Jay Norvell makes a splash with 22 signings, including a pair of four-star players during the early signing period

DENVER — Jay Norvell isn’t wasting any time when it comes to revamping the roster at Colorado State. The veteran football coach has put together an impressive 2022 recruiting class that includes three quarterbacks, 11 FBS transfers and a strong West Coast presence that features 12 signees from California.

In total, the Rams signed 22 players on Wednesday and that number will increase between now and spring ball. As it currently stands the Rams still have 10 open scholarships but that number could go up depending on what happens with players entering the transfer portal. So we’re really only just getting started. 

Two of CSU’s signees are or were at one point four-star recruits. One of them, Mekhi Fox (WR), of Pasadena High School in California, is the second-highest rated prospect to ever sign with the Rams according to 247Sports. QB Justin Holland was ranked higher in 2001 but that’s it. Fox was originally committed to UCLA and held offers from Oregon, Florida and Utah, among others. After electing to not sign with Chip Kelly and the Bruins, a late visit to Fort Collins ultimately sealed the deal for the highly touted prospect though. 

The other former four-star recruit is of course Clay Millen, a redshirt freshman QB that was the heir apparent to Carson Strong at Nevada, and was at one point heavily recruited by Arizona and Colorado before signing with Nevada in the 2021 cycle. 

Norvell spoke highly of Millen to the press on Wednesday, emphasizing that in addition to being familiar with the system, he also possesses the right temperament to succeed and has a tremendous arm. Like he stated at his introductory press conference last week, Norvell made it clear that he absolutely loves to be able to throw the football and stretch the field. And because of his offensive beliefs, he wants quarterbacks that are intelligent, accurate and have the arm strength to hit receivers deep down the field. Norvell feels that Millen, as well as the other three-star signees out of high school, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi (TX) and Jackson Stratton (CA), each meet his criteria to play the position in the Air Raid. 

With Todd Centeio and Jonah O’Brien having already entered the transfer portal, and Evan Olaes likely not very far behind, one can assume that Millen will be the frontrunner to start for the Rams next fall. Regardless of who ends up being QB1 for Norvell in Year 1, however, the first-year CSU coach knew that he would need a drastic increase in the amount of wide receivers on the roster. When Norvell arrived there were only five players in the wide receivers room total and he stated on Wednesday that they can’t even practice properly without at least 12. That’s why CSU signed six wide receivers and two tight ends during the early signing period. 

Two of the receivers coming to CSU are from Inglewood High School in Los Angeles, CA, Louis Brown and Justus Ross Simmons. The Rams were able to secure three players from Inglewood HS once defensive end Marshon Oxley flipped his allegiance from San Diego State. During the press conference, Norvell talked about how important the process of players recruiting players is. As he explained, Oxley heard about how much fun his high school teammates had on their visit to CSU and didn’t want to be the odd man left out. In the end Norvell felt like that’s what truly allowed CSU to sign the athletic defensive end. 

In addition to Mekhi Fox and the aforementioned prep players from LA, Norvell was also able to secure a major talent upgrade at wide receiver with the guys he brought over from Nevada. The Wolf Pack’s third-leading receiver from 2021, Tory Horton, who scored a pair of touchdowns against the Rams last fall, has decided to follow his offensive coaches to ‘FoCo’. So did UNR’s former starting slot receiver Marquan Stovall. Not having to face these guys next season is a win in itself but the fact that they now play for CSU is massive. We all remember what it was like for the Rams trying to cover Nevada’s electric wide receivers in 2021 and now two of the important pieces from that puzzle have been stolen by the Rams. 

Including Millen, Horton and Stovall, nine former Nevada players signed with the Rams on Wednesday. Running back Avery Morrow made the jump, as did defensive back AJ King and tight end Peter Montini. Jacob Gardner, Gray Davis and Trevyn Heil made up three of the seven offensive linemen signed by Norvell as well. 

“This is uncharted territory,” Norvell said of the transfer portal and how it impacts signing classes. “Nobody knew how this would affect (things). And I always wondered how it would affect (things) if there was a coaching change. So I think it’s very helpful. They’re used to us, they know what to expect from us, and we’re used to them. So, you know, they also understand our offense and defense. And so there’s less of a learning curve.”

The other transfers that were added to the mix are Dontae Keys (Florida International) and Dante Bivens (Tulsa). Both guys have multiple years of starting experience under their belt and should bolster CSU’s depth in the trenches — something Norvell and the staff emphasized greatly during the early signing period. 

If you’re wondering where the defensive signees are, only three of the 22 were defenders. Norvell explained that because there aren’t any coaches from that side of the ball on staff yet, he didn’t feel it was wise or appropriate to be as aggressive there. Norvell is currently in the process of hiring his defensive coordinator but once it’s made official, they will then evaluate who the best defensive position coaches are and which players the Rams should target with open scholarships. That said, Norvell did add that CSU has a glaring need at cornerback and that the position will be highly emphasized going forward. 

Finally, one of the biggest points of emphasis for Norvell on Wednesday was that this roster is going to change, it’s going to have to if they are going to have any chance of winning. Norvell acknowledged that these are difficult decisions  and naturally they result in some folks getting hurt in the process. Ie. Players offered by the old staff that won’t fit into the vision of the team moving forward, or players currently on roster that simply don’t fit the new scheme. But Norvell said that ultimately his job is not to make everyone happy, it’s to put this football program in the best possible position to be competitive. Every decision that he makes is in pursuit of making CSU Football better. 

“We had to really evaluate how the players fit into our offensive schemes, and our defensive schemes,” Norvell said. “I think that was really important. And the thing that became very apparent to me is that there’s going to be a lot of significant changes on this roster. I wouldn’t say it’s a complete overhaul. But it’s significant.”

He did add that he will continue to evaluate the open scholarships and just because Ky Oday Jr. (WR) was the only player from Addazio’s recruiting class that signed on Wednesday, doesn’t necessarily mean that a few won’t sign later. Norvell just wants a chance to get more familiar with those recruits and establish relationships of his own. The guys that signed on Wednesday were predominantly people that Norvell and Co. had been recruiting for months while at Nevada. So it made more sense to try and build off the relationships he already had in place. 

Moving forward it will be interesting to see how the rest of the 2022 class fills out. Norvell added that they’re likely not done adding wide receivers or offensive linemen. It wouldn’t be surprising to see another running back added to the team as well, especially if David Bailey decides to play his final season of eligibility elsewhere. 

Considering that this staff had zero verbal commitments as of last Saturday and then were able to sign 22 legitimate FBS prospects or players in less than four days, it’s a positive indicator of what these coaches are capable of doing from a recruiting perspective. Obviously coming over from another school in the same conference was a unique situation and probably made it easier to hit the ground running than if they had come over from somewhere like the East Coast. Regardless, though, there’s more excitement for CSU football than there has been in years and the staff deserves high praise for it. I can’t wait to see what they’ve got up their sleeves next. 

For more information on the 2022 recruiting class, check out our official tracker here.