Colorado State University Athletics
Making Sudden Change an Advantage
10/17/2023 3:00:00 PM | Football
Defense creating chances; points next step
The work is starting to pay off. Partially.
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Colorado State's defense has created 14 turnovers this season, tied for sixth most in the country. Seven have come in the past two weeks, most of them delivered in the first half.
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"We work on it all practice, punching at the ball, punching at the ball," linebacker Justin Sanchez said. "The offense probably gets annoyed with it because we're always punching at their arms and stuff. That's the product of what we practice and what we emphasize in practice."
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The Rams have produced six interceptions and have collected eight fumble recoveries. The interceptions are two shy of the 2022 total, matching what they did in 2021 and 2019. The last time the unit had double digits in interceptions was 2017 with 12.
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The fumble recoveries already surpass what the team had done in each of the past eight seasons. The collective total of takeaways is one shy of last year, and ahead of the three full seasons prior. Colorado State turned teams over 18 times in 2017, 19 in 2014, the last 10-win campaign.
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"We just talk about it all the time and work at it constantly throughout practice. We've talked about it as a defense for a while now, we need to attack the ball," safety Henry Blackburn said, who leads the team with two interceptions. "Whether that's attacking the ball once they catch it or when it's in the air, we just talk about it all the time and work on it all the time at practice. The fact it's showing up is good because we spend so much time on it as a team.
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"It's great for our offense. It's playing complimentary football for our offense. If we give our offense more opportunities to score, they're going to get that done. As a defense, we try to give them the ball as much as possible because we know how explosive they are, and it can change the game at any time."
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That's kind of the thing. Sort of when a husband tells his wife she looks nice before they leave the house, only to have her reply she doesn't as she heads back to the closet to change.
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Take the compliment.
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Colorado State did not produce points off any of the three first-half turnovers in the first half last week. CSU head coach Jay Norvell said it's taken awhile to get the offense going early in games, calling it a feeling out stage.
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He said that has to change, just the same way they have to learn to accept gifts willingly from the defense. That means don't hide it in the closet, but display it on the wall with pride.
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"It's just a matter of seeing what they're doing, being able to adjust and making the proper adjustments, but we do need to take advantage of that offensively when our defense makes those kind of plays and score points when we get sudden change," he said.
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The Rams have 31 points off the 14 takeaways, and 14 of those come directly from the defense as Mohamed Kamara and Ron Hardge III scored off fumble recoveries. The other 12 have produced an average of 1.4 points per.
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They're also coming from all over. Each fumble recovery has come from a different player, the interceptions from five thieves, with three different cornerbacks getting involved the past two weeks.
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Defensive coordinator Freddie Banks set a goal at the start of the season for three per game. The last two weeks the Rams have reached the figure (getting four at Utah State), finishing with two in three other games.
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"I give our defensive staff credit for putting our guys in position to make plays. We recruit playmakers," Norvell said. "We're looking for playmakers on offense, defense and special teams. Guys like Mo Kamara … Chigi (Chigozie Anusiem) got his first interception; those are things we're trying to create and put them in position to really make plays."
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Which the defense is ready to keep doing every week. It is an attitude which has developed this season, a double bonus of possibility.
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The first bonus is down – the defense is getting stops. The second, well, they figure the offense will come around.
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"I mean, we don't jab at them. We know they're going to figure it out," Blackburn said. "At the end of the day, we know how good the players are on the offensive side of the ball. We trust them that they're going to get it done and figure things out. Any play with them could be a touchdown, so we like to give them as many opportunities as often."
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Colorado State's defense has created 14 turnovers this season, tied for sixth most in the country. Seven have come in the past two weeks, most of them delivered in the first half.
Â
"We work on it all practice, punching at the ball, punching at the ball," linebacker Justin Sanchez said. "The offense probably gets annoyed with it because we're always punching at their arms and stuff. That's the product of what we practice and what we emphasize in practice."
Â
The Rams have produced six interceptions and have collected eight fumble recoveries. The interceptions are two shy of the 2022 total, matching what they did in 2021 and 2019. The last time the unit had double digits in interceptions was 2017 with 12.
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The fumble recoveries already surpass what the team had done in each of the past eight seasons. The collective total of takeaways is one shy of last year, and ahead of the three full seasons prior. Colorado State turned teams over 18 times in 2017, 19 in 2014, the last 10-win campaign.
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"We just talk about it all the time and work at it constantly throughout practice. We've talked about it as a defense for a while now, we need to attack the ball," safety Henry Blackburn said, who leads the team with two interceptions. "Whether that's attacking the ball once they catch it or when it's in the air, we just talk about it all the time and work on it all the time at practice. The fact it's showing up is good because we spend so much time on it as a team.
Â
"It's great for our offense. It's playing complimentary football for our offense. If we give our offense more opportunities to score, they're going to get that done. As a defense, we try to give them the ball as much as possible because we know how explosive they are, and it can change the game at any time."
Â
That's kind of the thing. Sort of when a husband tells his wife she looks nice before they leave the house, only to have her reply she doesn't as she heads back to the closet to change.
Â
Take the compliment.
Â
Colorado State did not produce points off any of the three first-half turnovers in the first half last week. CSU head coach Jay Norvell said it's taken awhile to get the offense going early in games, calling it a feeling out stage.
Â
He said that has to change, just the same way they have to learn to accept gifts willingly from the defense. That means don't hide it in the closet, but display it on the wall with pride.
Â
"It's just a matter of seeing what they're doing, being able to adjust and making the proper adjustments, but we do need to take advantage of that offensively when our defense makes those kind of plays and score points when we get sudden change," he said.
Â
The Rams have 31 points off the 14 takeaways, and 14 of those come directly from the defense as Mohamed Kamara and Ron Hardge III scored off fumble recoveries. The other 12 have produced an average of 1.4 points per.
Â
They're also coming from all over. Each fumble recovery has come from a different player, the interceptions from five thieves, with three different cornerbacks getting involved the past two weeks.
Â
Defensive coordinator Freddie Banks set a goal at the start of the season for three per game. The last two weeks the Rams have reached the figure (getting four at Utah State), finishing with two in three other games.
Â
"I give our defensive staff credit for putting our guys in position to make plays. We recruit playmakers," Norvell said. "We're looking for playmakers on offense, defense and special teams. Guys like Mo Kamara … Chigi (Chigozie Anusiem) got his first interception; those are things we're trying to create and put them in position to really make plays."
Â
Which the defense is ready to keep doing every week. It is an attitude which has developed this season, a double bonus of possibility.
Â
The first bonus is down – the defense is getting stops. The second, well, they figure the offense will come around.
Â
"I mean, we don't jab at them. We know they're going to figure it out," Blackburn said. "At the end of the day, we know how good the players are on the offensive side of the ball. We trust them that they're going to get it done and figure things out. Any play with them could be a touchdown, so we like to give them as many opportunities as often."
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Players Mentioned
DB
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DB
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DB
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LB
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