Rams Notebook: Everything you may have missed in a busy month for CSU football

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — With the 2019 college football season officially coming to a conclusion, some folks might take some time to read a book, catch up on Netflix or try a new hobby.

Others, like you beautiful people, are already fantasizing about the 2020 campaign and the possibility of returning to the postseason.

While it may be a little early to start thinking about bowl games, it’s never too early to start focusing on the upcoming season, especially with so much change occurring this winter.

With that in mind, here’s a not-so-brief update on all things CSU football.

Geaux Tigers

Let’s begin with a brief congratulations to the wonderful people of Louisiana. I’m sure the LSU diehards are still losing sleep over the 17-14 loss to THE Colorado State Rams in 1992 but after taking some time to think it all over, I have come to the conclusion that having one of the most exciting seasons of all-time probably eased their pain a little bit.

The reason that I bring up LSU, though, is not just to make a below-average joke. The reason I bring up LSU is because the 2019 National Champions are a perfect example of how fast a program can change with the right coach and the right culture. The Tigers went from being an average team in the SEC under Les Miles to a national powerhouse in just a couple of years.

The funny thing about the whole situation is that when LSU removed the tag of interim and named Ed Oregeron head coach, many mocked the decision — even after he led the Tigers to a 6-2 record over the final eight games in 2016.

Oregeron had tremendous experience as an assistant but very little previous success as a head coach, and was basically more known for being an internet meme than a winner. (Sound familiar?)

All Oregeron proceeded to do was out-recruit the SEC, put together a staff that complimented his strengths as a leader, and eventually, make his doubters look like fools by putting together one of the most impressive runs of all-time.

Now, I’m not saying that Steve Addazio is the next Ed Oregeron. Unless Addazio ends up running the table this season — if that happens, I demand all credit for coming up with such a brilliant comparison. But given how this past season played out, it’s a good reminder for us all that sometimes, it’s best to just admit that we have to wait and see.

On paper, Addazio wasn’t a sexy hire. Around the state of Colorado, Addazio was much more known for “Guys being dudes” than anything else. Just like Oregeron, though, Addazio may end up being the right person to right the ship.

I’ll admit that I was not very excited when CSU officially announced it would be Addazio taking over. Like many football fans, I am a big proponent of the modern offensive era and was initially hoping that CSU would find an innovative play-caller that could take advantage of all the weapons currently on the roster.

Of course, I was basically thinking of Mike Bobo. So, in hindsight, I should have known that the administration would want a change of pace.

During his time at CSU, Bobo was a brilliant offensive schemer. Watching the offense on the opening series was always something I looked forward to because it was damn near always scripted to perfection by Bobo.

The problem was that Bobo’s teams also generally tended to be sloppy and undisciplined — and as far as a winning culture goes, CSU did not have one. So as the games went on, particularly important games, instead of finding ways to win, the Rams usually found ways to blow it.

Addazio is going to bring a different vibe to the table. Whether his old-school approach will bring success or not is still TBD but I do expect a much more focused and disciplined squad moving forward.

The key for Addazio will be getting a group of players that he did not recruit to buy into him as a person. If Addazio can do that, CSU may just have found a diamond in the rough.

Staff News

Since taking the gig roughly one month ago, Addazio has put together a staff that has largely worked with him in the past.

While there will always be questions of nepotism in those situations, the counter argument would be that it makes a lot of sense to fill out the staff with people he is familiar with if he believes that CSU can win immediately.

As of right now, the media has only had an opportunity to meet the coordinators, but with Kenny Guiton (wide receivers) and Cody Booth (tight ends) officially being announced on Tuesday, the staff is basically complete.

Kenny Guiton (wide receivers coach)

Guiton is a former Ohio State wide quarterback and comes to CSU after spending last season at Louisiana Tech as an “outside receivers coach”. Prior to that, Guiton was the wide receivers coach at Houston for two seasons (2017-18).

In 2018, Houston’s offense ranked N0. 5 nationally in scoring (43.9 points per game) and No. 7 nationally in total offense (512.5 yards per game). What’s more, the Cougar offense scored 30 or more points in all 12 regular season games and threw 40+ points on the board 10 times.

From a production standpoint, the Guiton-led wide receivers were tremendous. Five different players recorded at least 30 receptions in 2018. They weren’t just empty stats either — all five of those pass catchers finished the year with at least four touchdown receptions.

Under Addazio’s new offensive coordinator Joey Lynch, who frequently operated out of the spread at Ball State, Guiton will try to replicate that explosive success with an extremely versatile group at CSU.

Cody Booth (tight ends coach)

Booth is entering his first season as a full-time assistant coach, but he’s extremely familiar with Addazio, having played and coached under him.

After playing tight end for the first three years of his collegiate career, Booth transitioned to offensive tackle in 2013. The transition worked well for Booth as he was able to spend three seasons in the NFL with three different teams. He suited up for the Chicago Bears in 2014, the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2014-15 and played his final season in Washington (2016).

Following his playing career, Booth returned to Temple as an offensive graduate assistant in 2017 and 2018 and spent the 2019 season as an offensive graduate assistant for Addazio at Boston College.

2020 CSU Football staff

(* Unofficial )

Head Coach: Steve Addazio

Offensive Coordinator (Quarterbacks): Joey Lynch

Defensive Coordinator (Safeties): Chuck Heater

Associate Head Coach (Running backs): Brian White

Wide Receivers: Kenny Guiton

Assistant Wide Receivers: Jordan Jefferson*

Tight Ends: Cody Booth*

Offensive Line: Louie Addazio

Defensive Line: Antoine Smith

Linebackers: Sean Cronin

Cornerbacks: Anthony Perkins

Special Teams: Jon Goodman*

Head Strength & Conditioning: Scott McLafferty

Associate Strength & Conditioning: Spencer Reid

Assistant Strength & Conditioning: Nathan Morris

 

TBA: Mike Treier*

Treier was originally hired by Florida State as a defensive analyst this winter but on Jan. 15, Football Scoop reported that Treier accepted a role coaching safeties at CSU.

At this point, Treier is not listed in CSU’s 2020 staff directory and his Twitter bio still has Florida State listed. However, the majority of his “favorites” over the past two weeks have been tweets from CSU coaches and recruits. And on Jan. 23, Treier was tagged in a tweet with a CSU football helmet by a head high school football in Georgetown, TX., which is a pretty good confirmation that he’s out recruiting for Addazio.

While it may be a little surprising to some that Treier would leave an ACC gig for a job in the Mountain West, he did coach under Heater at Marshall. So, it’s possible that he would rather have an on-field position at CSU, under a close friend, than an analyst role at a school he’d never previously worked at.

Regardless, Treier should be an asset for CSU moving forward. As the FSU affiliate for 247Sports pointed out, Treier has deep recruiting ties in Florida, which basically every staff needs.

 

TBA: Clay Davie*

Clay, a longtime assistant for the Lobos and son of former UNM head coach Bob Davie, seems to have moved roughly 500 miles up I-25.

On Jan. 24, Clay Davie tweeted that he was excited to be part of the CSU Rams family and thanked Coach Addazio for an unspecified opportunity. Like Treier, Davie is not currently listed in the staff directory, so we don’t know what his role will be. For the majority of his time at UNM, though, Davie coached tight ends.

Admittedly, C. Davie was not an assistant that was on my radar, especially because CSU already has a tight ends coach. That said, I should have known this was coming because on Christmas Eve, he posted a photo with Urban Meyer and his father.

Recruiting radar

After signing nine players in the early period, the new staff has been hitting the recruiting trail hard. According to 247Sports, the Rams currently have eight prep commits for the 2020 cycle and CSU has picked up a pair of D1 transfers as well.

Most recently, CSU received verbal commitments from former Temple quarterback Todd Centeio and 2020 QB prospect Jackson Muschamp.

Centeio was primarily a backup at Temple but did manage to see the field every now and then over the past two seasons. The dual-threat intends to come to CSU in May and pursue a master’s degree while playing out his final two years of eligibility.

J. Muschamp is the son of South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp. Despite being related to an SEC coach and coming off of a 12-2 senior season, though, Jackson drew little interest from major programs — probably because he’s only listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds.

Even as a smaller QB, Muschamp throws a really nice ball and his knowledge of the game is sure to be superior to the average 18-year-old. With local 3-star QB Luke McAlister still planning on signing for the 2021 cycle, it’s good to know that the Rams should have options under center in future seasons.

2020 verbals

Name | City | Measurables | Offers 

• Dirk Nelson (center) | Visalia, CA. | 6’2, 291 lbs. | Air Force, Army, Nevada, Oregon. (10)
• Aaron Moore (OLB) | Murfreesboro, TN. | 6’3, 220 lbs. | Arkansas, Missouri, Memphis  (10)
• Weston Wallace (OT) | Eatonton, GA. | 6’4, 341 lbs. | CSU (1)
• Gaje Gaynor (OG) | Pompano Beach, Fla. | 6’3, 266 lbs. | Air Force, Louisville, UNLV (8)
• Josh Henderson (ILB) | Simi Valley, CA. | 6’2, 200 lbs. | Air Force, Army, Fresno State (5)
• Cameron Bariteau  (DT) | Highstown, NJ. | 6’1, 300 lbs. | Bowling Green, UMASS (4)
• Bam Amina (ILB) | Mililani, HI. | 6’0, 205 lbs. | Harvard, Hawaii, SDSU (10)
• Jackson Muschamp (QB) | Columbia, SC. | 6’1, 190 lbs. | Boston College, Western Carolina (7)

2020 transfers 

Name | Previous School | Measurables 

Todd Centeio (QB) | Temple | 6’0, 210 lbs.

Cam Reddy (TE) | Boston College | 6’3, 255 lbs.