Further Ahead, but Looking for More

They've been over the plan time and time again. The start of fall camp brought about the fourth time the system offensive coordinator Pryce Tracy has configured has been installed to the players.

They went over it when they arrived back in offense. They put it in actual motion during the 15 practices of spring camp. Over the summer, when the players gathered, they went through it again.

So was the case Wednesday when preparations for the 2026 campaign began in earnest. It will remain the case every Wednesday – every day of the week – in the leadup to the first appearance of game-week focus as the dog days of August flip the page to the excitement of fall weekends in September.

For the staff, and the players, the Xs and Os are just the start. An understanding has to be developed beyond the playbook. The how's and why and the steps taken to set things up and build a plan. The IQ is important and it's taking hold.

"I'm happy, but not content," Tracy said, expected at this point of the process.

It is one he trusts. He comes over from UConn, where the Huskies spent the past two seasons averaging better than 30 points per game. Colorado State hasn't seen that type of output since 2017.

An offense is always evolving. Playmakers emerge and players get injured. Availability, as Tracy noted, is the best of all abilities. Skillsets are important. So are intangibles. For those carving their niche in what the Rams will try to do to light up the scoreboard, rewinding the past and watching the future unfold is intriguing.

"I'm definitely impressed. And then, you know, just having Coach Pryce put his own spin on a lot of the things, to be able to switch it up so teams can't copy what we've done in the past," running back Mel Brown said. "Then, not even just that, just shouting out to the new guys and the younger guys being able to pick up on the playbook this fast, because I know I struggled with the playbook when I first got into it."

For the guy calling the plays, the details are where it all gets done. What are players doing with the ball and even without it. Do they finish a play with intent, blocking to the whistle or finding the burst to break a tackle and evade the next level of a defense.

It's finding guys who are great with the ball in space and those who can create their own. Recognizing talent and intelligence and combining the two for an explosive formula.

The offensive line makes it all go, and before they can block as one, they have to feel as one. Tackle Toriyan Johnson said the group has reached the point and now they head to practice with then mentality they have to make everything go.

Not easy with players coming from different programs, but necessary.

"I feel like the fact that we're getting closer just in these past six, seven months, knowing each other … The only two people who really knew each other were the O-linemen that were here and then me and Diego (Rodriguez), who came from UConn, and then we have a transfer TCU in Quinton Harris.

"I feel like we're all coming together. We're just learning each other as people, because that's the biggest thing, in my opinion, is just building a relationship first off the field, so I know I can trust my brothers on the field, and so we can just come together as one and not even second guess anything that we've got going on, calls, anything that our center has to say. We don't question it, we just go together. I feel like we're getting together, and throughout this camp, I feel like this is just going to give us more time to even get closer based off the fact that we're just here with each other all day. We're working, we're watching film, studying, doing all that stuff. We're just together all day, so I feel like that's definitely going to make us bond ten times more than we already have."

Tracy has his ideas. He also has his eyes open for what and who may develop along the way. The Rams don't play a game until Sept. 5, so no ink is being used at this time. Positions are open, and so are ways to attack a defense.

He has a group of experienced players to look upon, some of whom have already earned his trust. Others have the opportunity to still reach that point, and the best pathway is stacking reps.

His stance: Age doesn't matter. The best will be in the field, so state your case.

"That's a huge piece of it. You've got to put the guys out there you feel like give you the best chance to succeed, and that obviously comes down to trust," Tracy said. "It's our job as coaches, if there's an athletic, talented player, then it's our job to get them on the field.

"We've got to find a way to do that. Whether we've got to teach them differently, take them out of the meeting room, put them on a walkthrough, give them an extra film session, whatever we've got to do. It's our job, ultimately, to get the best players on the field."

The one thing the players can count on is Tracy knows the right methods of turning the screws on each of them as individuals. How to create a bit of tension, a feeling of being uncomfortable to replicate what will happen in a game.

They are confident he can get the best out of them on Saturday's by testing them every other day prior.

"For me, he gets on me if he sees me slacking off, he's going to get on me like that. He's not going to just say something, one little thing, he's just going to jump on me right there and there," Johnson said. "I feel like that helps me to lock back in, just keep going, just keep going, keep working hard, don't take plays off. Just keep going and try and be above the standard that we have set in offense.

"Our components are tough, resilient, explosive, and composure, so I always just try to keep those four things in the back of my mind, and Coach Tracy does a great job of helping us do that."

That works for Johnson. Brown knows it is different for him, with others needing an alternative to the push Tracy can provide if a period of practice wains or a set of reps is below expectations.

Everybody needs something different, and to Brown, it says a lot about his coordinator he knows the cues.

"He knows. I would say he knows all of us on a deeper level, so, you know, he knows what to say and when to say it to get us going," Brown said. "That's good."

For now. And what is good now is expected to be better in the coming weeks. It's the same when it comes to who. And Tracy will keep going over all of it – the plays themselves, the intricacies which make them better and the players who help them break – until it is time to unveil where they've landed.

That, too, they all feel will be good.

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