant on the tight end position than CSU’s was last year.

Perhaps more important than anything else, though, CSU now has more talent on the outside and a quarterback who can actually get the ball

TIGHT END ROSTER

YEAR Damir Abdullah RS Freshman Tanner Arkin RS Freshman Drake Martinez RS Freshman Peter Montini Junior Gary Williams RS Senior Jordan Williams Freshman

HEIGHT 6’3 6’5 6’2 6’0 6’2 6’5

WEIGHT 205 lbs 250 lbs 215 lbs 225 lbs 235 lbs 200 lbs

to them downfield.

While the Rams won’t have a tight end record another 1,000-yard season in 2022, the group will be important for the Rams’ success this year, particularly in the Red Zone. Norvell has talked a lot about preferring his receivers to be big, stout guys, but that’s even more important with the tight ends, who can basically box out like a basketball player and go up to catch the football.

Before being selected by the Washington Commanders in the 2022 NFL Draft, 6-foot-7, 240-pound tight end Cole Turner caught 19 touchdowns for Nevada over the past two seasons.

After starring in spring

ball and working his way into a starting role throughout March and April, redshirt freshman tight end Tanner Arkin is one player that could potentially fill that Turner-type role with CSU this season.

The Fort Collins native received a lot of praise from the old staff and quickly caught the attention of the current coaches as well.

With his 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame, Arkin has the size to be a mismatch in plus territory for the offense.

And he showed in the spring that he has the hands to be trusted in the role as well.

Another guy that will likely see the field at tight end this season is Gary Williams, who broke out with five touchdown receptions last fall. Williams is talented enough to be an effective receiving weapon for the Rams but will have to prove that he is reliable enough to count on in the game plan.

After being converted from wide receiver and flashing in the spring, Damir Abdullah, a redshirt freshman from West Covina, Calif., should be in the mix too. As should Jordan Williams, a 6-foot-5 freshman from St. Paul High School (California). At an all-star exhibition for some of the top high school talent in California in the spring, Williams and fellow CSU signee Mekhi Fox (WR) were named the respective MVPs of the event.

Green & Gold Report

| 25

Position Breakdown:

OFFENSIVE LINE

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

By Justin Michael

Brian Crespo-Jaquez

W

hen Steve Addazio was hired back in 2019, the plan was to turn CSU into a run-first, physically dominant football team. The type of team that runs it down an opponent’s throat, tells them that it’s coming again, and then runs

it down their throat once more. The problem is while they were a team that consistently ran the football, they never exactly were physically dominant in the trenches.

After Addazio was fired, many of the offensive linemen that he brought over,

OFFENSIVE LINE ROSTER

YEAR Dante Bivens Fifth Year Cameron Cooper Graduate Student Brian Crespo-Jacquez RS Sophomore Gray Davis Fifth Year Tex Elliot RS Sophomore Jacob Gardner Junior Gage Gaynor RS Sophomore Trevyn Heil RS Freshman Ches Jackson RS Senior Aaron Karas Freshman Dontae Keys Fifth Year Justin Michael RS Freshman George Miki-Han RS Freshman Dirk Nelson RS Sophomore Sammy Norris RS Freshman Moritz Obenhaufer Freshman Aubrey Scot Freshman Owen Snively RS Sophomore Joey Treccia Freshman

26 | Green & Gold Report

HEIGHT 6’4 6’5 6’5 6’4 6’3 6’4 6’3 6’2 6’4 6’6 6’4 6’4 6’0 6’1 5’9 6’4 6’5 6’4 6’1

WEIGHT 320 lbs 280 lbs 320 lbs 285 lbs 305 lbs 300 lbs 285 lbs 290 lbs 290 lbs 310 lbs 325 lbs 270 lbs 305 lbs 305 lbs 280 lbs 290 lbs 240 lbs 305 lbs 185 lbs

like last year’s starting center Cam Reddy and offensive guard Vincent Picozzi, transferred elsewhere. Barry Wesley, a four-year starter at tackle, decided to forego his final year of eligibility in pursuit of an NFL career.

So, when Jay Norvell was hired last winter, one of his first recruiting priorities had to be reconstructing the offensive line and he did exactly that. CSU signed five transfer offensive linemen during the early period last December and then later brought in UTEP transfer Cameron Cooper after spring ball.

No matter who it officially ends up being in the starting five, the Rams are going to have all new individuals in the trenches this fall and there’s a good chance that at least four of them played for other schools a year ago.

Throughout the 15 spring practices we consistently saw redshirt sophomore and Fort

Collins native Brian CrespoJacquez operating at left tackle with the ones. The rest of the ones were transfers, though.

Dante Bivens, who came over from Tulsa, was consistently at left guard.

At center it was Nevada transfer Jacob Bivens, and next to him at right guard, another Nevada transfer in Gray Davis. Finally, Dontae Keys, formerly of FIU, was the starting right tackle throughout spring.

There is a chance that an inexperienced veteran like Cooper, or maybe Ches Jackson, earns their way onto the field in fall camp.

One of the young guys like Trevyn Heil, Aaron Karas or Aubrey Scott could work their way into the mix too.

Whoever the starters end up being — in order for the Rams to accomplish what they’d like to offensively, which is stretch the field vertically, beat opponents down the sideline, just generally stay aggressive with the passing attack — there is going to be a lot of pressure on the offensive line to give the QB enough time to progress through his reads.

The Rams have a QB room full of freshmen and a ton of new skill players, so the offense is going to take time to establish consistent chemistry. If the line can be consistent enough to give those other guys a chance to grow, the Rams have enough talent to compete, but it all starts up front.

Position Breakdown:

Defensive Line Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

By Justin Michael

CJ Onyechi

O

ne of the position groups that really impressed Jay Norvell in the spring was the defensive line. On a couple of occasions, he even referred to the unit as the strongest on the team.

Led by defensive end C.J. Onyechi, a Rutgers transfer that has really popped as a pass rusher since coming over, the defensive line caused problems for the offensive line in two of the three scrimmages held in April. If he can get after the quarterback as consistently in the fall as he did in those exhibitions, Onyechi is going to be

quite the addition.

If Nuer Gatkuoth, the 6-foot-4, 310-pound freshman defensive end from Edmonton Alberta, Canada plays like he did in the spring as well, the defensive line really might be the best unit on the team after all.

Gatkuoth is a mountain of a man and covers a ton of ground when he gets in the backfield. As he becomes more refined with experience, the former West Toronto MVP could really end up being a steal for the Green & Gold.

He did not enroll early like Gatkuoth but it would not

be surprising if Marshon Oxley, the former Inglewood High School that flipped his commitment from San Diego State, ends up playing at defensive end as well. Oxley already has a nice frame and really pops as a pass rusher on his high school tape.

At defensive tackle the Rams will rotate much more than the previous regime did, so there are going to be quite a few guys that end up playing. Devin Phillips, James Mitchell, Grady Kelly and Cam Bariteau should all see snaps on the inside.

Although we did not see much of him in the spring, Nevada transfer Telvis Tuioti seemingly will play too.

“We’re going to play eight to nine guys in the rotation. We feel really good about our d-line right now,” said CSU defensive coordinator Freddie Banks.

“If you are ready to go, we’ll put you in there. You might be a young guy that can’t execute for a long time, but you can go in and play two

hard snaps. That’s helpful.”

According to Banks, everything the Rams want to achieve defensively starts with being able to consistently create pressure with a fourman pass rush and by stopping the run. If they can do that, it allows the defense to get creative with five members of the secondary and generally puts the defensive backs in a position to make plays.

But without the success in the trenches, the players in the back end rarely are empowered to do their thing. It’s why rotating and keeping everyone fresh is so important.

“You go in and play as hard as you can for two snaps and then you come off the field,” Banks said.

“They’re athletic enough, they just might not be able to sustain it, so we’ll play those guys. They might only end up playing 20 snaps per game but you know, that’s huge for us.”

DEFENSIVE LINE ROSTER

YEAR Cam Bariteau Junior Nuer Gatkuoth Freshman Troy Golden RS Senior Brycen Heil RS Sophomore Grady Kelly RS Freshman James Mitchell Junior Clay Nanke RS Freshman CJ Onyechi Fifth Year Marshon Oxley Freshman Devin Phillips Fifth Year Tyler Quinn RS Freshman Telvis Tuioti RS Sophomore Mukendi Wa-Kalonji RS Freshman

HEIGHT WEIGHT

6’1 6’4 6’1 5’10 6’2 6’1 6’6 6’1 6’3 6’1 6’1 6’3 6’4

Green & Gold Report

295 lbs 310 lbs 230 lbs 280 lbs 270 lbs 300 lbs 210 lbs 245 lbs 215 lbs 305 lbs 275 lbs 270 lbs 235 lbs

| 27

Position Breakdown:

Linebackers

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

By Justin Michael

Dequan Jackson

C

SU will be running a 4-2-5 defense this fall, which means there are only going to be two players fulfilling traditional linebacker roles. The benefit of this, according to defensive coordinator Freddie Banks, is that it will allow the Rams to match up

better against teams trying to spread out the defense.

Banks explained that their opponents this season will be operating out of 11 personnel on 46 percent of base downs. Going up against offenses that are using one running back, one tight end and multiple receivers means

LINEBACKER ROSTER

YEAR Bam Amina Junior Tavian Brown RS Junior Cam’Ron Carter Fifth Year Devon Edwards RS Sophomore Malaki Grant RS Freshman DeAndre Gill Freshman Brandon Hickerson-Rooks Fifth Year Dequan Jackson Fifth Year Mohamed Kamara Senior Drew Kulik RS Freshman Jaseim Mitchell RS Freshman Aaron Moore RS Sophomore Sanjay Strickland RS Sophomore Chase Wilson RS Sophomore

28 | Green & Gold Report

HEIGHT WEIGHT

6’0 6’0 6’1 6’1 5’10 6’5 6’0 6’1 6’1 6’2 6’1 6’0 6’1 6’1

215 lbs 225 lbs 225 lbs 230 lbs 195 lbs 235 lbs 220 lbs 225 lbs 240 lbs 215 lbs 205 lbs 225 lbs 230 lbs 225 lbs

there is a necessity for more speed on the field, and the Rams will have it with five DBs in the back end.

Just because there are fewer linebackers on the field than there are in some of the more traditional schemes, does not mean they are not important. The two guys on the inside really need to have good vision, spacing and an ability to make tackles.

Otherwise, opponents will just try to run the ball up the gut against you.

Dequan Jackson is going to be one of the starters. The veteran inside linebacker has been one of CSU’s best defenders for the last three years now, and fortunately for the Rams, Jackson elected to use his extra year of eligibility to come back and try to make a run at the postseason for the

first time in his career. He was plagued by injuries in the second half of 2021 and his production dipped as a result. But before that he was a tackling machine, recording 10 or more tackles in four of the first seven games of the season. Now healthy again, CSU will need him to return to peak form this fall.

After leading CSU with 100 total tackles last season, Cam’Ron Carter is the other logical frontrunner to start at linebacker. Though it should be noted that Carter was demoted to second string for the spring game, below Devon Edwards and a walkon, Drew Kulik.

After the spring game Jay Norvell openly challenged the group to perform better and later admitted he’d like to get more athletic at the position as a whole. “We need to run better,” he said.

“We like our backers to run and be able to make plays.”

A few weeks after Norvell talked about wanting to get bigger and more athletic at linebacker, CSU secured a commitment from 6-foot-5, 235-pound outside linebacker DeAndre Gill, who was at one point committed to UCLA and was heavily recruited by Washington as well. Gill could potentially play linebacker next to Jackson, or he could also be an edge rusher like Mohamed Kamara. Kamara, of course, was second on the Rams with 6.5 sacks in 2021.

Position Breakdown:

Defensive BACKS

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

By Justin Michael

Jack Howell

M

uch like the lack of wide receivers on the roster was an issue, cornerback depth was also a big concern for the staff when they came in.

In order to address the issue, CSU brought in Chigozie Anusiem from Cal and D’Andre Greeley from City College of San Francisco. After redshirting in 2018, Anusiem played in 25 games and made six starts over the last three seasons at Cal. Greeley spent just one season at City College of San Francisco but he made the most of it with 10 interceptions including a pair of pick-sixes. Those two are expected to be CSU’s starting corners on the outside after running with the ones throughout all of the spring practices.

CSU also signed former Nevada cornerback Angel

King, although he will be playing free safety for the Rams this fall. Listed at 6-foot-0, 190 pounds, King has good size, covers ground well and is an aggressive tackler. In 12 starts at corner for the Wolf Pack in 2021, King recorded 40 tackles, eight pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles, so it’s not surprising that Freddie Banks wanted to give him a shot at safety.

Following a breakout freshman season, Jack Howell is expected to start at safety alongside King.

In 2021 Howell had 64 total tackles, five PBUs, a forced fumble and an interception in just 10 games played. CSU is going to need him to elevate his game even further in year two, though.

The fifth defensive back and third safety on the field, depending on the scenario,

will likely be Tywan Francis or Henry Blackburn. Both play the hybrid linebacker role well and like to get up near the line of scrimmage to try and cause havoc against the run. They are capable of dropping back into coverage and will have to at times, but it’s the physicality they play with that really makes a

difference for the defense.

Some of the other defensive backs that will likely see the field at cornerback this year are Langston Williams and Brandon Guzman. Williams is one of the faster players on the roster and has been praised by every coach he’s played for, while Guzman was able to get on the radar by recording a pick-six against the ones in the spring game.

Although both are a bit undersized, Titus Jones and Robert Floyd should play some too. Floyd originally planned on transferring but the former walk-on had a change of plans and now the former walk-on is on scholarship.

Finally, we may see the highly touted freshman Corey Lambert Jr., a 6-foot1, 200-pound safety from Brother Martin High School in Louisiana, who Norvell raved about after National Signing Day.

DEFENSIVE BACK ROSTER YEAR Chigozie Anusiem RS Senior Henry Blackburn Junior Duante Davis RS Freshman Robert Floyd Sophomore Tywan Francis Fifth Year D’Andre Greeley Sophomore Brandon Guzman RS Sophomore Jack Howell Sophomore Liam Huber RS Freshman Titus Jones RS Junior Angel King Junior Corey Lambert Jr. Freshman Langston Williams RS Freshman Vann Schield Freshman

HEIGHT WEIGHT

6’1 6’0 5’8 5’8 5’11 5’10 5’11 5’10 5’9 6’0 6’0 6’1 5’9 5’11

200 lbs 205 lbs 180 lbs 170 lbs 200 lbs 185 lbs 180 lbs 200 lbs 180 lbs 200 lbs 190 lbs 200 lbs 155 lbs 195 lbs

Green & Gold Report

| 29

2022 CSU VOLLEYball SCHEDULE DATE

OPPONENT

LOCATION

TIME

August 26

North Carolina

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

August 27

UC Santa Barbara

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

August 30

Northern Colorado

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

September 1

Arkansas

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

September 2

Florida Gulf Coast

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

September 3

Alabama State

Fort Collins, CO

1:30 PM

September 8

Baylor

Waco, TX

TBA

September 9

Evansville

Waco, TX

TBA

September 10

Arizona State

Waco, TX

TBA

September 15

Colorado

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

September 16

Colorado

Boulder, CO

TBA

September 20

Wyoming

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

September 22

UNLV

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

September 29

Air Force

USAF Academy, CO

TBA

October 1

New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM

TBA

October 6

Nevada

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

October 8

San Jose State

Fort Collins, CO

1:00 PM

October 13

Fresno State

Fresno, CO

TBA

October 15

San Diego State

San Diego, CO

TBA

October 20

Boise State

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

October 22

Utah State

Logan, UT

TBA

October 27

San Diego State

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

October 29

Fresno State

Fort Collins, CO

1:00 PM

November 3

San Jose State

San Jose, CA

TBA

November 5

Nevada

Reno, NV

TBA

November 10

New Mexico

Fort Collins, CO

7:00 PM

November 12

Air Force

Fort Collins, CO

TBA

November 15

Wyoming

Laramie, WY

TBA

November 19

UNLV

Las Vegas, NV

TBA

November 23 Mountain West Tournament Fort Collins, CO

TBA

30 | Green & Gold Report

Green & Gold Report

| 31

CSU VOLLEYball ROSTER

2022 #

NAME

HT

POS

CLASS

HOMETOWN (LAST SCHOOL)

1

Malaya Jones

6-0

MB

R-SO.

Santa Ana, CA (Santa Margarita / USC)

2

Annie Sullivan

6-1

OH

Sr.

Richardson, TX (JJ Pearce / High Point)

3

Barrett Power

5-9

S

Jr.

Lincoln, NE (Lincoln Christian)

9

Naeemah Weathers

6-1

MB

Jr.

Colorado Springs, CO (Palmer Ridge)

10

Jacqi Van Liefde

6-0

OH

R-SR.

Chula Vista, CA (Eastlake High)

11

Ciera Pritchard

6-0

S

R-SR.

Auburn, WA (Auburn Riverside)

13

Jazen Debina

6-0

MB

FR.

Las Vegas, NV (Liberty)

14

Alyssa Groves

6-4

OPP

JR.

Slayton, MN (Murray County Central)

16

Grey Foster

5-9

DS/S

FR.

Austin, TX (Westlake)

17

Kennedy Stanford

5-10

OH

JR.

Grand Prairie, TX (Lamar)

18

Kate Yoshimoto

5-2

DS

SO.

Honolulu, HI (Punahou School)

22

Delaney McIntosh

5-10

DS

FR.

Madison, WI (Verona Area)

27

Helena Perez

5-6

DS

JR.

Layfette, CA (Carondelet)

42

Karina Leber

6-3

MB

JR.

Trevor, WI (Wilmot Union)

49

Ruby Kayser

5-8

DS

JR.

Canby, OR (Canby)

Rams Volleyball Coaching Staff Tom Hilbert Head Coach

32 | Green & Gold Report

Emily Kohan Associate Coach

Adrianna Blackman Assistant Coach

Bri Olmstead Director of Volleyball Operations

Green & Gold Report

| 33

VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW

By Justin Michael

Moby Madness Can home court help Rams make it back to the

NCAA Tournament?

T

Tom Hilbert is in his 26th season at Colorado State

here’s no place like home.

Under head coach Tom Hilbert, now in his 26th season with the program, Colorado State volleyball has established one of the best home-court advantages in the country.

Going back to 1997, Hilbert’s first year on the job, the Rams are 344-44 at Moby Arena (.886).

34 | Green & Gold Report

Obviously, a large part of CSU’s success in the Hilbert era is due to the talented players that the veteran coach has been able to bring to Fort Collins, as well as his individual ability to help them develop their skills.

There is a reason that Hilbert is a 12-time Mountain West Coach of the Year, owns the fifth-most career wins

amongst active D1 volleyball coaches (792), and is the winningest coach in CSU history regardless of sport.

While it’s the individuals on the court that deserve the majority of the credit for CSU’s dominance in the last quarter century, the reason that Moby Arena is such a feared place to play is because of the support from the community. The Rams traditionally rank in the top 15 nationally for annual attendance figures.

Back in 2014, CSU even finished sixth after drawing 3,231 fans per match. And on multiple occasions the Rams have been able to draw north of 7,000 fans. In 2018, when CSU hosted No. 12 Illinois,

7,745 supporters packed Moby, setting a record for both the program and the MWC. The pandemic disrupted things in 2020, as the season was pushed back from the fall to the spring of 2021 and fans were not permitted to attend. In 2021, though, the Ram faithful once again showed up in a major way.

Over 3,000 students, 5,537 people in total, attended what ended up being the 2021 opener versus Northwestern, after the South Dakota State game was canceled due to health and safety protocols.

The Rams had close to 4,000 fans in the stands for both the ‘Orange Out’ against Oregon State and the Rocky Mountain Showdown as well.

So, it seems to say that the madness is officially back in Moby Arena.

With 16 matches scheduled at home in 2022, five of which are against opponents that qualified for the postseason in 2021, the Rams are going to need Moby Arena to be as hostile as ever this fall.

“Our 2022 schedule will be difficult, but it is manageable,” Hilbert said.

“It will keep our attention; it will test us, and it will create environments where our players will have to get better. And that’s really what you want. You don’t want things to be easy.”

In the season opener the Rams will host North Carolina in the annual ‘White Out’ on Friday, Aug. 26. When these teams faced off in Chapel Hill, N.C. last season, CSU took the first two sets against the Tar Heels before dropping three straight in a gut-wrenching loss.

What’s worse, the Rams even had the match point at 15-14 in the final frame but proceeded to surrender three consecutive points to lose. Fortunately, this time

around the Rams will have the benefit of playing in their own gym. And instead of playing in front of 400 fans, they’ll be competing in front of thousands.

After hosting UNC in the season opener and then UC Santa Barbara the following night, CSU will also have a shot at redemption against Northern Colorado on Aug. 30 after falling to the Bears for the first time in 39 years last fall. Much like in their loss to the Tar Heels, the Rams took the first two sets in Greeley last year, but ended up losing three straight to fall to 0-2 on the campaign.

Finishing off a six-game homestand to kick off the year, CSU will host Arkansas, Florida Gulf Coast and Alabama State between Sept.

1-3. The Rams will then head to Texas for their first three away from home — starting with Baylor on Sept. 8 — and ending with Arizona State on Sept. 10.

Finally, the Rams will wrap up the con-conference slate with a home-and-home against the University of Colorado. The Buffs swept the Green & Gold in 2021,

circumstances, 2022 is a big year for the Rams. Due to the state of the world and the fact that the Rams had a relatively inexperienced roster, it makes sense that CSU was not quite as dominant in recent years.

With so much of the 2022 slate taking place at Moby Arena, though, and a team that has already gone through growing pains together, the hope should be for this proud program to return to the top of the league again.

Hilbert has established a standard of excellence that we’ve all become accustomed to around these parts. Let’s see if Rams can return to the NCAA Tournament for the 24th time of his CSU career.

Photo Courtesy of CSU Athletic Communications

Ciera Pritchard is a senior leader for the Rams

taking the two games 3-1 and 3-0, respectively. Even splitting with CU in 2022 would be huge, especially right before the Rams begin conference play.

“I think we’re a year better and I think we can handle a tougher schedule,” Hilbert said. “It will be a challenge for us, but we need it. The Mountain West Conference has been a one-bid league for a while, and we’d like to make sure we put ourselves in a position to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid or the conference nomination.”

After back-to-back seasons of coming up short of the lofty expectations that CSU fans have for the volleyball program, albeit under extenuating

Kennedy Stanford is CSU’s most explosive player

Green & Gold Report

| 35

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Green & Gold Report

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Football Recruiting

SPONSORED BY:

Colorado’s Top 12 Instate Recruits — Class of 2023

Rank

Player

Pos.

Ht. / Wt.

247Sports Composite Rating

High School / Hometown

#1

Blake Purchase

DE

6-3 / 230

National 106, Position 12

Cherry Creek / Englewood, CO

#2

Brayden Dorman

QB

6-4 / 206

National NA, Position 17

Vista Ridge / Colorado Springs, CO

#3

Joshua Bates

OG

6-3 / 305

National NA, Position 17

Durango / Durango, CO

#4

Ismael Cisse

WR

6-1 / 180

National NA, Position 67

Cherry Creek / Englewood, CO

#5

Chase Brackney

DE

6-4 / 260

National NA, Position 51

Cherry Creek / Englewood, CO

#6

Ethan Thomason

OT

6-8 / 315

National NA, Position 61

Rocky Mountain / Fort Collins, CO

#7

Andrew Metzger

TE

6-5 / 235

National NA, Position 52

Regis Jesuit / Aurora, CO

#8

Zachary Henning

OT

6-6 / 275

National NA, Position 103

Grandview / Aurora, CO

#9

Logan Brantley

LB

6-1 / 205

National NA, Position 114

Cherry Creek / Englewood, CO

#10

Hayden Moore

LB

6-3 / 210

National NA, Position 122

Regis Jesuit / Aurora, CO

#11

Brandon Hills

WR

5-8 / 150

National NA, Position 209

Vista Ridge / Colorado Springs, CO

#12

Hank Zilinskas

OG

6-3 / 274

National NA, Position 107

Cherry Creek / Englewood, CO

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

38 | Green & Gold Report

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Green & Gold Report

| 39

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