Monday Presser: Remembering to be Thankful in a Short Week

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Nov 28

1:00 PM

Football

vs Air Force

A tough season to this point. A challenging past week. A task at hand.

For Colorado State interim coach Tyson Summers, there wasn't a better time to reflect on what he and his team should be thankful for heading into Friday's final game of 2025 with Air Force at Canvas Stadium.

He said the younger version of him would be grateful to have achieved his dreams of playing Division I football and becoming a coach. He is blessed to know his family – save for Walker, his middle son whose team is playing in the state tournament in Kentucky this Friday – will be on hand with him for the holiday.

"Thanksgiving, you know, senior day for these seniors," he said at his Monday press conference. "Can't thank them enough for everything that they've done and a great opportunity for us to finish out the season the way we want to and continue to try to get better as we finish up with this opportunity on Friday,"

To prepare for the Falcons (3-8, 2-5 Mountain West), the depleted Rams will use the week wisely. Take a bit of a load off while putting in the work. A bit less time in pads, removing them for the final 45 minutes of each day.

Everything was moved up, with Sunday being Monday and down the line. Practices were delayed until the evening, too, an attempt to let the bodies of the players still able to go to recover a bit more, especially those playing through issues. With injuries mounting, the Rams are going to have to work together to prepare.

I think the other piece will be a little bit different because we're going to try to, you know, we're not trying to make excuses. We don't have enough scout team to get through, you know, a normal practice week with some of the injuries that we've had. And so, you know, we're going to kind of take a holistic approach where our offense is going to give the defense the looks and we're going to give them the looks.

"I think the other piece which will be a little bit different because we're going to try to … We're not trying to make excuses, but we don't have enough scout team to get through a normal practice week with some of the injuries that we've had," Summers said. "And so, we're going to kind of take a holistic approach where our offense is going to give the defense the looks and we're going to give them the looks."

What really makes him feel thankful is the team, the players who have put individual needs on the back burner for the good of the team. What he sees others outside do not are players still sticking to the details.

A prime example to him was an unnamed player who took time to pick up trash on a bus, who also noted bypassing details such as being late to affect everyone.

"I think that that's how you know where their heart is. And at the end of the day, I think it's the whole team's heart is in the right place. And I think their mind is in the right place," Summers said. "We're trying to do the best we can to get their bodies there, you know. But I think a lot of times what you see is football teams like this, when they go through challenging situations and a challenging season of life or a challenging football season, I think right around the corner, you see a lot of success. And I know that's what's going to happen with this team."

No Answer … Yet

Asked who would play quarterback this week, Summers responded with a question of his own.

"You tell me," he said with a smile. "We'll get through today and we'll try to make sure that we give ourselves the best chance we can win with the guys who are available. So, we'll take a look at that and then when we come back on Wednesday I can give you a little better of an answer when it comes to that."

With the game on Friday, there is no scheduled media availability on Wednesday.

The Rams have started three quarterbacks this season, which also happened in 2022, but only one of them made multiple starts. The Rams have had two quarterbacks start at least three games this season, the first time since 2019, also the last time they had at least two quarterbacks attempt more than 100 passes in a season (Collin Hill and Patrick O'Brien).

Here and There

Owen Long enters the game with 134 total tackles, which leads the country, as well as his 12.2 stops per game. He is four tackles shy of breaking into the CSU top 10 for a single season. His 134 tackles in a season are the most for a team leader since Max Morgan had 134 in 2013. … … Bryan Hansen ranks third nationally in punting with an average of 47.6 an attempt. That figure would rank third in a single season at CSU. … Air Force leads the all-time series 39-22-1 and are 17-10 in Fort Collins. The last time the two in-state rivals closed out a regular season was in 2018, a 27-19 win for the Falcons at the Academy.

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