RamWire: Rams out to prove 2019 will be different

HENDERSON, Nev. – They all came with hope.

On Tuesday, the head coach and two players from each West Division team in the Mountain West worked the conference's media days at the Green Valley Ranch Resort. They all believe they are better, each feeling they have a chance to cash in at season's end. The teams at the top believe they can stay there, while those at the bottom can sense a surge upcoming.

So the stories go. Annually.

Wednesday, the same thing was repeated, this time for the representatives of the Mountain Division. The media wanted to know how Mike Bobo was feeling. First, it was in terms of his health after being diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy in fall camp last season. Next, the wellbeing of his team after a 3-9 finish, just 2-6 in MW play.

Colorado State's players – quarterback Collin Hill and defensive end Emmanuel Jones – were pressed on the same topics. As opposed to their counterparts from Boise State and Utah State -- who spoke of the next man up to fill the gaps to remain on top -- Hill and Jones were pressed about how they expect the Rams man up and turn the tide.

The Rams finished fifth in the division last year, and the program hasn't won a conference title since 2002. Since the Mountain West broke into divisions in 2013, four of the six teams in the Mountain have advanced to the championship game, Colorado State and New Mexico missing out. The West has been dominated by San Diego State and Fresno State, both of whom are on the Rams' 2019 slate.

Hill and Jones may have been the perfect choices to answer those queries for their team, as both have been filled with potential upon arrival, yet the production has not reached the expected level.

"It's two guys who have played some football, but probably haven't played as well as either one would like on a consistent basis," Bobo said. "They've shown that in spring ball."

Over the course of the two days they've smile. They've been polite. Jones shared a story of Bobo's visit to his house, eating wings and his future coach somehow finding the good hot sauce in the kitchen.

The first day, the suited up for photo shoots. They showed some personality, Hill a bit more reserved, but also accidentally head-butted a camera man, laughing, then apologizing immediately. When Jones was asked to grown or yell, he gladly did. Or dance. He'd bust out a move, and try as he might, he couldn't get Hill to follow along.

When they were asked to play charades, the first thing Hill wanted to know was what the record was so far from the other teams. He was told six. And when he fed Jones clues, they rolled.

Their score: eight. For them, it was the first 'W' of the year, and they expect more to follow.

There it begins. Spring was a time to address some issues, and the Rams believe they did. It started with the EDGE program, designed to address discipline and accountability. The summer has been a time to correct even more, with an influx of new blood joining the mix in the form of recruits and transfers.

The one person who has a real clear view of what has taken place since the 2018 school year ended is strength and conditioning coach Joey Guarascio. From where he stands – actually, struts – guiding workouts, the Rams' duo has put themselves in prime position to carve out a different path.

"Collin, he's had injuries, but he's always had that moxie to him, ice in his veins," Guarascio said. Nothing really phases him. I'm starting see him not only act like that in workouts, but now he's influencing others to act that way, too.

"Manny is a genetic freak. He's 270 pounds right now, and he's less than 10 percent body fat, extreme explosiveness, extremely strong. I think he's gone past the point where he thinks about his wrist in practice, which is big for him."

Hill's story is well known. He started three games a true freshman, only to have his left knee buckle at the end of a scramble, leading to ACL surgery. So the Moore, S.C., product rehabbed and redshirted the next season, watching as Nick Stevens went on to earn first-team All-MW honors at quarterback. And just as he was about to regain his post, he was sidelined by another ACL tear in the same knee, playing a pick-up basketball game a week before spring camp.

He's been on campus forever, but the fact remains he's only started seven games. He's thrown for 300 more yards in three of them, and he progressed through his four starts at the end of 2018.

He enters fall camp encouraged by his progress, physically, mentally and in his understanding of Bobo's system, and his demands.

"The No. 1 job of a QB is lead a team to victory, and I'm disappointed in that," Bobo said. "But you see a guy who was improving and going through what guys go through sometimes early in their careers. The thing I love is he stayed positive and kept working, and I saw improvement in those four games, and I saw big improvement in spring ball in the way he played football."

Hill was chosen to be a team captain last year, even though his teammates weren't sure when he'd step on the field with them. But he's always carried himself like a captain who is ready to lead.

Now, he speaks like a leader fully vested in changing the team's fortunes.

"I think we've definitely been trending in the right direction. Last year didn't go the way we wanted, but we're definitely headed the right way," Hill said. "I thought we were getting better at the end of the season, but really, when we came back, guys really bought in. It kinda got to the point where we really had a decision to make. Are we going to act like nothing happened last year and just do the same exact thing and see what happens, or are we actually going to try to address the problem and fix it?

"I think guys are doing that. The accountability thing has been pretty good for us. I thought we had a pretty good spring ball, and I think Manny would say it too. We've had a really good summer."

Like his players, the coach is feeling better. It was during media days in 2018 after walking up and down The Strip in the morning Bobo first started to sense something was wrong. Tuesday, he put in 25,000 steps touring the town with his wife, Lainie.

Like Hill, Jones isn't out to create reasons, just solutions. If he wanted to, he could.

He was a raw football player coming out of high school, coming to the sport late. He's not all that interested in talking about his injured wrist, either, the one which basically made him a one-armed bandit in 2018, missing two games.

"He played injured his first year, had surgery at the end of the season. Last year, it was nagging the whole year," Bobo said of Jones. "Now you've got a guy coming back and feels really good about where he's at, experience in his second year in (defensive coordinator) John Jancek's defense. There were glimpses of him last fall of being a premier pass rusher and defensive end, and we saw that in the spring; we had a hard time blocking him all spring. I'm looking forward to seeing him out there."

Jones was pretty good – 34 tackles, 7.5 for loss – but his two sacks are not what he wants, nor what the Rams' defense needs to turn around a pass rush which registered just 15 sacks (only seven teams had a lower number).

He has made some timely plays, collecting an interception or a crucial sack. He's the first to saw they need to happen more often than not.

"I'm not going to blame it on the injury. It is what it is," Jones said. "I was hurt a little bit, but it wasn't anything that took me out completely. I'm not going to put it on that, it's just this year is going to be different. I can't really say much about it. I'm not going to the blame game, going to excuses. It is what it is."

Individually, both know they have to produce more. They also understand that alone won't make them saviors for the team, as the Rams' issues a season ago went beyond the play of two starters.

If you listen, they both honestly get to the heart of what ailed the Rams. Talent will only go so far if the collective whole is not endorsing the process, and there were teammates who said one thing, yet acted in a different manner.

Some of it was obvious. The Rams needed to be stronger. They needed to be in better condition. They had to become faster. Depth has to be able to overcome the issues which hit every team.

Most crucial, they have to be together.

"We've definitely made gains. It's the weight room. We get in there, and everybody starts seeing improvements," Jones said. "The numbers start going up, you see people start to gain muscle, see people starting to run faster, jump higher. It's going to give confidence to yourself, but it's also going to help the team.

"We've gotten to the point where people don't feel like they're forced to be here, people actually want to be here. Even on conditioning days, we find a way to see the good part in everything, not just see the bad. People want to be here. It is changed mindsets."

To change those of the outside world will require some convincing.

Bobo restructured spring camp to build in a nine-week period where his team could get in a full training cycle. The administration allowed the team to arrive early, giving Guarascio and his assistants a second full cycle in which to change bodies, build mass and add speed. Just as important, it was geared to test minds and souls.

While results can be seen in hard numbers the players are encouraged by, they've hit the point where they miss the game. They want to put on pads, hit and test each other.

They want a true proving ground, and the season can't come soon enough.

The two Rams were questioned a week out from the first practice. Whether or not anybody bought into the responses was not of their concern, as they drew no motivation from the preseason predictions. The motivation they needed came to them long before.

A streak of five consecutive trips to bowl games ended. The string of losses to rivals has grown, not ended. Add it up, it's a jolt to their collective pride, so the Rams are not a team which has to look far for inspiration.

"I think it's intrinsic. I'm not trying to be mean, but I could care less what they pick," Hill said. "They're not here. It's fine. It's called preseason rankings for a reason. It is what it is. I think everybody probably knows it. It's been said, but I don't pay attention to it. That's not where my motivation comes from, and Manny is right, it doesn't define who you are. I think we can both say it doesn't matter."

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