Texas Longhorns football is BACK this weekend. On the docket for week one, the Colorado State Rams will charge their way into Austin under the leadership of head coach Jay Norvell. Today, watch our Devon Messinger and Dylan DeRaud discuss their scouting report of the Colorado State Rams by watching the YouTube video above.
Messinger’s Scouting Report of the Colorado State Offense:
For Jay Norvell’s squad, it all starts with redshirt sophomore quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi. Last season, the Texas-native threw for 3,460 yards, 22 TDs and 16 interceptions. On the receiving end of a lion’s share of Fowler-Nicolosi’s passes was graduate wide receiver Tory Horton, who tallied 1,136 yards and eight touchdowns on 96 receptions. Other than Horton, returning talent offensively is few and far between. As a result, Norvell hit the transfer portal with the acquisition of former Baylor wide receiver Armani Winfield, who was formerly a Texas target as a high school recruit. After being buried on the Baylor roster, Winfield will receive much more playing time on the Colorado State roster – being named a starter for the season-opener.
Meanwhile, Colorado State’s running game was much less flashy last season. In fact, not a single Rams running back amassed over 400 rushing yards on the ground. The lack of a ground game was much of the reason why the team’s scoring offense ranked 76th out of 133 teams last season. However, redshirt freshman running back Justin Marshall ended the season on a hot streak for the Rams and will be the tailback to watch in Texas’ week one matchup.
DeRaud’s Scouting Report of the Colorado State Defense:
Colorado State’s defense is led by Defensive Coordinator Freddie Banks, who previously coached at Montana State, where he helped them reach the FCS championship and had one of the top defenses in the FCS. Banks wants his defense to be aggressive, fast, and very disciplined, which has earned him the nickname “Principal Banks” amongst his team. However,
last season, the Rams struggled, giving up 29.6 points per game, which ranked them 98th out of 133 teams in the FBS.
This season, the Rams will feel the loss of their star defensive end, Mohammad Kamara, who was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and is now in the NFL. To make up for his absence, they will rely on players like middle linebacker Chase Wilson, and strong safety Jack Howell, who led the team with 114 tackles. The secondary will also get a boost from two graduate transfers, Isaiah Essissima from Nevada and Elias Larry from Navy, who will help improve their pass defense. With Banks’ leadership, the Rams have the potential to improve, but they will need to address the weaknesses from last season if they have any chance against Texas.
