Rams Notebook: Scheduling notes, preseason hype, and why Joe Parker is impressed with Steve Addazio

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — At this point it’s still unclear if we will have a college football season this fall. As COVID-19 cases continue to spike in hot spots around the country, the logistics of traveling and successfully completing a season without a bubble for the teams feels less likely than it did even a month ago. 

The Rams have already lost a pair of Pac-12 games on their schedule. And while the Mountain West has not made any official decisions regarding its members playing some type of league-only format, even that scenario could be in jeopardy after the latest news out of New Mexico. 

With so much still in the air, planning ahead for the 2020 season is going to be a tough task for coaches, players, fans and anyone else that typically enjoys the thrill ride that is college football. Shoot, we don’t even know when the season is officially going to start or what the teams will be playing for. As much as it pains me to say it, bowl season and the CFB Playoff are definitely in danger — especially if there ends up being another wave of this nasty virus this winter. 

Having said all of that, though, the only choice Colorado State football really has at the moment is to hope for the best and continue to prepare as if there will be a season. 

Pt. 1 Update from Joe Parker

In a conference call with the local media earlier this week, Joe Parker said that the plan is essentially for the Rams to keep pushing forward until someone tells them they must stop. 

“Until people tell us that’s not what we should be doing, that’s all we really know (what) to do,” Parker said.

Parker continued that the Mountain West, like everyone else, have reviewed many different scenarios for what the football season might look like.

According to Parker, when the student-athletes originally left campus at the beginning of pandemic, most of the conversations around the league were about how it would be important for the numbers to be in control at the individual locales.

While numbers in northern Colorado are still relatively tame compared to some of the other states in the region, seeing rising amounts of positive tests in states where league teams play is definitely concerning. Parker addressed this, stating, “I think what you see market by market is trends in viral spreads that are moving probably in a direction where there’s more people impacted.”

A look at the numbers at CSU

CSU Athletics has tested 203 student-athletes for COVID-19 and received three positive tests so far. 

None of those positive tests were football players — which after multiple weeks of voluntary workouts, feels like a rare sign for optimism in this constant cycle of disappointing news.

Scheduling Notes

Parker’s preferred schedule for 2020 would be as close to traditional as possible, eight league games within a divisional format and a non-conference slate.

“In our case, we obviously lost two of our non-conference opponents when the Pac-12 made their decision,” Parker added. “That was unfortunate for us. And I think it was unfortunate for people in the state of Colorado who are passionate about college football.”

For the sake of fairness, Parker did add that Colorado’s A.D. Rick George was in favor of the Pac-12 playing one non-conference game on top of the league format.

“This would be a very easy game for them to play as it relates to trying to mitigate any risk of viral spread for their team,” Parker said.

Parker explained how CU could have even modified their game day routine so that the Buffs traveled the day of the contest. The Buffs would have simply started with some pregame activities at Folsom Field in Boulder and then took the short bus ride to Canvas Stadium, instead of spending the night in Fort Collins.

“Rick (George) understood that,” Parker said. “Rick advocated with his peer group and the conference office — and obviously it just didn’t get the same support that the other direction had.”

While CSU fans will complain about the loss of the 2020 RMS for years, there is still a possibility that the Rams could replace the lost games against Colorado and Oregon State. Parker said that while he could not offer specifics — like where the games would be played or who they would potentially be against — CSU is at the very least open to exploring this route.

Parker impressed by Addazio’s leadership

Not much has been normal during Steve Addazio’s brief tenure as head coach of the Rams. He had to sign a 2019 recruiting class on short notice and then had to abandon campus halfway through his first spring practice period with the team.

As weird as it may sound, though, the Rams might actually come out of this thing stronger than before. At least that’s what Parker seems to think.

When asked if Addazio’s ability to navigate such murky waters validated his hiring last December, Parker had nothing but positive things to say about the first-year CSU head coach. In fact, Parker said that he’s been “extremely impressed” by how Addazio has managed the team so far.

“Our success right now with getting kids to campus, and getting them back to more normalized activities has a lot to do with the culture that he’s building,” Parker said of Addazio.

Parker also raved about Addazio’s recruiting prowess.

“We’ve all seen what Steve (Addazio) and his staff have been able to do as it relates to engaging prospective students and their interest in participating here as a student-athlete,” Parker said.

“We’ve made more measurable progress there than I think we ever previously have with early verbal commitments — and they continue to do that. (Steve) really embraced the opportunity and saw this as an opportunity to press forward.”

Pt. 2 Preseason hype is here

As we get closer to the beginning of August, the one thing that is clear is if there is a football season, expectations for the Rams are up again after back-to-back down seasons. 

After multiple Rams already received preseason all-conference nominations, Warren Jackson was recently tabbed the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by the Mountain West media. 

The senior wide receiver has been turning heads in Ram Country for years and now it seems that the rest of the league thinks just as highly of him as the good folks in Fort Collins do. 

Throughout the history of the MW Conference, the only other wide receiver to be named the preseason player of the year was Rashard Higgins in 2015 — and it took him being a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award for that to happen. So, for Jackson to receive this recognition — with Hank Bachmeier (QB) returning to Boise State — shows just how much respect No. 9 has earned around the league. 

Along with Jackson, Dante Wright earned a spot on the Hornung Award Watch List, an award annually recognizing the nation’s most versatile football player.

Wright certainly stole the show at times last season, so it will be fun to see if he can build off of that success as a sophomore and takes things to a whole new level in 2020. 

Not to be outdone by his teammates, Ryan Stonehouse was unsurprisingly added to the watch list for the Ray Guy Award.

Entering his senior campaign, Stonehouse leads all active punters with a career average of 47.0 yards per attempt. So far in his career, though, the voters for the national awards seem to be sleeping on the red-headed special teams weapon. Maybe 2020 will be the year where Stonehouse gets his due?

Finally, beyond the plethora of Rams who have received individual recognition this summer, Phil Steele tabbed CSU as the third-most improved team in the entire country in his annual college football preview.

Obviously, this is just one man’s opinion. But considering Steele is nationally revered as one of the most knowledgeable sources for college football, it’s definitely an encouraging sign for the Rams’ potential this season.