Colorado State University Athletics
Setting the Stage: Rams go Anti-Social
10/25/2024 2:00:00 PM | Football
Homecoming flag makes 10th appearance
Around the middle of fall camp, Jay Norvell started discussing the idea. As the season progressed, the Colorado State coach continued to broach the subject on occasion.
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And some of the players started listening. And they started to feel better. And the team is playing better.
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"You could feel the atmosphere of the team before conference started. Everyone was down in the dumps, and everyone was second-guessing themselves," Mukendi Wa-Kalonji said. "People were reading the media and people were coming after us. After we blocked out what everyone was saying – we told everyone to log off Twitter (now X) and stay off Instagram. We found we really were together. The offense is doing great, the defense compliments them and we're winning."
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The last straw for Wa-Kalonji was the Colorado game. He knew he didn't play great. He also knew he didn't play bad. That's not what the social media experts were saying. The captains on the team followed the advice of their head coach and told the team to put their phones down.
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Wa-Kalonji said he has looked at social media since then. He knows Gabe Kirschke hasn't either, adding Cam Bariteau had previously told them there was nothing good to find there.
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Quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, who can depend on the apps for expert advice anytime he wants, has cut off ties. He feels better for it, and he believes the team does too. It may just be a correlation, but the team doesn't find it to be a simple coincidence.
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"Yeah, I'm staying off social media. The captains made it a point that it's really irrelevant what people outside this building think," Fowler-Nicolosi said. "It's so true when you really think about it. What they say should have no value on us. That's how it's going to continue to be.
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"Our play speaks to that. It's a matter of we don't need anybody outside of this building, and not listening to the noise has been huge to the morale of the team and understanding we're all we need."
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Waving the Flag
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Nearly 100 years ago, the 1925 Homecoming Flag "disappeared" after the Aggies of the day had beaten Colorado. It wasn't another 45 years later until it resurfaced when a CSU alumnus messaged John Hirn, the athletic department's historian, they had found it and wanted to return it to the school. Years later, the story was told to coach Jim McElwain, who wanted the flag incorporated into the 2014 game. Since then, a Colorado State player has run the flag onto the field at every homecoming game.
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This will mark the 10th time for the flag in the 100th homecoming game. Who carries the flag onto the field was determined during Thursday night's staff meeting. These are the types of traditions – well known or not – which Norvell finds to be an important fabric of college football.
Â
"It's what makes college football special is that every school has it's own traditions and history," Norvell said. "We want to embrace that as much as we can. I love hearing the history and partaking in those traditions. That's what ties the past with the present."
Â
Norvell said special thought goes into who carries out flags on game day, the staff picking people who they feel has a tie to the flag or embodies what it represents. With the exception of the 2016 game – when CAM the Ram ran it out – the homecoming flag has been assigned to a Colorado-born player. Max Morgan, Sam Carlson, Jake Bennett, Olabisi Johnson, Brendan Fulton, Toby McBride, Henry Blackburn and Jack Howell were chosen previously.
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Give it to the Ref
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Colorado State is losing the turnover battle this year (-.57 per game), having gained nine and lost 13. The troubling part to him is the amount of fumbles, with the team's seven near the bottom of the nation. Both turnovers against Air Force came via fumbles, one at the goal line, the other just outside the red zone.
Â
Coaches will take different approaches to the issue, some thinking talking too much about them puts a thought in the head. Norvell is not in that camp.
Â
"We've been definitely harping on them. We want guys to be focused and conscious of that," he said. "We have a way we want to finish every play. We finish at practice with a 50-yard run by ball carriers and wanting to give the ball to the official. If you can't give the ball to the official, you haven't done your job.
Â
"That's the way we want it to be, and we have to be better that way, and I think it's just focus and concentration."
Â
Â
And some of the players started listening. And they started to feel better. And the team is playing better.
Â
"You could feel the atmosphere of the team before conference started. Everyone was down in the dumps, and everyone was second-guessing themselves," Mukendi Wa-Kalonji said. "People were reading the media and people were coming after us. After we blocked out what everyone was saying – we told everyone to log off Twitter (now X) and stay off Instagram. We found we really were together. The offense is doing great, the defense compliments them and we're winning."
Â
The last straw for Wa-Kalonji was the Colorado game. He knew he didn't play great. He also knew he didn't play bad. That's not what the social media experts were saying. The captains on the team followed the advice of their head coach and told the team to put their phones down.
Â
Wa-Kalonji said he has looked at social media since then. He knows Gabe Kirschke hasn't either, adding Cam Bariteau had previously told them there was nothing good to find there.
Â
Quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, who can depend on the apps for expert advice anytime he wants, has cut off ties. He feels better for it, and he believes the team does too. It may just be a correlation, but the team doesn't find it to be a simple coincidence.
Â
"Yeah, I'm staying off social media. The captains made it a point that it's really irrelevant what people outside this building think," Fowler-Nicolosi said. "It's so true when you really think about it. What they say should have no value on us. That's how it's going to continue to be.
Â
"Our play speaks to that. It's a matter of we don't need anybody outside of this building, and not listening to the noise has been huge to the morale of the team and understanding we're all we need."
Â
Waving the Flag
Â
Nearly 100 years ago, the 1925 Homecoming Flag "disappeared" after the Aggies of the day had beaten Colorado. It wasn't another 45 years later until it resurfaced when a CSU alumnus messaged John Hirn, the athletic department's historian, they had found it and wanted to return it to the school. Years later, the story was told to coach Jim McElwain, who wanted the flag incorporated into the 2014 game. Since then, a Colorado State player has run the flag onto the field at every homecoming game.
Â
This will mark the 10th time for the flag in the 100th homecoming game. Who carries the flag onto the field was determined during Thursday night's staff meeting. These are the types of traditions – well known or not – which Norvell finds to be an important fabric of college football.
Â
"It's what makes college football special is that every school has it's own traditions and history," Norvell said. "We want to embrace that as much as we can. I love hearing the history and partaking in those traditions. That's what ties the past with the present."
Â
Norvell said special thought goes into who carries out flags on game day, the staff picking people who they feel has a tie to the flag or embodies what it represents. With the exception of the 2016 game – when CAM the Ram ran it out – the homecoming flag has been assigned to a Colorado-born player. Max Morgan, Sam Carlson, Jake Bennett, Olabisi Johnson, Brendan Fulton, Toby McBride, Henry Blackburn and Jack Howell were chosen previously.
Â
Give it to the Ref
Â
Colorado State is losing the turnover battle this year (-.57 per game), having gained nine and lost 13. The troubling part to him is the amount of fumbles, with the team's seven near the bottom of the nation. Both turnovers against Air Force came via fumbles, one at the goal line, the other just outside the red zone.
Â
Coaches will take different approaches to the issue, some thinking talking too much about them puts a thought in the head. Norvell is not in that camp.
Â
"We've been definitely harping on them. We want guys to be focused and conscious of that," he said. "We have a way we want to finish every play. We finish at practice with a 50-yard run by ball carriers and wanting to give the ball to the official. If you can't give the ball to the official, you haven't done your job.
Â
"That's the way we want it to be, and we have to be better that way, and I think it's just focus and concentration."
Â
Players Mentioned
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