Jay Norvell on improved depth for Colorado State: "competition is the most important motivator"

LAS VEGAS — The reinforcements have arrived for Colorado State Football. 

After playing the majority of the 2022 season with less than 60 scholarship players, one of the biggest reasons to believe the Rams can be much improved this fall is that the roster will be whole. 

Having added more than 20 transfers to the team — in addition to signing one of the best recruiting classes in school history — from top to bottom the squad is rolling much deeper than it was during Jay Norvell’s first time around the block. 

At the Circa Resort & Casino during the 2023 Mountain West Media Days, Norvell spoke to the importance of having better depth, including from the standpoint of creating competition within a team. He explained that he felt his starters were not pushed to improve enough in year one and that their play diminished as a result. 

“When you have a really good program, everybody has to fight to get better all the time,” Norvell said. 

The second-year Rams coach continued by telling reporters that the staff grades every individual on the team, and whether the player starts as a fringe starter or an NFL-caliber talent, the expectation is that everyone will always strive to improve. It does not matter if it is a walk-on, Tory Horton or Mohamed Kamara. If they are donning the Green & Gold, if they are representing this program, they better be prepared to grind. The problem a year ago was that without any real threat of being benched, it was easy for some to become complacent. 

After a multitude of veteran players left the team during the first six weeks of the season, CSU was so thin at some positions that the Rams could not even practice properly. It also resulted in multiple freshmen playing much larger roles than they were really prepared or experienced enough to handle. And under those circumstances it’s not only a competitive disadvantage for the team, but a situation that can be detrimental to the development of those younger players. 

As Norvell explained, most first-year players don’t even know what it takes to be successful. It’s not their fault. They just are ignorant to the amount of preparation that it truly takes to be a winner at the D1 level. Which is why when freshmen take the field out of necessity and not because they are actually ready, it’s really a disservice to them. 

“They think they know but they just don’t know,” Norvell said. “They think they’re practicing hard but they’re really not. And so that was the problem last year, and we knew it.” 

Fortunately for the Rams and anybody supporting them this season, with essentially 25 more scholarship players to work into the mix, nobody is going to be able to rest on their laurels. If someone is not living up to the standard, no matter what their role is, the staff will be able to hold them accountable. 

“Competition is the most important motivator,” Norvell said. “Bobby Knight was right. If a kid’s not doing his job, you need to put him on the bench. But you gotta have somebody to put in. And we didn’t have that last year.” 

While many of the transfers will end up somewhere on the two-deep, a handful have a chance to be really important players for CSU this fall. Running back Kobe Johnson (NDSU), wide receiver Dylan Goffney (SMU) and tight end Dallin Holker (BYU) are all proven skill players and valuable additions to Clay Millen’s arsenal. Not to mention the whole key to CSU’s season, according to Norvell, is being able to build chemistry within the retooled offensive line, and eliminating the minus yardage plays that plagued the Rams in 2022 as a result.

We’ll see who ends up on the field by the time fall camp shakes out, but it’s very likely that four of the five starters in the trenches will be transfers. Former FCS starters Drew Moss (Lamar), Oliver Jervis (Monmouth) and Saveyon Henderson (Lane) all made a strong impression in spring ball. And the Rams have since added two more 300-pounders with FBS experience in Bobby Lawrence (Missouri) and Andrew Cannon (Nevada), either of which could certainly play. The only projected returning starter will be center Jacob Gardner, who will go back to anchoring the O-line after having to move to left tackle in 2022 due to injuries. 

“We got some guys that have played,” Norvell said. “And you know, we need them to step up and play with continuity.”

Flipping things over to the defensive side of things, defensive end Tony Pierce Jr. has a strong chance to start after coming over from North Dakota State. Cal transfer Tramayne Meija-Paster will seemingly start at linebacker. And Oregon State transfer Ron Hardge III will more than likely line up opposite of Chigozie Anusiem at cornerback. They’re far from the only people that will contribute, though. 

With just over a month remaining until the Rams kick off the 2023 campaign with an exciting home opener against Washington State, there is plenty of reason to believe that the Rams will be more competitive than what we’ve seen from them in recent years. Depth is a big part of that. As is commitment. As is familiarity. 

“I think we have a better idea of what we’re working with, and where our deficiencies are, and where we’ve got to improve,” Norvell said. “We’re realistic about what we’ve got and how we need to compete with this group. There’s not a lot of mystery to it. I think we’re going to play a lot of close games and it’s going to come down to how efficient we are.”

Finally, on top of everything else we’ve addressed, the other big reason for optimism with this group is the guys that will be running with the ones in fall camp will hopefully be the same people starting when conference play rolls around. While I mean no disrespect to anybody that left the program, the reality is that it put the team in a brutal spot. The staff invested eight months into a group of players that ultimately left CSU high and dry when things didn’t go well early. 

When asked if Norvell regrets committing so much time and effort into a group of veteran players that ended up quitting, Norvell expressed conflicting feelings, stating that you take responsibility for a team when you take over a program. At the same time, though, if they were not going to be fully invested in the program, then they shouldn’t have taken so many practice reps and opportunities away from other players. 

“Because of that, we had some guys get thrown to the wolves,” Norvell said, before listing a long group of true freshmen that were all forced to play critical roles before they should have. 

“But they did because we had kids get in the portal. So it is what it is. It’s different rules in 2022 and 2023. And I think we’re all learning from it. And we’ll make adjustments as we go.” 

2023 Transfers 

FBS

(WR) Dylan Goffney (SMU)

(DB) Ron Hardge III (Oregon St) 

(TE) Dallin Holker (BYU)

(K) Jordan Noyes (Utah)

(LB) Tramayne Meija-Paster (Cal)

(OL) Bobby Lawrence (Missouri)

(OL) Andrew Cannon (Nevada)

FCS

(S) Dom Jones (NDSU)

(DE) Tony Pierce Jr. (NDSU)

(RB) Kobe Johnson (NDSU)

(DB) Dominic Morris (Furman)

(DB) Tyrell Grayson Jr. (Utah Tech)

(DL) Matt Thomas (Rhode Island)

(OL) Drew Moss (Lamar)

(OL) Oliver Jervis (Monmouth) 

DII 

(OL) Sayveon Henderson (Lane College)

(LB) Kaden Stewart (Colorado Mesa)

JUCO 

(OL) Jakob Belton (Long Beach City College)

(OL) Cameron Jackson (College of DuPage) 

(OL) Ethen Erickson (Chaffey College)

(TE) Vincent Brown II (College of DuPage) 

(RB) Jordan Smith (Saddleback) 

(RB) KJ Edwards (Victor Valley) 

International 

(DL) Hidetora Hanada (N/A)