First Day Proves to be a Step Forward

The tenor of the first practice was clearly different.

Flash back to spring camp when Jim Mora took control of the Colorado State football program. It was 15 practices of him needing to be intense, start to finish. He was establishing a tone of how his teams were to approach the work. The intensity required. The effort necessary, neither of which should be demanded from the players, but rather have it become expected behavior.

The standard was being taught.

Wednesday, as fall camp opened, one could tell from the proceedings an understanding had been reached. Mora walked calmly through the session, from drill to drill, eyes locked on the work. Over in the corner, offensive line coach Christian Pace was telling Toriyan Johnson that if he could replicate his last rep consistently, he could become the best tackle in the Pac-12. Across the way, Mickey Grace was reminding her pass rushers to be mindful of their hand placement. A few yards to her west, cornerbacks coach Trent Matthews was stressing to his crew to high point their interceptions.

The staff taught technique, not tenacity. With the right approach on display, assignment and alignment became the target.

Not that the team has arrived – no coach will ever say a team completely has – but Mora noted it represented progresses, a better starting point for this camp as compared his first.

"It was nice to be able to come out here and have the players understand how we do things, what the standard is," Mora said. "That doesn't mean we always reached it, but they understand how to move from drill to drill. You know what it's supposed to look like. Now we just have to improve it."

The way the Rams practiced was primary among the new of the day. The gear – adidas – and the turf they practiced on were impressive steps forward. Meeting the standard for the work being done will have more of an impact on how well the Rams play Sept. 5 against rival Wyoming in the opener.

Mora had much of his staff follow him to Fort Collins from UConn. A lot of players, too, a large swath of the program which was locked into what is expected.

They saw it was a work in progress in the spring. To some degree, it always will be as bars continually get raised. The day just proved the team had cleared an important one. Receiver Jackson Harper noted the work has been consistent.

"It's been a process that started all the way back in January, led into spring ball, and we've taken huge steps throughout the summer. And I think it was a great first day," Harper said. "I mean, you could just sense the season's coming up. The intensity was high, but it's been a great year, and I think we're really getting ready to go this season.

"Coming from UConn, we tried to establish the standard here all offseason. And the guys that were here and the new transfers, they've really embraced the standard we brought over. It's really starting to just come into full effect out here."

Wednesday was a launching point forward. Not a day to be perfect, just the initial opportunity to pursue a measure which is never achieved. Development will remain key not just in the schemes employed or the plays run, but the leaders on the field. Those, Mora said, are never designated but always emerge. He used the word fallacy in the suggestion it will be one or two key players, but the reality is every member of the team should become one to some degree.

The rest of the world sees spring camp and fall camp. They are not witness to what lies in between, which plays just as critical a role. Mora can't take part in those sessions, but he knows hey happened from what he saw take place Wednesday.

That, and a random drive one day to look at the flowers on campus.

"One day -- it was a Saturday morning -- it was about 8:15 a.m., and there is our botanical garden right over here. If you haven't been there, you should drive by it; the flowers are gorgeous," Mora said. "So my wife and I are driving by there with the intent of just looking at the flowers because it's gorgeous, and we take a left, and we take another left, and there's a football field over there. And the team was out there at 8:15 on a Saturday morning practicing on their own.

"So I'm not going to lie. I slowed down. I didn't stop because I'm not allowed to stop and watch, but it was like, 'oh, my God, that's what you've got to have.' That's a player-led team, and that's what I saw. Maybe they knew I was going to go out and look at the flowers or something, so they all ran out there really quickly, but I don't think so. I think that's just who they are."

More than flowers were blooming in the morning sun.

Defensive tackle Jack Moran said confidence was taking root. Cohesion was becoming a strengthening stem. The seeds had been planted, and those months of growth showed up in the areas which stood out to him on Wednesday.

"I think our focus and our speed during those practices," he said. "I think we did a really good job of staying focused, rallying around each other in those harder times."

Which is why the standard is never met, just constantly challenged. The first day is easy. There is an inherent excitement they all bring to the field, and adrenaline will see them through. The key is what happens when the routine of the camp starts to set in, and the reps start to build up.

Will it be met on the seventh day, after full-padded practices have taken place. On the 15^th day of practice, when fresh legs are replaced by aches and pains which accumulate.

Mora made it clear: It was a good start, but a million miles still to travel. It's a group he wants to make the trip with.

"I will tell you that there's some characteristics that I always look for in any team that I've been fortunate to coach, and the first one is a lack of entitlement, guys that want to work for it, guys that don't expect anything to be given to them," he said. "Guys that have a little chip on their shoulder, guys that don't make excuses, guys that listen and learn, and it's important to them, and they're intentional in their actions, guys that love to compete and love to win.

"I feel those things. Now, that has to be consistent. It's one day. So far, I've felt like we've been growing in that direction, but we have a long ways to go."

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