Colorado St. head coach Jay Norvell: "To play in Austin in Memorial Stadium is a big deal"
Entering his team’s first game of the season, Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell is like every coach in the country and looking forward to kicking off the 2024 campaign.
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“I’m anxious to get going and looking forward to this first opportunity,” Norvell said yesterday. “Obviously, we’re going to Austin to play the Longhorns. It’s an exciting opportunity for us as a team and a program. We’re from the Mountain West Conference. We’re very proud of our league. For us to take and represent our league down there in Austin is a great opportunity for all of us to showcase what we’re capable of doing.”
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Norvell mentioned that a number of players in his starting lineup and members of his coaching staff have ties to the Lone Star State, so playing on Campbell-Williams Field is a big deal for several Rams as they travel.
“To play in Austin in Memorial Stadium is a big deal,” Norvell said. “We’re excited about it. Our kids are excited about it. We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
A few notes…
- Question one was about CSU looking to improve in run offense and defense: “I think we’re a work in progress. Like most teams, we’re really working hard at improving our running game. We’re also working hard at stopping the run. That’s going to be a big challenge in this game.” — Novell identified CSU’s pathway to victory as holding the Longhorn run game and finding ways for his offense to run the football.
- Norvell, an Air Raid coach, said explosive runs are an element missing from his team currently. He mentioned he’s healthier at RB and more experienced on the O-line, so the Rams will want to improve in big run plays.
- “Sark does a great job with the runs, the RPOs, the different style of running game,” Norvell said
- On Quinn Ewers: “Just a real experienced quarterback. He’s played in a lot of big games there at Texas. Obviously he played in the College Football Playoff. Just a quality guy. Seen a lot of tough defenses in their schedule that they play, and he’s got a lot of weapons.”
- Norvell over and over mentioned how excited they are to play in this game: “It’s an opportunity to play a really good football team in a great environment. We should look forward to that. It’s not so much that we’re playing The University of Texas as we’re playing a team that runs split zone, RPOs. That’s what we’re playing against. We’re playing against the schemes that they run, and we have to do our job versus that. I think we have a more mature team that understands that.”
- Because of all the Texas connections Norvell and staff have, they’re looking forward to the chance to put their team in front of some Lone Star State eyes: “We recruit the state of Texas. Texas kids love coming to Colorado and love the mountains up here. Had a lot of success. We all have a lot of history as coaches. I coached there. I coached at OU. I was in the Big 12 for most of my career and played against The University of Texas a lot. Recruited down there for years. Our kids are excited. When you have kids that are from the state of Texas, they’ve been looking forward to going down and playing there their whole lives.”
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- Norvell also spoke about rule changes like the two-minute timeout and in-helmet communications, Terrell Davis becoming a CSU Athletics Ambassador, Jaxxon Warren being out for the year following shoulder surgery, Nuer Gatkuoth being out for Saturday’s game with turf toe, and how his team will handle a larger environment.
