Available, From Start to Finish
Gardner’s impact goes beyond anchoring the offensive front
Mike Brohard
An offensive lineman needs to be physical. A bit mental, too – equal parts crazy, definitely smart. Understand leverage and how to use it. So many abilities are required, and a few physical quirks are bonuses when it comes to body type.
But as Jay Norvell has stated many times, the best ability is availability – which is exactly what Jacob Gardner has provided for five seasons at two different Mountain West institutions Norvell has guided.
You just don’t plan on that with a true freshman tagged to be the center of the future. The majority redshirt a year, build up the muscles, put on pounds and learn the nuances of the position. It’s a great plan – tried and true – and it worked for Gardner when he arrived out of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
For all of two practices.
“His first day at Nevada he was a center. Maybe the second day,” said CSU offensive line coach Bill Best, who helped convince him to originally sign with Nevada. “Then we had an injury and another guy medical retired. I saw enough in two days in his ability, you’re going to left tackle. He did really well out there, but I always wanted to move him back.”
Saturday will be Gardner’s 56th game of college football, and he’s started every single one of them. Hasn’t missed a game, though the streak was on thin ice a week ago when he was hurt at Nevada, then recovered enough over the bye week to start against Wyoming.
At no time in the streak was he simply filling a spot or taking up space. Those first two years at Nevada, he earned honorable mention all-conference honors at left tackle. Then he transferred to Colorado State when Norvell and Best switched conference allegiances. At his new home, he was going to play center. Which he did for two games until another injury situation necessitated his move back to tackle.
For the past two seasons he’s finally been firmly entrenched in his expected home, helping to turn around an offensive line group which has become one of the best in the country. Pro Football Focus has the Rams’ front five ranked among the top 10 in the nation, Gardner among the top five anchors.
He’s continued to earn all-conference recognition every season, named to the second team in 2023.
He is home at center, just as he is at home in the lineup.
“It’s a mental position. I’m able to be a little savvy and make calls and mess around with the defense,” Gardner said. “I think that’s more my game. I’m 6-foot-4. I’m not the biggest tackle. Being at center. I feel at home, like I belong there. I’m able to scoot around and be able to help the guards. I definitely want to be at center. There are several times at tackle I was outmatched in terms of arm length, and I’d always feel it. I felt like I didn’t belong, but I tried my best. At center, I can say I feel at home there. I’ve got no excuses not to get the job done.”
As a football coach, there is no better security blanket than a player who not only answers the call but rings the bell loudly each time. When the revolving door hit Canvas Stadium in 2022, Gardner was front in center in trying to bring the offensive line room together. He was a teacher as much as a player.
When the group needed to be overhauled for the next season, he was the first to welcome in all the transfers who helped take Colorado State from dead last in the nation in sacks allowed in 2022 (59), to No. 11 the next season (14) and now stand at No. 4 in 2024 – just eight surrendered.
I aspire to be like him in so many ways, and hopefully I can become that leader in the upcoming years.Tanner Morley
He’s not the type to get in a teammate’s face. His mode of operation is to be the first to greet them, the one who will sit next to them in a meeting and outline a scheme in detail. The guy who will find you at lunch and explain how technique needs to improve.
“I look up to Jacob in almost every single way. He’s been an amazing role model to me, not just in football but outside of it,” redshirt freshman guard Tanner Morley said. “Showing me the ropes, showing me what it takes to be great. As you can see from this year, he’s been great. He’s in the top rankings of PFF. More than that, he’s been the best leader an offensive lineman can have. He’s showing the young guys the ropes every day. I aspire to be like him in so many ways, and hopefully I can become that leader in the upcoming years.
“It's the way he speaks to us individually. He wants to get to know every single one of us in a deep and meaningful way. He’s not just asking random questions, he wants to hang out with you, get to know you. He wants you to be the best player you can be, just like he wants to be the best player he can be. That’s a very important quality for a leader. With the whole team, he’s not as vocal, but in the offense line room, he owns it. He knows everything and everyone and what they need to be doing. That’s the most important thing for a leader.”
He loves the offensive line room. Those are his guys. That is his happy place.
There is where he can be himself, where the guys can be who they are. He’s not big on worrying about what others think of him, a trait which permeates the group. They can tell their jokes in the most colorful manner, knowing the skin is thick. And he expects it to come back his way. In his mind, they are just a bunch of weird dudes doing their thing. They own it, every bit.
The entire locker room admires him for the player he is and the leadership position he holds. He’s earned that, he’d just rather not speak for the team to the whole team. In his room, he will say what has to be said in the way the message needs to be delivered.
When a man of few words speaks, it has impact.
“There’s no doubt. I think that’s powerful,” CSU coach Jay Norvell said. “When you have guys who don’t speak very much, then they say something that’s important, guys do listen. I’m a big believer more is caught than taught, and he’s impacted his teammates by the way he practices and the way he competes every day.”
Starting every game of a college career is rare. It is a streak which should be revered.
But the badge of honor he appreciates most is being named a team captain all three seasons.
“Yes, because having the respect of my guys really means the world to me, that those guys trust me to be able to lead the team and set good examples. It’s not just half a season, it’s a whole season,” he said. “I feel very honored. It does mean a lot to me. Being able to serve my guys is awesome. Having all the experience I have, I feel it’s an obligation to push that knowledge to the other guys. There are times when people are wrong, and that goes for me. It’s nice to have the guys listen to me and trust me.”
Trust is earned through performance as a player. When a player trusts a coach, it leads to a career arc like Gardner’s, one where he’s willing to do whatever is asked of him, even if it doesn’t fit best.
Moving to tackle – especially as a true freshman – was trial by fire. Those were tough lessons at times, especially when playing in space while your quarterback was firing the ball all over the field to the tune of 40-plus passes a game.
Gardner learned. And adapted. All those skills on an island have aided him in the tight confines he now operates. Not just the physical aspect, but his knowledge when making line calls. He understands what’s happening because he lived what takes place on the edge.
“At tackle, you have to play with your hands and have good footwork in space and be able to navigate space, punch timing and stuff like that,” Gardner said. “Those are all really important traits of a tackle, and I don’t always have to use it at center, but occasionally teams put me in situations where I have to use those things. It’s nice having those innate instincts.
“I think being able to see out there and see it, it helps with understanding everyone’s assignments and seeing what’s out on the perimeter. It’s not always applicable to the play, but when it does happen, it’s easier to understand after seeing it for so long.”
I think that’s the best way to describe him. The team is really important to him, and he sacrifices a lot to be there for them every week.Jay Norvell
Coaches bring players in with the best of intentions. They hope the player will develop the way they expect, in body, in mind, in skill. Development requires commitment on both ends, but knowledge unabsorbed floats in the ether. Tasks presented have to be followed through equally in weight and meeting rooms.
Best has seen his vision come to life, even more so in a lot of ways. With his teammates he is a voice of reason. When recruits come in, he is a decoder of whether or not the prospect fits in with the vision and culture.
“He’s accomplished everything I hoped and dreamed for him as a collegiate player. He’s playing at a really high level, and I think he’s a Sunday player,” Best said. “He’s doing that right now. I’m really proud of him.
“Just being a leader … People say leader like it’s a cliché. But he helps in recruiting. He makes sure the young guys are taking notes, checking notebooks, making sure they practice right and holds the bags correctly. Things as a coach, sometimes you’re so busy you overlook them. He’s like another coach.”
Which is what Norvell is trying not to do with Gardner as his college career is coming to a close, the prospects of a professional future in front of him. Norvell doesn’t want to glance over anything Gardner does. Instead, he’d rather take a good, hard look.
He won’t be able to for very much longer. He doesn’t want to look past the guy who was always there, because that’s the best part.
“Just consistency. He’s a guy who is so dialed in and physical. You take it for granted,” Norvell said. “He’s one of those guys when he’s gone, we’re going to really miss him. He’s going to leave big shoes to fill. He’s the ultimate team player. He loves CSU. He loves the staff, his teammates. He’s been a three-year captain.
“One of the things as a player is can your teammates depend on you. He’s a guy his teammates really depend on, and he always answers the bell for them. I think that’s the best way to describe him. The team is really important to him, and he sacrifices a lot to be there for them every week.”
He is the old man on the offensive line. He’s reminded of it every Sunday when he rolls out of bed after a game. It used to be some parts ached. Now some others have joined the party.
More growth, about how to take care of the body, the mind and the soul. Not that he’d give it up, and he’d happily continue to do it for as long as a team will let him.
“I love it. Honestly, I love the feeling of winning,” Gardner said. “The whole team aspect of football, the camaraderie and having a common goal, guys you love and care about and be able to succeed at something is a wonderful feeling I don’t think I could get anywhere else.”
From the beginning, he was willing to do the demanding work. Ready to make a sacrifice. Most importantly, he was always available, no matter what task was asked.
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