90-degree temperatures and no wind; first-year head coach Mike Bobo is handling the heat well. Literally and figuratively.

Sure, he’s not running in the drills himself in Colorado State football’s first fall camp of the year, but he is running around the field, yelling his head off, vocally leading his team. Coach Bobo is clearly a man driven by passion for the sport.

When interviewed, he reflected on coaching in Georgia and how he would be dripping in sweat by the end of practice, where here it’s all dry heat you just have to grin and bear it.

Watching how coach runs the show, one can’t help but be impressed by how the practices are orchestrated. There’s a clear vision. Every second of practice has been thought through. There are no breaks other than to get water or to hear the coach speak. You hear the players calling out their groups and everyone is sprinting to get to the next drill. The scoreboard at the end of the field is the only indicator of what comes next.

Bobo knows how to turn up the heat on players.

Post practice, redshirt freshman quarterback Coleman Key spoke of Bobo’s style with great admiration. “Coach Bobo is probably the best coach I ever had,” Key explained. “He gets fired up out of nowhere and I just get fired up listening to him talk.”

Key went on to say, “He just wants the best out of everybody, so he will get on to you because he wants to see what he can get out of you.”

Sure he’s tough, sure he’s loud, sometimes he’s in your face; but when you look around at practice, you don’t see anyone hanging their head. What you see everyone dedicated to their task, willing to follow this coach the end.

“Day one was good,” Bobo explained post practice. “They’re light years ahead of where we were in spring.”

Here’s video of Mike Bobo following the Rams first fall camp practice of the year:

Notes: Nick Stevens, who’s competing with Key for that starting QB spot, was incredibly accurate in the early session before media is asked to leave. Key impressed with his tight spirals.