Offensive Line Starts From Position of Strength

After 45 career starts – the most in the Mountain West – Jacob Gardner entered fall camp a rather happy individual. Sure, there are days the fifth-year senior feels like an old man, and rarely does a day pass where a teammate doesn't point out to Colorado State's starting center he is, but this year provides him some comfort.

A year ago, the offensive line was in a complete rebuild mode, for good reason. What position coach Bill Best inherited was a youthful group with little experience. As the season progressed, the issue became even more apparent as the line was decimated by injury, leading to a nation-leading 59 sacks allowed.

So, the program hit the transfer portal, added a wealth of career snaps and built a front five which ranked 11^th in the country in sacks allowed with just 14. The reason Gardner is so happy is two of his fellow returners are back to give the Rams a solid base to start from in camp.

"It's a lot easier. We're able to put combos together easier, we're able to communicate on the same level," Gardner said. "It doesn't take as much explanation for Best to get certain ideas through to us. knowing how each other plays, it changes the game in terms of how we're able to move people off the line and what we expect from the running back and what they can expect from us."

A year ago, Drew Moss and Saveyon Henderson were part of the solution, serving as the bookends on the line. Both are back, and like Gardner, Moss has more than 2,000 career snaps on his resume. The only changeup this season is Moss is moving inside to guard.

Once again, the team dove into the portal, bringing in Alex Foster and Chandler Brown to again help bolster experience, and Foster slid into the open guard slot. Not only did last year's additions help reverse a troubling course, it provided a second layer of improvement for Best's group.

"First of all, last year we got buy in from those guys. They were already veteran players who came in and they had a love for football," Best said. "They did great job adapting to new techniques and they jelled together really easy. Now, I've got three returning starters, plus I have two older guys that come in and they have the same mentality. The depth chart is a work in progress, but we do have an older crew, and we have a middle group which had a chance to develop last year. We haven't had that.

"You want it to be a top down program. You want seniors, juniors and sophomores – you want them stacked. We didn't have that when we got here. Aaron Karas would have been just fine starting for us last year, but now that he had a year to be a backup and play a little, he's going to be way better now because of that year. And Tanner Morley was able to grow and learn from Oliver Jervis, watch him practice and learn how to be a veteran. Now he can step into that role and not be thrown into the fire."

A year ago, Moss knew what he was walking into, and gladly did so. Being part of the fix held a certain challenge for him, made it a bit more exciting. Even still, he doesn't miss it heading into his second season.

In fact, he quite prefers what transpired. He likes the core, he's confident in the starting five, but he's just as impressed with the work done by the guys who provide the depth and have proven they can hold their own.

"This is nice, obviously. My position change is great; it's very nice to be a guard," Moss said. "Our three guys are keeping the O-line together, and Aaron is stepping in, Alex is a good transfer we got. It's all coming together.

"Aaron, Tanner, Big A (Aitor Urionabarrenechea), all of those guys are ready. Aaron has obviously stepped in, but Big A and Tanner are ready at guards and center, they're ready to step in whenever. Seeing them come in behind us, that's a great thing for the O-line."

Last year's group helped keep Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi upright in his first season as a starter, paving the way for the offense to improve its overall numbers to 26.1 points per game and nearly 400 yards of offense.

Naturally, they want more. So does Best, as in secure, reliable depth.

"Our room is really talented, but talent alone doesn't win. They have to learn to jell together and play together and be detailed," he said. "I would say we have five guys right now. I'm very hopeful we have eight. I don't think we're there, but we will get there. We have eight, but we don't have eight who can play together. We have eight very capable bodies; it's just getting them in and playing together right now."

Which can be accomplished in fall camp, last year's process Exhibit A. Which is why everybody associated with the group is in a more pleasant mood. No longer are they starting from scratch. Instead, they are insistent this camp opens with them being well ahead of the game.

"No doubt. We have our own communication system," Gardner said. "It's being able to talk to Drew in kind of our own language. I know how he likes this, and I know how I like it, let's figure something out. It's not a new thing of how do you want to play this? It's, I know how you like to play this, and we can work better now."

Better is still the goal. Decreasing the number of sacks was the primary target a season ago. For 2024, it's still pretty high on the list, but Jay Norvell has issued a new directive, which is beefing up the running game.

The Rams averaged a mere 3.3 yards per carry in 2023, and only twice did they rush for better than 150 yards in a game. Both instances came in the final three weeks, which was when Justin Marshall was inserted into the lineup, rushing for at least 94 yards in each of those contests, going for 119 in his debut against San Diego State. Iin that limited sample size, he averaged 5.5 yards per rush.

The offensive line knows its marching orders.

"We've got to keep the same mentality for the sacks, but it is a change in mentality," Moss said. "We have to finish. We have to put guys in the ground, that's what it's going to take to get 4 yards a carry. Those double teams will be that much better, putting guys in the ground. It's being mean and nasty."

In the end, that's what Best wants too, and not just from his end.

As they enter a third year, his goal is for his guys to start earning a reputation around the Mountain West and even beyond. Not just that they protect the quarterback and open running lanes, but the manner in how they do so.

"The stats are nice to hang our hat on and build upon, because we were not very good that first year. Last year there was drastic improvement, and I'm very proud of that," Best said. "More important than stats, when people turn on our film, I want coaches to say that's a physically rugged offensive line. They will break your will. That's what we want more than stats. That will take care of itself."

All of the prefer opening a camp with that mindset, of knowing the next step to take instead of learning how to walk.

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