Colorado State football coach Mike Bobo is back home in Georgia, not for any vacation time but to scout his home territory and find more talented players to bring to Fort Collins from the southeast. Bobo hasn’t merely cultivated relationships with high school coaches back home but also with the media. So, with his return, he’s been candid with some interviews and especially in talking about former Georgia quarterback Faton Bauta.
When asked about Bauta’s realistic ability to start next year, coach Bobo had this to say to Online Athens, “There’s a good chance.”
Bobo then added “He was co-No. 1 coming out of spring practice. The thing about Faton, I had him for three, coach (Mark) Richt had him for another year, he hasn’t played a lot of football. When you’re a third-team guy, you don’t actually practice a lot. As spring went on for us, he got a lot of reps and you saw a guy get better and I saw some improvement.”
That, “there’s a good chance” is about as forward as Bobo has been thus far with the quarterback competition throughout spring. The Rams coach was complimentary about his former recruit throughout interviews with local, Georgia media.
“Faton had a really good spring,” Bobo said to DawgNation.com. “Faton, I tell a lot of people, was a third-string guy for a long time at the University of Georgia. And outside of spring and the first two weeks of camp, you don’t get a lot of reps. Then this past year he played the one game (against Florida), but I don’t know how many reps he really got this year. So he — to me, he got a lot better as spring went on, because he was running with the ones, and got a lot of reps. And he’s mature, he understands what we’re doing on offense. And he’s a competitor.”
Bauta’s experience in CSU’s offense has always been a big advantage for him and it seemed to already be paying off in CSU’s spring game. Dawg Nation added some insights telling that Bauta “didn’t go home the five recent weeks that players had off, instead coming in the office every day.”
Obviously, Bobo didn’t declare anything, yet, adding about Bauta, “I still think there’s a lot of improvement that he can make. His (best) football is ahead of him.” Bobo continued “He’s a grinder, and he’s working in his opportunity. He’s got one more opportunity and he’s trying to make it happen with us at Colorado State.”
Another interesting thing coach said was how Bauta wanted to be with a team that could compete at a high level.
“He wanted to go somewhere he had a chance to play and win a championship. And he’ll have that chance to play, and I believe we’ll compete for a championship. So I’m excited for him.”
The bottom line is that nothing is decided yet. With Bobo saying so right off the bat when asked about former players of his still with the Dawgs, “We’ve got our own competition in Fort Collins, and that’s what I’m concerned with.”
But there’s no denying that the Rams coaching staff and their head man first and foremost have a certain affinity for their newest quarterback, “He’s always had that desire. He still has it today,” Bobo said.
The quarterback competition will be extremely important throughout the offseason. The coach just might have shown his hand for the first time this offseason, or maybe it’s all just a bluff, only time will tell.
For all the latest updates on CSU’s QB competition stay tuned to BSN Rams.
