New Arrivals Aim to Push Camp Competition

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – When the recruiting cycle was done for 2021, Colorado State wasn't finished.

Head coach Steve Addazio was strategic about the size of the high school class he signed, knowing spring camp would help highlight a few areas of need coming off a shortened season – 2020 wasn't exactly and in-depth look at the roster at hand. There would also be some departures from the roster, part of the current college game, and the pandemic year was going to supply an extra year of eligibility for some players who may be looking for new homes.

Before the next semester had begun, the program had already added offensive lineman Vincent Picozzi, linebacker Anthony Koclanakis, cornerback Linwood Crump and defensive lineman Mike Ciaffoni in time for spring camp. By the end of those 15 practices Addazio and his staff had a wish list, and among the spots was another quarterback with experience to help fill out the room and aid in competition. Enter Matt Valecce, but the Rams didn't stop there, adding running back David Bailey and wideout Jordan Kress. All of them – at the very least – bring some experience either on the field, in the systems or in terms of experience, sometimes checking both boxes.

Automatically, they make the team better, which all of them believe is their primary goal.

"I come in every day ready to attack and push my hardest, because without competition, it doesn't make anyone better, myself or anybody in that room," Picozzi said, who is armed with an all-conference resume from Temple. "If I'm pushing myself, then it's pushing the other guys and it makes the group all-around better."

Competition is key, which Addazio made clear at the end of the first practice. It will be what drives this team as it moves forward. For instance, he stood firm in his stance Todd Centeio is the team's starting quarterback. But without production, the depth chart can change.

It is not limited to just the quarterbacks, but across the board. No position is safe if proof is not supplied on a daily basis.

"I don't care what position it is, you've got to do it every day," Addazio said. "And if you don't, then I guess you get passed by. That's life. That's the way it goes."

None of them have a clear path to what they really want, which is to prove they are the best guy suited at their position. All of them have returning starters in front of them. All of them have respect for the depth chart at the beginning of camp, the talent they are up against and the challenges which await.

But if they are truly to be doing a full service for the Rams as a whole, they have to go about things with the individual idea they will become starters.

That's how true competition really works.

"The goal is to come in here and compete for a starting job. I'm a competitor, Coach Addazio knows that and I think he respects that, and I'm eternally grateful to him and Coach Jon Budmayr for giving me this opportunity," Valecce said. "I'm so excited, and I loved coming here on the first day and competing. It's what I love to do, so I'm going to push for that starting spot, compete every day, control what I can control and go about my business."

Matt Valecce

Valecce and Bailey were both recruited by Addazio at Boston College, coming in as part of the same class. Knowing they were both on their way to Fort Collins made the decision easier, as did the arrivals of former Eagles a year before them. The real selling point was the coaching staff and the trust they'd built since Addazio first started talking to them as high school players.

They both know the base system, and each has had a chance to catch up with the nuances Budmayr has blended into the mix. Each considers it a major foot in the door at the start of camp, having it be more of recall than learning something new. Valecce hasn't played much – six appearances in 2019 with seven passes thrown – but he has seen the field and is comfortable with the playbook.

Bailey has done more than play, he's excelled. He's a big back (6-foot, 236 pounds) with 1,600 career yards and 16 touchdowns in the books at Boston College, including a 125-yard effort against Syracuse and a career-best 181 facing North Carolina State. Running backs coach Brian White is rather familiar with the player Bailey is, and in turn, he knows what the expectations in the running backs room are already.

"These are the guys who brought me in from high school; they really know who I am and how to really use me in an offense," Bailey said. "The guys that are here, Coach White, Coach Addazio, Coach Frank Leonard, guys that have been with me since 11^th grade – and my family connected with these guys – so me coming here was the best decision I could make.

"I'm looking to get back to that again and show what I can really do beyond that, in the pass game and blocking. Just from development over the years, learning in last year's passing offense, there are more things to go into my game and step into this offense."

Beyond the play, they are schooled in how Addazio and his staff structure practices and what the culture should be like. Already, Valecce is impressed, feeling the senior leadership has done a good job of molding what Addazio seeks. Part of that is competing each and every day.

Likewise, Bailey said he was welcomed to the running back room by Marcus McElroy and A'Jon Vivens, a pair of backs he said are talented and will change him as he tries to challenge them. And while Valecce's chance to show off his talents started on the first day, Bailey noted the time for any running back to shine is when the pads are on and the hitting starts. It's breaking tackles and hitting holes and being sturdy in pass protection. Until then, it's getting back to the rhythm of the game, since he didn't participate in any spring camp.

"It's really about technique, looking at going more in depth in the playbook and really working on your technique and footwork," he said. "It's getting back in the flow. For me, it's getting back in the flow because I haven't been on the field in a while."

Picozzi's route to Colorado State didn't come with the same degree of advance knowledge, but he did have a familiarity with tight ends coach Cody Booth, whom he worked with at Temple. But he also knew the Addazio family reputation when it came to offensive line play, and he was able to arrive for spring camp to learn, even if he was injured and couldn't be on the field.

Thursday was his first chance to do so, and he felt great being back out on the field and learning in a physical way instead of the mental reps he took while sidelined a few month back. Even still, the knowledge he gained in spring was beneficial, because while the system is similar, it is not identical to what he ran when he played 39 games in his career, including time at all five positons.

"It helped a lot coming in. Coming in and learning the new playbook was a challenge," he said. "It was going from something I was used to for two years and then something brand new. That gave me the opportunity to learn the playbook, learn those calls and all the little nitty-gritty details of the offense. It felt good to finally have the helmet on and be out there. Like any injured player knows, it' tough to be on the sideline and watch your boys get after it. It felt good to put the helmet on and get back out with everyone."

For the team, too. Like any roster, the Rams were still in the process of building depth, and if the arrival of this trio helps push the top of the depth chart to new heights, then the plan worked. If they happen to be the players at the top, they will have had to prove it along the way.

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