DENVER — It’s been all about the offense since Jay Norvell was hired to take over the Colorado State football program. According to a report from Football Scoop on Monday, however, Norvell’s target for defensive coordinator is Freddie Banks (Montana State DC). An inside source has told DNVR that the first-year Bobcats defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach is who Norvell intends to hire as well.

Banks coached defensive backs at Nevada in 2020, so it wouldn’t be the first time he’s worked under Norvell in the Mountain West. In his first year under Brent Vigen (MSU head coach) this fall, the up-and-coming defensive coordinator has been able to help guide the Bobcats to a 12-2 season thus far. Following Montana State’s most recent victory over South Dakota State in the semifinals, the Bobcats are now slated to face North Dakota State in the FCS National Championship Game on January 8. 

While the FCS tend to be known for high scoring teams like the Jackrabbits of SDSU or the Bison of NDSU, Montana State’s stout defense has played a huge role in their success this season. The Bobcats only allow 13.43 points per game on average. And in their semifinal win over South Dakota State last weekend, it was the defense pitching a shutout in the second half that ultimately made the biggest difference. 

All matchups are inherently different, which tends to make game-to-game comparisons difficult. When you play a team makes a big difference, as does injury status. So with that in mind, take these numbers with a grain of salt, but against common opponents this fall, Banks’ teams went 1-1 and CSU went 0-2. 

Montana State opened the 2021 campaign against Wyoming in Laramie and came extremely close to pulling off the upset. In fact the Bobcats scored a touchdown to go up 4 points with 2:17 left to play. The Pokes ended up pulling out a game-winning drive of their own to steal the win, it was far from an easy day for Wyoming’s offense though. MSU’s defense, led by Banks, only allowed the Cowboys to find the end zone twice. Montana State’s offense just failed to do enough with the stellar day from the defense, and as a result, the Bobcats fell 19-16 at War Memorial Stadium. 

The other common opponent was obviously South Dakota State and aside from the final outcome, what really stands out is the way the Bobcats were able to contain the high-scoring Jackrabbits on the ground. In their upset win over CSU in Week 1, SDSU rushed for 240 yards on 7.1 yards per attempt. The Jackrabbits scored four rushing touchdowns too in what was a dominant effort by the FCS squad in the trenches. Comparatively, Montana State held SDSU to 124 yards on the ground (3.8 yards per attempt) and a single rushing touchdown. Again, all matchups are different but in a game with much higher stakes, the Bobcats were much more up for the task of competing physically with one of the more electric offenses in the FCS. 

There was also a similar noticeable difference with the way Banks’ defense contained Wyoming. While CSU allowed the Pokes to run wild on them for 385 rushing yards on 6.8 yards per carry, MSU held Wyoming to 151 yards on the ground at 3.5 yards a pop. 

It’s too early to start dusting the trophy case and preparing for the return of the Bronze Boot or anything like that— Banks hasn’t even officially been hired — but assuming that he is in fact Norvell’s guy, the numbers say there is reason to be intrigued. In a small sample size he’s done great things at Montana State. His fast ascension through the coaching ranks is encouraging as well. 

Chuck Heater was able to accomplish some remarkable feats during his two seasons on the job. When the unit was healthy, CSU had one of the most disruptive front sevens in the country in 2021. That said, he never felt like a logical fit to remain on staff under Norvell. It will be fun to see what type of defensive talent that Norvell, Banks and Co. can add to the mix this winter. 

Of CSU’s 22 signees during the early period, 19 players were on the offensive side. Norvell has explained that he wanted his defensive coordinator to help play a role in the talent evaluation and recruitment processes. So one would assume that we’ll really start to get a better feel for the defensive portion of the roster in the coming months. 

Things are changing quickly in ‘FoCo’. Buckle up Ram Nation, it should be an exciting ride.