FORT COLLINS — As the Colorado State football team broke its huddle to begin the first practice of fall camp Friday morning in the shadows of Canvas Stadium, the voice of graduate defensive back Henry Blackburn could be heard loud and clear.
To paraphrase, Blackburn emphasized that this is the Rams’ time. They have the team. This is their year.
Blackburn’s message reverberated throughout the almost three-hour workout, the first of an almost month-long practice schedule as the team looks to take another step forward in head coach Jay Norvell’s third season.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in our team,” Norvell said. “We were the young team for two years. We had a bunch of freshmen out here, a lot of kids that looked like Doogie Howser and they’re grown up now. Now we have more experience. I think 17 of our 22 starters have over 1,000 snaps, which is a lot, a lot of snaps. So, we’ve got more experience, we’re wiser, and we have a better plan.”
CSU improved from three wins in Norvell’s first season to five in his second. Now the Rams are hoping to get to at least six and make a bowl appearance for the first time since 2017.
Friday’s opening practice was the first step toward that goal.
There was energy. There was excitement. There was optimism. And for at least one player, it was the best first practice of fall camp he has been a part of since arriving at CSU.
“It’s so good to be flying around with the guys again,” senior linebacker Chase Wilson said. “It’s extremely different than when I came in as a freshman. I think these guys really possess a genuine love and care for each other, and you can see it on Day 1. I think that’s the best Day 1 of fall camp that I’ve ever seen. The guys are flying around. There’s no lull in anyone’s energy. There’s no lull in competitiveness. That’s always good to see.”
Norvell emphasized two of the goals the team wants to accomplish before it takes the field at Texas at the end of this month. First, he wants to see his team establish a running game to go along with its passing attack, which was one of the best in the Mountain West Conference last year. And second, he wants his players to establish good habits on and off the field, which he believes will translate into success.
The Rams enter camp with a strong running back room that includes veteran Avery Morrow, redshirt freshman Justin Marshall — who made an impact last season when he had to assume a heavy load — and Kobe Johnson, a transfer from North Dakota State who redshirted after only a few games last season.
For graduate center Jacob Gardner, the emphasis on the running game is exciting.
“It makes me happy,” Gardner said. “We don’t get much credit but being able to see our running back going into the end zone and we get to celebrate right there with him, that’s why we do it. It’s an absolute pleasure. It makes my day, so it really excites me to hear Norvell say that.”
The next few weeks are vital for the Rams as they look to build on what they have accomplished over the past couple of seasons. For Norvell, that isn’t limited to the time on the field.
Just as important, he said, are the players’ habits off the field. As the team gets settled into a practice routine, Norvell wants his players to also be mindful of the rest of their daily rituals as well.
“This is training camp, so we’re training our habits for the season,” Norvell said. “We’re doing a lot of different new things. We’re training them how to use their day effectively to have peak performance, and so there’s a lot of new ways that we’re looking at how we go about our business on a daily basis.”
While there are a number of factors that will figure into whether the Rams continue to improve, the team feels like with the personnel and experience it has, there is something to prove this season.
“We feel like we’ve got something to prove,” Gardner said. “We’ve got guys like Chase, Henry, Jack (Howell) leading this team. We’ve got a whole bunch of veteran guys that football is their No. 1 thing that they want to excel at, and they want to see everybody else do it, too, and that makes me real excited.
“I’m real excited about this season. I have high hopes.”
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