Jay Norvell’s CSU Rams football program showed progress reaching a bowl game last season. Can the Rams do enough to justify keeping Norvell around even longer? Here are three keys to making that happen:
Will BFN become BMOC (Big Man on Campus)?
He was too raw. He was too young. He asked to do too much. He wasn’t asked to do enough. Entering his third season as the starting quarterback, the time is now for Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi. CSU coach Jay Norvell is invested in him in every way: money, time, scheme. The Rams need Fowler-Nicolosi to turn it loose without turning the ball over. The Rams adjusted on the fly when Tory Horton was lost for the season last fall, playing more complementary football. But this fall is about CSU playing better early and playing its best against top opponents. Fowler-Nicolosi stepped on a rake to start last season, posting two touchdowns with four interceptions over the first four games. With a solid run game, BFN should be able to move the sticks on bootleg routes to tight ends Jaxxon Warren and Rocky Beers, while delivering explosive plays to Jordan Ross and possibly Tay Lanier.
Can revamped defense gel quickly?
The Rams’ spring and fall practices should have included water breaks and “Hello, My Name Is” conversations for the defense. Norvell moved on from defensive coordinator Freddie Banks and brought Tyson Summers back to Fort Collins. Summers served as Mike Bobo’s D-coordinator in 2015. He failed as a head coach at Georgia Southern and has bounced around since. Summers represented a stylistic fit for a unit that Norvell wants to become more aggressive and disruptive after allowing 24 points and 394 yards per game last season. It makes sense. But will the pieces fit? The Rams will feature 10 new starters trying to learn a new scheme. Look for the Rams to lean heavily on transfers like potential all-conference edge rusher JaQues Evans and cornerback Jahari Rogers, who will be counted on to set the example of what elite man coverage looks like in Summers’ defense.
Will Jay Norvell show enough for contract extension?
Norvell has set the bar. It is bowl or bust. But if the Rams flirt with .500, is that enough for athletic director John Weber to award him with a contract extension? Norvell makes no excuses about college football’s changing landscape. He has had to reinvent himself in Fort Collins. He was hired from Nevada to bring an explosive offense and develop high school prospects. Now, he is willing to win by any means necessary, and has more transfers than any team in the conference. Norvell turned the corner last season, but he must show he can get buy-in quickly. This team should win seven games. But which ones? For Norvell’s sake, they better include Wyoming, Air Force, Northern Colorado and New Mexico.
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