Colorado State University Athletics
Tempering the Enthusiasm – For Now
8/12/2025 2:00:00 PM | Football
Agurs focused on growth, not expectations
For good reason, expectations are being tempered.
This is just the fourth season of organized football for Kenyon Agurs, who first played as a senior in high school back in Inglewood, Calif. A redshirt sophomore, he appeared in every game last season for the Rams as a reserve defensive end, collecting 16 tackles, a quarter of which were for a loss.
This season, there are new coaches to play for and a new system to learn with Tyson Summers back as the defensive coordinator. Everybody is trying their best to be patient about Agurs, but the truth is the kid is making it damn hard to do so.
"I mean, the change that Kenyon has made since spring to now, his body looks totally different. He just looks like he was made in a lab," linebacker Jacob Ellis said. "I'm being serious.
"He's just muscles on muscles, and he's just a freak of nature. He can run like no other -- very, very strong -- and I think for Kenyon it's slowing the game down. Once Kenyon is able to slow the game down and start processing things on the go, he's going to be a very exciting player to watch."
See the issue? On one hand, there's the physical, all 6-foot-4, 255 pounds of which is in place. The experience factor is all he lacks at the moment, and since spring, Colorado State's coaching staff has been doing all it can to play catch-up.
There are two sides to the scale, and no one is better at balancing them out than Agurs himself. To hear how they speak of him is wonderful but then comes the living up to expectations.
"How I feel about it is without them, I wouldn't be in the position I am now," Agurs said. "Them pushing me every day during the spring, during the winter, that was a key part of me being able to evolve and put my game play out there, slowing down the game, all that. That's what I'm working on right now."
As the incoming defensive coordinator, Summers scoured over tape to see who he was going to work with. There wasn't much there, as most the players he was watching had departed the program.
He remembers asking returning coaches like John Jancek, 'who is this guy? Who is that guy.' The response was almost always the same. Gone. Gone. Gone. Spring camp became the real training ground.
"We're starting over. But Kenyon's one of the very first ones, because obviously if you walked out here on the practice field and you're an NFL scout, he's going to be one of the first ones that grabs your attention, just from his pure height and his ability and his measurables," Summers said. "But he jumped out really quickly. The next thing that he came across is he's really pretty shy.
"It takes him a little while to kind of … You've got to earn it with him. But I kept making him come to the office almost every day, come talk to me, and I tried to find ways to kind of peel back the onion a little bit and be able to learn. His greatest quality is he's one of the smartest people I've ever been around. I mean, he is very, very intelligent, understands football; hasn't played football that long, so for his knowledge to be as high as his is really, really impressive."
Every defensive coach likes athleticism, and Summers is no different. He also likes versatility in his scheme, which is why most of his players will know a couple of different positions. For Agurs, it's defensive end and the important jack position, a hybrid outside linebacker, pass rusher, pass defender.
It's the literal jack of all trades, the part of the quote people recite most. The complete phrase is master of none, but often better than the master of one. In Summers' defense, it's the ability to create chaos as a chameleon.
As of now, Agurs sits behind Mukendi Wa-Kalonji at end, JaQues Evans at jack, both of them very experienced mentors from which to absorb knowledge. Backup or not, Agurs will play. A lot.
No one is more amazed than Agurs himself, who four years ago as a track athlete and basketball player wouldn't have pictured himself in this position, looking the way he does. He didn't see Summers' arrival as a fresh start, just a continuation.
"Him coming in, for me, it wasn't really anything big. It was just football, still football," he said. "When I progress, I'm always gaining confidence. Every rep I take, gaining weight, mental reps. For me, it's more about not getting too high or getting too low but staying consistent.
"It really challenged my skill set. Me moving to outside linebacker, having the three down and all that. It was really a challenging skill set, trying to learn all the plays. It's a very deep defense, very disruptive defense. So, I feel like out of spring, I feel like when we were done with that, I was more confident about my position."
Summers likes the shy and humble part of the player. Definitely the coachable part, too. What he likes best is there is nothing shy about him when he's on the field attacking.
Again, he takes virtually little credit for his football IQ, which continues to advance every day. He's thankful for Wa-Kalonji and every other member of the defensive line, all of whom he says make sure he approaches each day of practice with a clear mind.
There's Jancek, who has advanced his ability to read the game as an outside linebacker. Same with Evans. A clear mindset leads to an explosive and powerful performer.
"When you're able to mix that with intelligence and then confidence and calls … We've worked really hard to narrow down what we do defensively in our playbook," Summers said. "We're on kind of our, I guess, our sixth or seventh go around with this installation. And he doesn't blink. He kind of knows everything that there is already. And I think that's where you see his confidence go through the roof."
As for Ellis' description of Agurs, Summers will tell you it's pretty accurate. There was no lab, just the plan put in place by Jordon Simmons and his speed and strength staff. The measurables are there, the play is what comes next.
The more he knows – and understands – the closer a player comes to meeting expectations. That leads to the excitement of what could transpire.
Agurs knows the player he wants to be. He's also a realist and knows who he is now. He'll be the one who applies breaks to the hype train down first.
"Like I said, never get too high. I feel like as long as you're patient and taking it day by day, 1% every day, in the long run, you're going to get what you deserve," Agurs said. "Where I come from, you know, you got to keep your head down and just keep, you know, keep working, you know, no matter what anybody says.
"I'm from Inglewood, Calif., You've got people saying things all the time when you're the athlete. So, me growing up, I had my mom always telling me, don't listen to them, no matter what, just, do you, be yourself. So, I'm being myself as long as I can."
Thus, the tempered enthusiasm. Before long, Agurs may very well be looked upon in an entirely different manner, and the conversation will take on a different tone.
This is just the fourth season of organized football for Kenyon Agurs, who first played as a senior in high school back in Inglewood, Calif. A redshirt sophomore, he appeared in every game last season for the Rams as a reserve defensive end, collecting 16 tackles, a quarter of which were for a loss.
This season, there are new coaches to play for and a new system to learn with Tyson Summers back as the defensive coordinator. Everybody is trying their best to be patient about Agurs, but the truth is the kid is making it damn hard to do so.
"I mean, the change that Kenyon has made since spring to now, his body looks totally different. He just looks like he was made in a lab," linebacker Jacob Ellis said. "I'm being serious.
"He's just muscles on muscles, and he's just a freak of nature. He can run like no other -- very, very strong -- and I think for Kenyon it's slowing the game down. Once Kenyon is able to slow the game down and start processing things on the go, he's going to be a very exciting player to watch."
See the issue? On one hand, there's the physical, all 6-foot-4, 255 pounds of which is in place. The experience factor is all he lacks at the moment, and since spring, Colorado State's coaching staff has been doing all it can to play catch-up.
There are two sides to the scale, and no one is better at balancing them out than Agurs himself. To hear how they speak of him is wonderful but then comes the living up to expectations.
"How I feel about it is without them, I wouldn't be in the position I am now," Agurs said. "Them pushing me every day during the spring, during the winter, that was a key part of me being able to evolve and put my game play out there, slowing down the game, all that. That's what I'm working on right now."
As the incoming defensive coordinator, Summers scoured over tape to see who he was going to work with. There wasn't much there, as most the players he was watching had departed the program.
He remembers asking returning coaches like John Jancek, 'who is this guy? Who is that guy.' The response was almost always the same. Gone. Gone. Gone. Spring camp became the real training ground.
"We're starting over. But Kenyon's one of the very first ones, because obviously if you walked out here on the practice field and you're an NFL scout, he's going to be one of the first ones that grabs your attention, just from his pure height and his ability and his measurables," Summers said. "But he jumped out really quickly. The next thing that he came across is he's really pretty shy.
"It takes him a little while to kind of … You've got to earn it with him. But I kept making him come to the office almost every day, come talk to me, and I tried to find ways to kind of peel back the onion a little bit and be able to learn. His greatest quality is he's one of the smartest people I've ever been around. I mean, he is very, very intelligent, understands football; hasn't played football that long, so for his knowledge to be as high as his is really, really impressive."
Every defensive coach likes athleticism, and Summers is no different. He also likes versatility in his scheme, which is why most of his players will know a couple of different positions. For Agurs, it's defensive end and the important jack position, a hybrid outside linebacker, pass rusher, pass defender.
It's the literal jack of all trades, the part of the quote people recite most. The complete phrase is master of none, but often better than the master of one. In Summers' defense, it's the ability to create chaos as a chameleon.
As of now, Agurs sits behind Mukendi Wa-Kalonji at end, JaQues Evans at jack, both of them very experienced mentors from which to absorb knowledge. Backup or not, Agurs will play. A lot.
No one is more amazed than Agurs himself, who four years ago as a track athlete and basketball player wouldn't have pictured himself in this position, looking the way he does. He didn't see Summers' arrival as a fresh start, just a continuation.
"Him coming in, for me, it wasn't really anything big. It was just football, still football," he said. "When I progress, I'm always gaining confidence. Every rep I take, gaining weight, mental reps. For me, it's more about not getting too high or getting too low but staying consistent.
"It really challenged my skill set. Me moving to outside linebacker, having the three down and all that. It was really a challenging skill set, trying to learn all the plays. It's a very deep defense, very disruptive defense. So, I feel like out of spring, I feel like when we were done with that, I was more confident about my position."
Summers likes the shy and humble part of the player. Definitely the coachable part, too. What he likes best is there is nothing shy about him when he's on the field attacking.
Again, he takes virtually little credit for his football IQ, which continues to advance every day. He's thankful for Wa-Kalonji and every other member of the defensive line, all of whom he says make sure he approaches each day of practice with a clear mind.
There's Jancek, who has advanced his ability to read the game as an outside linebacker. Same with Evans. A clear mindset leads to an explosive and powerful performer.
"When you're able to mix that with intelligence and then confidence and calls … We've worked really hard to narrow down what we do defensively in our playbook," Summers said. "We're on kind of our, I guess, our sixth or seventh go around with this installation. And he doesn't blink. He kind of knows everything that there is already. And I think that's where you see his confidence go through the roof."
As for Ellis' description of Agurs, Summers will tell you it's pretty accurate. There was no lab, just the plan put in place by Jordon Simmons and his speed and strength staff. The measurables are there, the play is what comes next.
The more he knows – and understands – the closer a player comes to meeting expectations. That leads to the excitement of what could transpire.
Agurs knows the player he wants to be. He's also a realist and knows who he is now. He'll be the one who applies breaks to the hype train down first.
"Like I said, never get too high. I feel like as long as you're patient and taking it day by day, 1% every day, in the long run, you're going to get what you deserve," Agurs said. "Where I come from, you know, you got to keep your head down and just keep, you know, keep working, you know, no matter what anybody says.
"I'm from Inglewood, Calif., You've got people saying things all the time when you're the athlete. So, me growing up, I had my mom always telling me, don't listen to them, no matter what, just, do you, be yourself. So, I'm being myself as long as I can."
Thus, the tempered enthusiasm. Before long, Agurs may very well be looked upon in an entirely different manner, and the conversation will take on a different tone.
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