Setting the Stage: Bringing Pressure From All Over

You might want to change your Colorado State defensive bingo card for the season.

Bet you didn't have Lemondre Joe, a cornerback, with the first sack of the season. Or the fact he came out of week one as the team leader with 1.5. You weren't alone.

"So, I was really in the meeting room, he was just telling me, we've got corner blitz," Joe said, referring to defensive coordinator Tyson Summers. "I was excited. I've never done it before, so I was excited, so I took that role and I came with it ever since."

A Colorado State cornerback with a sack is rare. It's been three years since the last time it happened (Brandon Guzman, 2022), and the time before that it was Rashad Ajayi in 2018. Only one CSU cornerback since 2000 had more than one career sack, and that was Darryl Williams, who collected one in each of the 2005 and 2007 seasons.

This is what Summers means by creating disruption, bringing pressure from any point of interest. It makes it a fun defense for the players.

"Yeah, we're gonna bring it. We always emphasize just chaos, just running to the ball, whatever we do, physicality, just running around, just all 11 hats to the ball," Joe said. "So that's something we emphasize in all our meetings."

Being asked to blitz was a fun surprise for Joe, who guessed he'd hadn't blitzed since playing Little League ball.

For him, not exactly a hard skill to learn.

"You got to hide it, time it, you got to know the quarterback, you know, you got to study it," Joe said. "It just didn't come up. Now you've got to study his ball, you've got to study everything.

"I love it. Just adds more for me, more value and versatility. I love it. Anything for my team to win, I'm gonna do it."

Count head coach Jay Norvell among those who are enthusiastic about the change of defensive style. And like Joe, he's curious to see how many sacks the corner can accumulate. A few years back at Western Kentucky, he had one collect seven.

Unfortunately, it is a defense which will have to move forward without defensive tackle Gabe Jones, who is lost for the season with a knee injury which occurred away from the field of play. Jones had taken major strides forward through fall camp, and he had posted three tackles, one for a loss with a half sack in the first half.

Wideouts Involved

Tight end Jaxxon Warren had a big debut, an encouraging sign for the offense. A productive tight end generally creates opportunities for the outside targets, but that didn't play out against Washington. It wasn't from a lack of trying, and much credit has to go to the Huskies' pair of cornerbacks – Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis.

"We won't see two corners like that the rest of the year. You know, they're both close to 6-foot-4, and can run. Those are NFL players," CSU coach Jay Norvell said. "We took a couple of shots at them. I probably could have done a better job doing some things to free them up as far as motions were concerned. You know, we did play well inside. Jaxxon had a good game. But we're going to get those guys more involved this week."

Ram wideouts were targeted 16 times, producing eight receptions for 85 yards, 20 coming on one catch by Petey Tucker. Jordan Ross was thrown to once. It's not what Norvell expected, nor does he feel it is a recipe for success this season.

Home Cooking

One of Norvell's first orders of business was to make Canvas Stadium a tough place to play, a facility where the home crowd went home happy. In the past two seasons, the Rams have done as much, going 10-3 at home.

"I told our football team I don't want to lose in this stadium. That's the mentality," Norvell said. "When we come home and play, we want to win in front of our fans. I'm so excited to get back in front of our crowd, and I know our football team is too."

The home opener is made more special by the recognition of the latest Hall of Fame Class – Mostafa Hassan, Ellen Nystrom and Adrianna Culbert (Blackman), as well as the inaugural members of the Ring of Fame. The four from football – coach Sonny Lubick, Al "Bubba" Baker, Joey Porter and Bradlee Van Pelt – will all be recognized on Saturday, as well as having their names unveiled on the facing of the stadium.

Saturday's game with Northern Colorado is the first of seven this season at home, making this the second straight season with that number of home dates. It is also the first of three successive home games, with a bye coming after the UNC game.

Ticket sales have been brisk, as has been student-ticket claims for the annual Ag Day celebration.

"Canvas to me is the jewel of the Rockies. It's something that's very special here in this state," Norvell said. "When it's filled with students and fans and we're playing great football, it's a special place. Canvas chaos is alive and well."

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