Rams Notebook: 3 things we learned from Steve Addazio this week

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — When Colorado State and Fresno State kick off on CBS Sports Network Thursday night, Steve Addazio will finally be making his debut as head coach of the Rams. 

After 10 full months of putting in work behind the scenes, practicing, and at times managing a circus worth of distractions for his team, Addazio has a chance to do what both Mike Bobo and Jim McElwain were able to do — win their first-ever game with the program. 

Obviously, circumstances are quite different right now. Neither Bobo nor McElwain had to worry about navigating during a global pandemic when beating Savannah State (2015) and Colorado (2012), respectively.  And technically speaking, CSU football has already had its home opener canceled twice. At the end of the day, though, an opener is an opener — and all the fans care about is results — so let’s jump into what we learned from the veteran coach over the last couple of days. 

Addazio is just as confused about UNM as we are

Much like everyone else in Ag Land, Addazio was disappointed when the Rams’ home opener versus the Lobos was canceled.

As Addazio pointed out last week, and again on Tuesday, based on the guidelines currently set in place by the Mountain West, UNM had the numbers to play the game. However, based on the protocols dictated by New Mexico’s local government, “the prevalence of COVID-19 within Bernalillo County” was too significant to allow UNM to play — even with the game slated to be played on the road. 

What’s extremely frustrating for everyone in Fort Collins, though, is that on top of canceling on CSU, UNM is now going to go ahead and play their second game — despite the fact that absolutely nothing has changed — other than maybe our faith in the system, as the rules seem to be being made up as we go. 

“I thought that it was frustrating to see that. I don’t get it,” Addazio said of UNM’s second game being allowed to be played. 

“It’s out of my hands but I mean, yeah, they had the numbers to play. Apparently they weren’t allowed to practice or travel — and now all of a sudden they can travel — so I don’t know, I don’t get it. Those decisions are made somewhere else by some other people.”

No time for excuses

While Addazio would have preferred to have started the season at home and gotten his team a taste of real game action last week, the veteran coach knows there is no time for making excuses. 

As Addazio explained, the reality is the situation has always been out of their control. So, really, the only option CSU has had was to try and press forward. 

Additionally, Addazio added that while Fresno State may be at an advantage when it comes to live-game experience, the Bulldogs are also at a disadvantage in the sense that they will be playing the Rams blindly and on a short week. 

Addazio not as worried about naming starting QB

Finally, Colorado State fans are dying to know who will lead their team under center this season but Addazio is not as worried about locking down a starting quarterback at the moment. 

“Frankly, we have not (made a decision),” Addazio said. “We wrapped up and we’ll start to really dig into that a little bit today.”

While the situation may sound odd to outsiders, based on everything that has happened inside the program over the last couple of months, as well as what’s currently happening with various teams around the country, it’s really not all that surprising. 

For one thing, he’s told us on multiple occasions that he wants that position group to never stop competing — and so far, “Daz” has been pleased with what he has gotten from the group in that regard. Considering the Rams have not even played a real down of football, this makes sense. Why change what is currently motivating guys to compete every day? 

Keeping the QB’s on their toes is not the only reason that Addazio wants to have multiple players ready though. As the first-year CSU coach laid out, in 2020, anything is possible and he wants to be ready for it all. 

“I don’t feel the same urgency as I have in years past,” Addazio responded when asked about naming a starting quarterback.

Addazio continued, explaining that he wants guys competing and splitting reps because he just doesn’t know if he will wake up one morning and have that decision be dictated for him by who is available and who is not. Patrick O’Brien already had to miss significant time in camp, “through no fault of his own”, so if the situation arises again this season, Addazio wants to know that all his quarterbacks are capable and prepared. 

“That mindset makes me look at it differently too. Let’s just keep competing and let’s keep everybody rolling,” Addazio said. “Sometimes at that position you have a tendency to name a starter and then that guy gets all the reps. And the next thing you know, the next guy is not really getting equal reps at all… In this world we’re in now, in the blink of an eye someone else may have to step in and play.”

As of right now, Addazio has not stated publicly who is expected to take the opening offensive snaps against Fresno State Thursday night. One could assume that even if he missed some time in camp, O’Brien would still have the upper hand in the early portion of the season due to the chemistry he already has with the wide receivers. However, Temple-transfer Todd Centeio has impressed with his athleticism, leadership, and ability to quickly pick up the offense. 

With that in mind, it seems likely that we will at least see both O’Brien and Centeio receive some reps against the Bulldogs. Justice McCoy may even get a look too if the offense is stagnant or the game turns into a blowout either way. Regardless, though, it will be interesting to see if anyone is able to separate themselves from the pack when the lights are on and the game is on the line.