Theme of the team: Brotherhood of Rams

When a team comes together, it becomes a brotherhood of men.

“If I could rewind two years ago, when he came in as a true freshman, he was the smartest true freshman quarterback that I have seen,” Kivon Cartwright admitted of Nick Stevens at today’s press conference. Jasen Oden Jr. wore Treyous Jarrells number in practice when Jarrells was sidelined for a knee scope. SteveO Michael praised head coach Mike Bobo for reaching out to him and being patient with him. Kevin Pierre-Louis talked about how he likes to stay calm on game day but if his team gets fired up he has no choice to to join them. The list goes on and on.

This Colorado State Rams Football team has a lot of unknowns; like new coaches, young QBs, players getting moved around on the offensive line and so on, but if there is one thing that could really make a difference in this team’s future it is unity.

With unity and with brotherhood, real learning is possible. Sure, sometimes the players will fight like brothers, but what comes after is special. When players trust their coach and trust each other, they can stay loose and get down to business. No distractions.

Throughout camp this Rams team has come together, starting as individuals working on fundamentals, and now working out the fine details of how to prepare for their first opponent, Savannah State. There has been a noticeable difference. Their chemistry just produces faith in the team out of thin air.

With faith in your teammates you can do your job and not feel like you have to do more than the coach is asking of you. This allows the coaches to trust that formations and schemes are going to be followed to the best of their abilities. Football is a constant process of learning. The more you can focus the more opportunities you have to master your craft.

A team without drama can focus.

Coach Bobo has been taking steps to foster this process. Each older player was bunked up with a younger player at their position during camp. Players talk about hitting the playbook more than anything else. Bobo has instilled in these players a sense of family. It is powerful. When the locker room feels like home you are more like to protect your house on the gridiron.

Some of these Rams players are young and there are a lot of personalities on this team. Coach Bobo has shown up as the vocal leader that CSU needs. The first practice that the team dawned their pads, coach Bobo lost his voice motivating his team to hit. He has the team buying into living with integrity. Kids do stupid things sometimes but there is a feeling that the players have been given “the talk” and understand their expectations. Bobo is a family man, he brings it everywhere he goes.

For example, when asked about Rashard Higgins blocking coach Bobo explained, “Plain and simple, if you are not going to block, you are not going to play.” He went on to say, “It is an unselfish act to me, guys got to be team players because that line is blocking for them and the running backs are protecting for them so they can run routes, so I expect them to block hard and what make 10 yard gains into a 25 to 30 yard gain explosive plays.”

It isn’t just the players. The coaches are getting into regular season form, too. They’ve run four actual mock games with full microphone set ups. These coaches are manufacturing adversity so when the real thing comes their way CSU players are prepared and know how to react.

The practices are fast-paced and move efficiently. They drive up team pride, build confidence, study and hit hard. The wheels are in motion, we just have to wait four more days to see if the tires have any traction.

The CSU Rams will be hosting Savannah State on Saturday Sept. 5 at Sonny Lubick field at Hughes stadium; a perfect opportunity for this team to prove they can stand together and fight for the win and to possibly one day call themselves champions.