Rams Notebook: 3 things we learned about CSU football in Wednesday's video conference

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — With much of the campus shut down, members of the Colorado State football team are currently spread around the country. Some players, like Warren Jackson (WR), are still in Fort Collins. Others guys like Deqaun Jackson (LB) and Patrick O’Brien (QB) are presently in their home states of Florida and California, respectively.

In a recent conference call with the media, each of aforementioned gave some insight into how they are staying in shape for the upcoming 2020 season, despite currently being thousands of miles apart.

O’Brien said that he has been training in California with some local friends that play in the Pac-12, meanwhile, DeQuan Jackson has essentially been doing the same thing but with guys that play ball in the south.

“As soon as the parks opened back up, I began field training and stuff like that with a few local trainers and the athletes that went on to play college ball from the city. Everybody has been back home,” Jackson said.

DeQuan continued that the gyms have recently opened in Florida again, which has allowed him to ramp up his workouts with weights. But as far as preparation goes, D. Jackson says that he’s been training day in and day out.

Locally, Warren Jackson has continued to prepare for the pending season with teammates that stayed in Fort Collins. He was even in the process of doing so before stepping away to participate in Wednesday’s video conference.

While Warren is eager for the rest of his teammates to get back in town and really begin preparing for the 2020 slate as an entire unit, he’s currently trying to turn lemons into lemonade by making the most of each day.

“Just stay ready. I’m preaching that to a lot of the guys in my (wide receiver) room,” Warren said.  “I’m supposed to be a leader. I’m supposed to take people with me along the way. So we work out every day, we lift weights, we run routes and do everything right.”

Here’s a few other tidbits of information from Wednesday’s interview session that Ram fans will find interesting.

O’Brien thankful for time with Grayson

Like all of his teammates, O’Brien did not get the benefit of having an entire spring practice period. If there is a silver lining, though, it’s that CSU’s current starting quarterback was recently able to pick the brain of one of the greatest QB’s in program history.

In a virtual meeting between the Rams’ current quarterbacks, Garrett Grayson joined the session to give the younger generation his perspective on building up a program, what he learned from his time in the NFL, and how the journey can sometimes have bumps along the way.

 “Just hearing the things that he did as a leader, and the way that he picked up his play and everything was really inspirational,” O’Brien said.

“He talked about Drew Brees because he was with him on the Saints — and the amount of effort, time, and work that he puts into every single day to be that great quarterback that he is.” 

“He wasn’t only talking himself, but (also) guys that inspired him and everything,” O’Brien continued. “I thought it was awesome. I really wanted to pick his brain and I learned a lot from him.”

After a rocky start to his collegiate career — Grayson turned the ball over on his first two drives under center in 2011 and then missed half of the 2012 season with an injury — the former Rams starter ended up putting together one of the most impressive two-season campaigns in CSU football history (2013-14).

So while his professional career did not pan out the way most Rams fans thought it would, Grayson is still an extremely valuable asset to the program and all of the players. It’s encouraging to see Steve Addazio embracing that and making an effort to include some of the people that have helped make Rams football great over the years.

“It’s not my program. It’s their program and the university’s program,” Addazio recently said of connecting with Rams alumni. “I love having these guys around. They’re great mentors for our players and just a great resource.”

Addazio continued that he wants everybody to feel like they they’re all in this process together. From administration and coaches, to fans and alumni, the first-year CSU coach wants everyone to feel like they’re playing a part in helping make Colorado State as great as it can be.

“It’s gotta come from all angles,” Addazio said.

Rams want to play in front of the fans if safe and possible

Finally, while the players don’t actually have any control over how the NCAA will decide to proceed with the 2020 season, they do believe that football will still be played this fall, so the the big questions right now are:

1. Will the current slate will still be played as scheduled?
2. Will fans will be allowed to be in the stands or not?

When asked about the potential of programs in the Mountain West not playing football in 2020, Patrick O’Brien, who is a California native, said that he expects the schools to eventually figure it out and play. However, if schools like San Diego State and Fresno State decide that it’s too risky and opt to skip the season, O’Brien thinks their games would simply be replaced.

“I don’t see California schools holding back teams from playing if they’re able to,” O’Brien said. “But whatever happens, happens. I’ll be ready to go when we’re able to play.”

As far as to the possibility of playing in front of empty stadiums goes, O’Brien said not having the Ram Faithful in the stands would really take away a lot of the excitement from the games.

“The fans really make college football what it is,” O’Brien said. “To not have them there would be terrible. I wouldn’t enjoy it.”

O’Brien continued that he would still love playing football with all of his brothers on the team but losing all of the fans and the tradition would be a big letdown for his senior season.

Warren Jackson did not comment on the specific possibility of playing without fans but did add that his health is always his biggest priority. With that in mind, though, he is preparing as if the season will still be played as scheduled.

“As of right now we’re playing on September 5, so we’re doing everything we can to get our bodies right and get our minds right. We’re doing all the little things,”  Jackson said.