Will Colorado State SCARE the Texas Longhorns Tomorrow?!? CSU INSIDER Previews the Game!

we are lucky to be joined by the voice of the Colorado State Rams he will be here in Austin calling this weekend's game between Texas and CSU he is Brian Roth Brian thanks so much for the time today how are you hey good thanks for having me on this morning guys yeah we appreciate your time Brian let me let me let me first ask about Colorado State and the physicality which Jay norell has over the last couple years has implemented into the program I mean I watched them last year play and it was against Colorado in a couple other teams in the Mountain West this is a group that doesn't they don't roll over they fight till the very end they play hard football Jay has them playing really a physical brand of football and whether they can sustain on Saturday versus an SEC team it doesn't matter Jay's not Jay doesn't coach teams to roll over this group last year I thought was really really physical in the way they played yeah I mean Jay Norville has been trying to build this program now for for two plus years this is year number three for J and the program wasn't in great shape when he took over um you know they had they had fired Mike Bobo who of course was a longtime office coordinator Georgia had some success here at Colorado State fired him uh in 2019 Steve adzo the former Boston College coach came in covid hit he did not pan out was there for two years and so Jay Norvell was hired and I I think Jay finally has his program on solid footing and starting to bring in his guys right and and there's no question he has brought a level of toughness to this football team and he's he's recruiting his type of guys that are go out there and what he calls emptying the tank each and every Saturday and and and I think they they did that last year they were still deficient a little bit some Talent areas that that I think they're better here this year now it doesn't mean they're going to go to Austin and win a football game on on Saturday but you know when you when you compare them to some of their peers which are group of five teams right programs working with the same budgets um I I I think Jay's doing a great job and now you bring up that Colorado game of a season ago that's one the Rams let get away and everybody thought Colorado was gonna was going to smoke CSU think the spread was 27 and college game day was there and I think Pat McAfee was saying they were gonna hang 70 on the Rams and CSU came out they were the better team and gave it away at the end so uh you know there's there's certainly a level of toughness and maturity now to this Ram football team in year three under J Ryan tell us about Braden fer Nicolosi took over early in the year last year never gave the job back a lot of good 3,400 plus yards 22 touchdowns but the 16 interceptions I'm sure something that Jay norell is trying to clean up he's a Texas kid I'm sure he's excited about this matchup on Saturday what's what type of challenges do uh Braden fer Nicolosi bring to the table yeah you know bradden fer Nicolosi first off is a really confident kid and I think uh you know most of the good quarterbacks at the collegate level you're going to find a high level of confidence right I mean you have to have confidence to play that position he's you know 6'2 210 lbs and he's now in his third year of college football although last year was his first year starting and and really does have an arm where he can make every throw on the field but you talk about the turnovers and this is a colado State team that averaged 27 points per game last year probably could have averaged more if he cut down the turnover the 16 interceptions for Fowler Nicolosi was tied for most in in FBS football and so now as he goes into his red shirt sophomore season with a year under his belt you're thinking about what could be this year with another year maturity that he has uh I think a level of trust that has gone up with the coaching staff and and and what he has the ability to do and so 22 touchdowns 16 interceptions last year I think he's a kid that can throw in the upper 20s maybe 30 touchdowns this year and then you just kind of keep those those interceptions to single digits I mean you just have to and and so if he goes out and throws 28 touchdowns and and eight interceptions this year I think it means that this Colorado State offense is going to average above 30 points per game and if you do that logic tells you that uh you know over the course of a 12-game season you're going to win more games and than not yeah there no no doubt about it and this is a team that's going to want they would like to be balanced I I got to believe but the Run game is just I I would say just kind of average uh that's that's the deal that I I know that the head coach the offensive staff would like to get better at at the Run game they' like to have a bcow runner they've got a couple different players that I think it looks like they're just waiting for things to happen they can throw the ball they do that and they do that best Colorado stay over the last nine years had a thousand yard receiver so they've been good at throwing the football around but I I know that I I've got to believe this offensive sta just wants to get better at the Run game yeah and so it's it is an air rid offense that Jay brings in here and it's goes all the way back back to you know how mummy and then some of those early concepts of that that West Coast offense and and so the it is going to be more passing than running right and this is never going to be a 200 yard rushing 200 yard per game rushing offense but now having said that there's no question they have to be better running the football and and last year I believe they they averaged 92 rushing yards per game I think it put him at like 126 127 uh in FBS right there ly uh above the the the last team so you've got to improve there now while they're not going to ever rush for 180 or 200 yards per game you got to be better than 92 yards per game and so I think if this is a team that can average 120 130 rushing yards per game uh they're going again to win a lot of football games in particular in the Mountain West Conference you talk about the running back room and Colorado state was just depleted by injuries last year and the running backs and they basically played a won most of the year wacon who is no longer around because finally you you got guys healthy scholarship guys and and so uh the third to last game of the season last year Justin Marshall a kid that who was a four-star recruit in some analyst mind a high three star recruit just outside of Gary Indiana they finally inserted this kid into the lineup and he ran for what 121 yards in a couple of touchdowns against San Diego State and I think the ram fan base collectively said why have we been starting as walk- on running back when we had this kid well he was just still trying to figure out college football and feet settled academically and trying to learn the offense and had so much going on but the coaching staff fin put him in in the third to last game and over the last three games he averaged 103 rushing yards per game he's back he's bigger he's uh still not that big in 510 185 but you know Justin Marshall is a kid who's really good in short space and finally you have a Bonafide scholarship running back that's gonna that's gonna be running the football and I think Ram fans are rejoicing for that fact after watching wons last season now do you do you worry about when you when you when you have a guy that's 185 pounds that's got to pick up blitzers when they cover up all the linemen and they come is is he one of those kids that will just go ahead and stick his nose in there whether he comes out with his nose or not but he will he he's fine with the contact now going into his sophomore year he feels a little bit more confident in himself he is absolutely and and you know half the reason why young running backs don't play right you try to pick up the system sure they can always run the ball I mean those those guys know what to do it's it's second nature to run the ball but can you pick up the blitzes right do do you understand protection in the schemes and and then are you willing to do it to to to your point that he he does Now understand that stuff and he's a tough kid I mean that's that's what the coaching staff talks about I mean that kids backing down from from nobody and you know they think that you know in another two years at CSU he's going to be you know 510 205 and really a Bonafide full College running back he's not there yet but he's definitely a tough kid there's no question about that Brian Roth the play-by-play voice of the Colorado State Rams joining us on Texas Sports unfiltered Brian Tory Horton we know the stats we know the nil rumors from this offseason but you've gotten to watch this guy up close and personal the last couple of years just how good of a receiver is Tory Horton well I think first off you you talk about Tory off the field and the way he was raised I mean Jay Norville will tell you this anytime you ask about Tory Horton and he said his parents are all American parents where I think he's had like five siblings I think everyone has gone on to play division one his sister was a big- time college volleyball player his brother Tim was a defensive back at Boise State and they all were raised the right way and this this dude gets it on and off the field he's is a captain his teammates love him obviously loyal to Colorado State loyal to Jay noral he was recruited to go to Nevada spent two years in Nevada with Jay Jay Norville gets the job at Colorado State the first person that walked into his office and said coach I'm going wherever you are was Tory Horton so that's kind of the relationship that Tory Horton and Jay Norville have and that's why a big reason why Tory Horton didn't take a bag of money and and go play whether it be the SEC Big 12 Big 10 because he because he could have I mean there's no no doubt about that he could have put his name in the NFL draft last year too and and probably been a late round pick the scouts though told him that they thought his frame needed more muscle they they didn't think he could sustain a 16 17 Game season at the NFL level so he put on 15 pounds here in the off season and is now back has a chance to be the all-time leading receiver in CSU so those are kind of the intangibles but then you watch him play I mean he's an NFL kid uh he's 6'2 he's got really long legs and and he's certainly fast there's no question about that but those long legs make him deceptively fast and in fact I think it was with the Colorado game on on an INT pick six for the Buffs that went back 80 yards um you know Tory Horton was running down Shiloh Sanders and they I I think they said they got to like 22.7 miles per hour which was the the fastest of the year to that point that anybody ran on so he's he's deceptively fast he's got the long leg great hands and just a slippery dude just good in short spaces where he can just make one or two moves and then he's bu you so I think it'll be a big test for him obviously he's he's looking forward to it going up against a you know a caliber team like Texas and the defensive backs that the Longhorns have but you know it's not the first time he's played against a power five team and and you know he went to Michigan and I think almost had 100 yards and a touchdown two years ago so he he certainly has been in these situations before but I think it's a situation he relishes yeah uh Brian What will what will um Colorado state do with with their tight end I know there's a big tall there's got I think it was like a 66 kid 67 tight end yeah so that actually they they brought in a 68 tight end 68 who yeah so was a junior college kid from Navaro and um so he's a former college quarterback started at North Texas names Jackson Warren okay uh and then just just didn't pan out as a six' eight quarterback then he went to Naro junor college and they turned him into a tight end and had a great year last year the Rams got him and they thought that he was going to be the guy but Jay norell announced on Monday he's gonna have shoulder surgery he's gonna miss the year uh that that's a massive blow for Colorado State they they had a great tight end last year and they BYU transfering D who just made the New Orleans Saints 53 man roster so that that's a little bit of a hole there that they're expecting the Jackson Warren kid to come in and and kind of be that next NFL level tied end of course two years ago I three years ago now the Rams had the Macky Award winner and Trey McBride who caught 80 plus balls for the Arizona Cardinals last year so tight end has been a position where the Rams have really had some some good NFL caliber Guys Without Warren who was another one of those guys he still could be but he's not gonna be able to show it this year so he's out for the entire season out for the entire year but they they have us like the backup coming back in Vince Brown from last year he's another big kid he's 6 fo6 240 pounds uh I think he only had four catches last year so that it's an unproven position but we'll see I mean and Jay's been able to recruit tight ends big and wide receivers right State and the previous stop Nevada uh you know Romeo dubs is is now the number one wide receiver at uh Green Bay he was J star wide receiver in Nevada he's been able to bring in tight ends and and wide receivers to system because they know they're gonna throw the football they know they're gonna have a chance to to put up big numbers and and and have a shot at the NFL oh yeah Brian Roth the play-by-play void of the Colorado State Rams joining us for a few more minutes Brian what about the Colorado State Defense strengths and weaknesses for that unit and what do you think the game plan is going to be against Texas this weekend well and that's GNA be an issue I think for Colorado State the defensive line is really young and inexperienced and and the Rams lost the defensive end from last year a kid named Mo cimo who was the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year had 17 and a half tackles for a loss last year 13 sacks he was a fifth round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins and and made their 53 man roster so you don't have an NFL calier guy coming off the edge anymore and so the defensive line is going to be a work in progress they like their guys they have young kids but obviously that Texas offensive line has experienced big uh first round draft pick at that left tackle that's going to be an area where Colorado State uh you know we'll see they'll be tested no question but you start looking in the back end of the defense the linebackers are good for the Rams Chase Wilson number 30 kid that had over 100 tackles that series a Colorado kid just a football player through and through he's going to be anchoring that uh that linebacking core and then two safeties on the back end that have played a ton of football You Know Jack Cal is a first team two-time First Team all Mountain West Conference selection at at strong safety and then the free safety Henry Blackburn both of those guys um have played 3540 college game so really experienced on the back end at the safety positions and the linebacker but they're a little untested the defensive backs spot and then defensive line we we'll see as the season goes Texas might not be the best judge of that for Ram fans to see what this defensive Line's going to be uh but we we will get a better idea once we get into October you know we had a discussion before you came on about the fact that this is the biggest game for Colorado state of the Year this this is one of those games where you come and as we talked about Jay's players they play tough they'll play as hard as they can for as long as they can depthwise coming to Austin Texas against an team it'll be very very difficult and I I I know they've gotta they've got to pull some strings they've got to bring some blitzers because Texas will have two kind of new running backs too for the first time that have to learn how to pick up the blitz too in in a game situation but there are other games to be played for Colorado State so I got to say I I would I would venture to say a lot of players at Colorado state are going to get playing time in this game and not because of just depth reasons because they got a whole season to go in your own conference also yeah without question I mean this is this is great exposure for the Rams and again they they went to Michigan they almost won at Iowa a couple years ago uh you know we've been to Alabama a couple times Florida shoot I mean at 17 Colorado state was within uh 10 points of Bama in the fourth quarter and B was number one ranked team defending national champions I'm not going to say that's happening here uh on Saturday but but you want to go down show up they got a lot of Texas kids on this roster right every team has a lot of Texas kids on the roster but but the Rams have their fair amount of Texas kids on this roster and and a chance to go measure yourself early in the season but you know look you want to get out of this game you want to be competitive you want to stay healthy and then the Rams have three straight home games including a game against Colorado and Ford Collins which is obviously a massive rivalry uh and then and then a Mountain West Conference so you you you you want to stay competitive you want to be healthy enjoy the experience I know the fan base is looking forward to getting down to us I'm looking forward to getting down to a Austin I don't know how it is I've been doing this for over two decades and while we we played Texas uh at the NCA tournament last year in Charlotte basketball uh for whatever reason I haven't been to Charlotte so I I haven't been to Austin so uh we're really looking forward to the matchup it'll it'll be a lot of fun no matter what happens on the field