Mountain West football preview: Colorado State Rams

LAS VEGAS – Jay Norvell finished 3-9 during his first season in Fort Collins.
Colorado State’s head coach insists the program is as close to a breakthrough season as the excruciating 14-13 loss to Wyoming suggested.
The Rams are picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West preseason media poll, one spot behind their Border War rivals.
“Win, lose, draw, it’s great because you know both sides are putting it all out there and you can’t be mad,” defensive end Mohamed Kamara, an all-conference first-team selection, said of the 2022 Border War. “If you were there, you felt it. It feels electric. Both sides were trying their hardest. …
“It’s not necessarily a good thing to lose, but it feels good to put it all out there.”
CSU expects to put a better offense out on the field this fall after averaging 13.2 points per game last season, which ranked 129th in the FBS behind only New Mexico (13.1 ppg) and UMass (12.5 ppg).
Clay Millen returns at quarterback after leading the nation in completion percentage (72.2%) as a freshman.
Norvell said Millen’s first season as his starter was even better than Carson Strong’s first season as his starter at Nevada. Strong, who is now a volunteer assistant at CSU, was the MW offensive player in his second season leading the Wolf Pack offense.
“I think Clay has a bright future,” Norvell said. “I’m not saying he’s going to be the player of the year. I’m just saying he should make a huge jump, and I think he will.”
The status of running back Avery Morrow, who led the team with 834 yards and four touchdowns, is up in the air after his January arrest on assault charges.
North Dakota State transfer Kobe Johnson could have a big role with the Rams after rushing for 961 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Bison, averaging 7.4 yards per carry. In four seasons at the FCS level, he rushed for 2,563 yards and 18 touchdowns, while averaging 6.7 yards per carry.
Millen will be passing to the MW’s top wide receiver, Tory Horton, who had 71 receptions for 1,131 yards and eight touchdowns after following Norvell from Nevada to CSU. The dynamic junior also averaged 15.6 yards per punt return, including a 72-yard touchdown against UW.
However, Horton’s muffed punt flipped the momentum in the Cowboys’ comeback win at Canvas Stadium.
“He’s such a diverse and dynamic player. He just wants to be the best he can at every position he can,” CSU punter Paddy Turner said of Horton. “He catches anywhere between 50 and 100 punts per week, even in the offseason. It tires my leg out, but he loves doing it.
“Obviously with what happened with Wyoming, we all experienced the highs, and we all experienced the lows. I think Tory has played that moment over and over in his head a fair bit and I don’t see that happening again.”
The reason Turner represented the Rams at MW media days is because Millen and Horton are still not 21, the minimum age to be able to enter Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Norvell expects the growing pains, particularly on the offensive line, to pay off this season.
“For every player, losing is a real motivating factor in your development as a player,” Norvell said. “It can have a great galvanizing effect in having you play better.”
Kamara, who had 8.5 sacks and 16.0 tackles for loss last season, leads the defense, along with all-MW safety Jack Howell.
Two more productive NDSU transfers, defensive lineman Tony Pierce and safety Dom Jones, are also expected to make a smooth transition to the FBS. Cornerback Ron Hardge III (Oregon State) and linebacker Trey Paster (California) have transferred from the Pac-12 to the MW.
“We’ve tried to build the roster from the bottom up, we’ve tried to add as many playmakers as possible and we’ve done that,” Norvell said. “Many of our transfer players have been very productive players from other schools.”
The Rams host Washington State in their opener on Sept. 2 in Fort Collins. After an open date, CSU renews its in-state rivalry with Colorado in Boulder.
Norvell will try to grab the Bronze Boot for the first time on Nov. 3 at War Memorial Stadium. Craig Bohl’s Pokes have won six of the last seven meetings in the series.
“Coach Bohl and I have a great relationship,” said Norvell, whose brother played for Bohl at Wisconsin. “Just a hard-nosed coach, and whenever you play his team, they’re not going to make a lot of mistakes. You’re going to have to earn everything you get. We’ve played some great games against one another coming down to the wire. I don’t expect him to change.”