Rams Captaincy fuels Continued Leadership, Prepare for Aerial Attack from Hawaii
Fort Collins, CO – colorado State University Rams football is riding high off recent success, but Head Coach Jay Norvell is emphasizing a daily refocus as the team prepares to face the pass-heavy Hawaii Rainbow Warriors this Saturday. Beyond the X’s and O’s, Norvell highlighted the impact of team leadership, especially the meaning of the players’ choice in naming a captain.
“The team, whether that’s on the field, off the field, in the classroom, in the meeting room. Just still being that man that I chose to take upon. With them choosing me as a captain,that spoke a lot to me. They see a lot in me,” the captain stated, reflecting on the honor. Several key players, including Wa-Kalonji and Morley, remain integral to practice and team dynamics.
The upcoming contest presents a unique challenge: Hawaii leads the nation in pass attempts, averaging over 46 per game and racking up 295.1 passing yards – ranking 17th nationally. Redshirt freshman quarterback Micah Alejado orchestrates the offense, having completed 65% of his 218 pass attempts for nine touchdowns against five interceptions after missing two games due to injury.
Norvell noted the similarities between Alejado and Hawaii Head coach Timmy chang, a prolific passer in his own collegiate career. ”This is like Air Force but flipped. Air Force wants to run the ball almost every snap; these guys want to throw it almost every snap,” Norvell explained.”It’s going to ask for a different preparation from our team, and so we have to be prepared for that. We have to adjust to that. And we have to play the type of game that we can beat hawaii with, which will be very critically important.”
Alejado has quickly found his rhythm, throwing for over 400 yards in each of his last two games with three touchdown passes in each contest. The Rainbow Warriors boast a potent receiving corps, ranking fourth in the country with 78 pass plays of 10-yards or longer. Six Hawaii receivers have at least 20 catches, led by Pofele Ashlock’s 46 receptions for 468 yards and six scores.
Colorado state will counter with a strong secondary, spearheaded by cornerback Lemondre Joe, who is currently tied for the national lead in passes defended with 11.
Despite the momentum from recent wins, Norvell is stressing the importance of consistent effort. “I see the energy, yes. I just told them, I’m really proud of thier energy and their focus at practice,” he said Wednesday. “And I also reminded them, hey guys, we got to start all over every day.What we did last weekend is not going to help us this Saturday. It’s what we do every day in practice and how we prepare that’s going to allow us to play well, and you got to start all over every day. We got to pay the rent, and the rent’s due every day.”
Norvell emphasized that while the preparation will shift to counter Hawaii’s unique offensive and defensive schemes, the core focus on daily betterment remains constant. “I think this is a very different game than we’ve had to play,and we’ve really stressed that with the guys. And I think it’s going to be a different game for them too,” he added. “A lot of peopel copy what other people do, and we’re not necessarily like that.”
