Setting the Stage: Still Making a Difference

The numbers do not lie.

Colorado State's football team has lost 35 games due to injury this year, including the loss of five starters for the season, two being defensive captains.

Not that they still can't have an impact. Them realizing as much by sticking around means a lot to coach Jay Norvell, as well as the players. He told a story about legendary coach Sonny Lubick showing up in the office last Friday, which doesn't happen often. Also appearing was JaQues Evans, who told his coach he had just returned from a doctor's visit, and the news wasn't good.

So Norvell asked Lubick to give him a moment, and the news Evans relayed – that his career was done – stunned him. It would have been understandable if Evans needed some time to himself, to come to terms with the news.

"I grabbed JaQues, and we visited. That kid found out his career was over Friday. You talk about you could have knocked me over with a feather," Norvell said. "I was not expecting that. But that kid goes to the hotel, spends the whole night with his team. The next day he's encouraging all his teammates.

"It's pretty special to see somebody that selfless. And Mukendi (Wa-Kalonji) is the same way as a captain. Tanner Morley is the same way, and so we have some great examples of leadership. Hey, tough times come and go for everybody. And these kids are great examples of how to handle yourself in tough times."

From Evans' perspective, there is no alternative.

As he put it, when he signed with Norvell and the team, he signed a contract, one which stipulated he had a job to do, and healthy or not, he's going to see it through to the end. He is going to be there emotionally for his team. If he can dispense advice, he's going to be on hand to do so. When the team celebrates, as the defense did often on Friday, he's going to be the first to meet them as they come off the field.

"My presence can still be effective, not just my playing on the field. I feel like I still have a duty," Evans said after watching practice Tuesday. "I preach to the boys, if you're going to be the man, be the man. Through the highs and through the lows. That's something I took on as being the man.

"Even when I'm up, even when I'm down, you've still got to come out here. Do your job, do what you promised your team. Like I was telling the guys in the beginning, everybody out here is over 18. You and Coach sat down and signed that contract. When I sat down and signed that contract, I was telling the guys that I'm going to be here every day. Do as much as I can to help the team, whether that's on the field, off the field, in the classroom, in the meeting room. Just still being that man that I chose to take upon. With them choosing me as a captain, that spoke a lot to me. They see a lot in me."

And the Rams will continue to see him a lot. And he won't be alone. Wa-Kalonji is still at practice, and so is Morley.

Hawaii Offense

No team has thrown the ball as much as Hawaii this season, averaging better than 46 attempts per game, leading to 295.1 yards through the air (which ranks 17^th). Micah Alejado, a redshirt freshman, is the triggerman, having attempted 218 passes after sitting two out with an injury. He's completed 65 percent of those throws, good for nine touchdowns against five interceptions.

Norvell said Hawaii coach Timmy Chang has found his guy, and it's a guy who Norvell said reminds him a lot of Chang, who finished his career atop the NCAA charts in multiple passing statistics.

"This is like Air Force but flipped. Air Force wants to run the ball almost every snap; these guys want to throw it almost every snap," Norvell said. "It's going to ask for a different preparation from our team, and so we have to be prepared for that. We have to adjust to that. And we have to play the type of game that we can beat Hawaii with, which will be very important."

Alejado came back in time for conference play. He wasn't great against Fresno State in his first start back, throwing three interceptions. In the next two games, he's thrown for better than 400 yards in each, tossing a trio of scoring passes in both games.

The Rainbow Warriors are fourth in the country with 78 pass plays of 10-yards or longer with six receivers who have at least 20 catches this year, led by Pofele Ashlock, whose 46 catches have gone for 468 yards and six scores.

Colorado State corner Lemondre Joe is tied for the national lead in passes defended with 11, one of just two players in the country in double figures.

Retaining Focus

Getting rewarded for playing well, Colorado State is locked in on retaining the feeling. Not just with words, with actions.

"I see the energy, yes. I just told them, I said I'm really proud of their energy and their focus at practice," Norvell said Wednesday, the final day this week he met with media. "And I also reminded them, hey guys, we got to start all over every day. What we did last weekend is not going to help us this Saturday.

"It's what we do every day in practice and how we prepare that's going to allow us to play well, and you got to start all over every day. And so, it's that old saying, we got to pay the rent, and the rent's due every day. In football, that's why I wear this shirt (his blue mechanic's shirt), to remind us that we've got to go to work."

Each and every week, the focus has to be redirected. Hawaii forces the change not only with the way it throws the ball, but also the way the Warriors play defense.

Preparation changes, not the focus involved.

"I think this is a very different game than we've had to play, and we've really stressed that with the guys. And I think it's going to be a different game for them too," Norvell said. "A lot of people copy what other people do, and we're not necessarily like that."

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