By The Numbers, Opportunity Awaits

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The workload at the position requires numbers.

The Air Raid is going to attack defenses in waves and will push the pace for up to around 80 plays per game, with upwards of 50 being passes. It adds up to a lot of routes in a scheme where the norm is three-wide out sets.

The overall total isn't there, but the task of receivers coach Chad Savage is to develop what he needs on gameday.

"We are an Air Raid offense, and we do some West Coast stuff in the run game, but outside, we're going to play two, three receivers on pretty much every play, and I need 10 guys ready to go every single game," Savage said. "It's going to take some time, just because of the different scheme from the previous staff to our staff, being more of a run-heavy team and we're a pass-heavy team, so it's getting our numbers in terms of personnel too. They had about 12; ideally, we want 17 receivers. Right now, we only have 15, so we're still going to work those numbers into our next recruiting class.

"In terms of practice, our guys are getting a ton of reps, we're doing the split practices and I want our guys to be opportunistic. When the ball comes their way, to make the play. I tell them every day, do the five – alignment, assignment, technique, effort and finish. If we can do those five things and have the next-play mentality, we'll be alright."

What this staff inherited was a group of four wideouts with experience, with Dante Wright's career resume the most impressive of the group. Ty McCullouch surged at the end of last season, E.J. Scott has been a regular in the rotation for three seasons and Justice McCoy is still developing after spending his first few seasons at quarterback. Then they added Nevada transfers Tory Horton and Melquan Stovall, two players who are very familiar with the requirements.

That still leaves a lot of opportunity available for others, including the four freshman who joined the program this summer. Horton was quick to let them know it was all hands on deck.

"As soon as I got here, I said we're all super stars," Horton said. "Everybody is a super star in the room. When it comes down to it, it might have to be me or you or him over there that has to make that play, that game-changing play. We all have to go out there and we're all going to get a certain amount of reps. Whatever rep we get we just have to make the best out of it. If you only get three, you have to make the best of it, because on game day, it might be that one rep that makes the difference."

A good portion of them are going to be needed for games, and they're all going to have to rely on each other. Horton said it very much is a brotherhood, so they spend the summer getting to know each other to build a bond.

Naturally it came during strength and conditioning, and also during captain's practices and 7-on-7 work. They also spent plenty of time off the field together, finding ways to do so in a somewhat competitive way.

"Before fall camp, we'd go bowling almost every week. It gets very competitive," Horton said. "The freshmen think they know how to bowl, the veterans think they know how to bowl. I don't want to brag, but I won a couple of games. I think Im the best bowler of the group. I think Im the best bowler on the team. It's just fun and games. We like to get away from football and spend regular, quality time together outside of the football facility just to build our connection outside of footballs strong, so when we come back in to football, we know how we are, how we react. It's just building that bond."

Horton proudly said he had the best game of the group, a 209. It was fun, but he also had some competition. There are also a few players in the room he said really need to work on their game. During camp, they haven't been going as they try to get their recovery in between practices, but eventually, they'll be out trying to convert spares and picking up splits once again.

"Dane Olson is a great bowler. He surprised me," Hortons said. "Dante Wright is actually really good, too. They have some good spins on the ball. They surprised me. GRob (Gerick Robinson) is terrible. He lost every time. He lost to the freshmen. I don't know if it counts as one of the receivers, but Damir Abdullah used to go with us before he moved to tight end. He's awful. I don't know if he has the right mechanics to bowl. He steps with the wrong foot."

But this season, Savage needs a strong 10 to be in step with the offense, and while he said it was a bit of an adjustment at the beginning for those new to the scheme, they've adjusted quite well to the workload and the learning the system.

It's how they practice. Even the 20 minutes of individual breakouts is route intensive. It's not just working on releases he said, but also building chemistry with the quarterbacks. For the four freshmen, they had to catch up fast with none of them around for spring camp.

"At first, they were a little wide-eyed, as expected, and nervous," Savage said. "They've all come in, they've got the right mindset and now that they're having some success on the field, their mindset has shifted. They're hungrier to learn the plays, and they know we're going to rely on them this season, so they have no choice but to get in the film room and learn stuff."

Louis Brown, Mekhi Fox, Ky Oday and Justus Ross-Simmons have all had their fill of reps in practice, and Wednesday's scrimmage put them in a game situation for the first time. They all had bright spots, but it was Ross-Simmons who made two amazing catches to draw some major attention. Both required great body control, and one touchdown he hauled in one-handed.

Just as Horton expected.

"It didn't open my eyes. I knew what he was going to do," Hortons said. "I've been seeing this since 7-on-7. I knew he was a stud, same for LB, Mekhi and Ky Oday. I knew they were all studs. Me seeing those plays, it puts a big smile on my face. We knew what he could do, and there were players like 'woo,' but us in the receiver room, we were like, that's normal. That one-handed catch, that was natural. We preach on them in receiver room to go out there and make plays, make the impossible look possible."

Ross-Simmons said the freshmen have all come to realize their time could be now, and within the main group, they've developed a bond as a class. They are there to lift each other up, to encourage and to help each other learn the scheme.

They all want to be better, because they understand there could be room for all of them, not just eventually, but now.

"I mean, I knew there were receivers ahead of me, but I came in with the mindset I'm going to do my best and let coach see what I can do and let him make the judgement," Ross-Simmons said. "Knowing that there's still room for me to make it, it pushes me to work even harder.

"They're pushing me all the way to my limit and more. I need those guys to push me so I can be even better."

And while it was a transition – mainly the workload Ross-Simmons said – they are catching on and starting to make the impressive look routine. Savage let them know early they don't recruit to redshirt, and he's seen their development shoot up once they grew accustomed to the number of routes they'd run daily, as well as the realization immediate playing time was more than a possibility. And the performance they had in the scrimmage – including seeing their mistakes on film and getting to work on corrections – was all positive for Savage.

Despite his performance, it took Ross-Simmons a bit of a pause before talking about his catches brought a slight smile to his face.

"First, I wouldn't be able to make the catch without a great ball from the quarterback, so I have to give him props," he said. "The catch itself, I was in a great position, so that's how I was able to make the catch."

As Savage has suggested, there will be plenty of opportunities to make plays. For all of them, experienced and young.

Ross-Simmons doesn't know the history of receiver play at Colorado State. He's not familiar with the four wideouts currently on NFL rosters. He didn't know Rashard Higgins and Michael Gallup were Biletnikoff Award finalists, either. Those were days when one Ram wideout stood out from his peers.

Those were days when throwing 50 passes in a game was a rarity and a necessity to play catchup. Those were days when offensive coordinator sought balance, but now, 50 passes in a game could be the norm. And maybe, one of the current crop will stand out and carry the brunt of the load, but that's not how Savage sees it.

"My philosophy is we should have as many weapons as possible and the defense should be pick your poison," he said. "If you want to go that way, good luck guarding this guy. That's our philosophy right now recruiting, we want to get as many skill players as we can and especially guys with height at the receiver position."

Because numbers are needed, and there are numbers to be spread around.

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Damir Abdullah

Louis Brown IV

Mekhi Fox

Tory Horton

Justice McCoy

Ky Oday

Dane Olson

Justus Ross-Simmons

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