Norvell Announces First Signing Class at CSU

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The hiring of Jay Norvell signaled a start of a new era for Colorado State football.

Judging from what transpired Wednesday on National Signing Day, it's been much more than just a change in style and philosophy. No, the arrival of Norvell has triggered a revolution.

Norvell and his staff – most of whom have not been officially announced – produced a signing class with an eye for building the future, but the brunt of those who signed are here to keep Novell true to his word -- that the Rams will be good in years to come, a clock he expects to start ticking in 2022.

Noting John Wooden was one of his heroes, he went back to one of his sayings in referring to this class: Be quick, but don't hurry.

"We tried to do that the best we could. We evaluated our current roster, see what we needed to address and also be realistic in how we could address that in just a short week," Norvell said. "There are a lot of challenges in college football, especially when you have a coaching change in the middle of a recruiting cycle. A lot of decisions had to be made, but we did that with the most information we had available, and we were really happy we were able to secure the kids we were able to do today."

The class of 22 is an even split of incoming freshmen and transfers, but heavy on offense, with 19 signees on that side of the ball. Of the 11 transfers, nine follow their coach from Nevada. Throughout the morning, Norvell reached all of them on phone to welcome them aboard, talking to players, parents and even grandmothers.

With Norvell bringing the Air Raid offense to Fort Collins, he needed to transform the roster from one which was trying to build from the base of a power running attack, one which never developed. That required a major flip, which is exactly what he and his staff produced. The majority of the class they had committed to Reno are now headed to Fort Collins. On top of that, some of the key pieces the Wolf Pack used a year ago to produce the top-scoring offense in the Mountain West will now be aiming to repeat the feat in green and gold.

It was a sign of what Norvell believes to be a new truth in this day and age. Players have a choice for the first time, and because of that, players feeling they are cared for is more important than ever before. Their willingness to follow him in conference is a compliment to Norvell and his staff.

The offensive line was rebuilt – seven in all, and six of them have college experience. The receiver and quarterback rooms were restocked – six and three, respectively. The class signaled a deep belief in what Norvell does as an offensive coach and who he is as a leader of men.

"It's just the mentality this coach has," said Tory Horton, who scored two touchdowns as a Nevada wideout in the last game at Canvas Stadium in 2021 and hopes to do more of the same as a Ram. "He's got a hard drive, a big drive for achieving goals. It's a dedication that he has. We used to call it the grit he'd put us through to get us through difficult situations which made us better men. With him going there, it's only right. We know what kind of head coach he is, how he operates and how dedicated he is to the players and the game of football.

"It's not just football to him. He cares about life situations. He's someone you can always talk to when things are going wrong. He's just a person you can look up to, which makes every player feel safe and feel motivated."

The first time Novell met with his new team, he told them he would have quarterbacks lining up to play in the system. It wasn't bravado, it was fact. Clay Millen, a heralded recruit out of high school who played sparingly as the backup to Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year Carson Strong, followed his coach. The signing class also includes two highly touted prep QB prospects, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and Jackson Stratton.

Fowler-Nicolosi said the chatter started among Nevada commits as soon as the hire of Norvell was announced. As a group, they were all in with him, no matter the area code.

"It's the people. We're getting a lot of the people from Nevada, and I talked to them and a lot of the commits, and I'm excited," he said. "I think the culture is going to be perfect. They're just genuine. You can tell they actually care, care about more than just football and growing you as a man. When I was on my visit, they talked about that. For me and my parents, that's extremely important. It's more than just four years, it's the rest of your life.

"All of us just loved the coaches. When they left, that was our first thought. We all stayed in constant communication, and the idea of following them to Colorado State was our first thought."

Three Nevada offensive linemen are on the move, too, two of whom – Jacob Gardner and Gray Davis – earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors last year. In addition, Dante Bivens (Tulsa) and Dante Keys III (FIU), come to Fort Collins with a host of starts and all-conference nods to their credit. The room will also have a Colorado influence, with local products Trevyn Heil (coming from Nevada) and Aaron Karas (Pomona) also signing.

The receiver's room also had to be restructured, and there was no better place to draw reinforcements from those who know how to produce in the system. Horton will be joined by former Nevada teammate Melquan Stovall, both of them coming off productive campaigns.

With the change in offensive and defensive systems, Norvell said the roster required not just a certain type of player, but certain numbers. The Rams have five scholarship receivers on roster; Novell said they need a minimum of 12 just to run practice this spring.

"One of the first things I did after I was announced was address the roster. The most important thing a coach has to do is manage his players," Norvell said. "I spent a lot of time watching film, looked at personnel at each one of those position groups. Our style of offense and defense is very different than what was played here last year, so the personnel had to be different. The type of player had to be different, and the number of players in each room.

"It's not a full overhaul of the roster, but it is a major one. We tried to address that in this early period."

This year, due to the new transfer portal rules, programs are allowed 32 initial signees, up from 25. With a defensive coordinator and staff still to be hired, Norvell made the decision to hold back some spots so the defensive staff can evaluate and build relationships themselves.

It was part of the reason Norvell put a pause on some prior CSU commits, as they didn't get time to know each other. With the next signing day in February, they'll get that time so they all can make the right decision.

The class tapped into the Los Angeles market, with Inglewood High School teammates Justus Ross-Simmons and Louis Brown, then remaining in the area (Pasadena) to flip Mekhi Fox, who had committed to UCLA. The staff found talent close to home as well, landing Ky Oday from state champion Cherry Creek. All of them fit the bill Novell wants, big and fast.

Horton knows they will love the system, because he does. That's why he changed addresses.

"It's crazy fun. Fans like to see a show," Horton said. "When we throw the ball and how we throw the ball around, it gives the fans a show. Being in this type of offense, you never know what's going to happen. We've got a variety of plays where it's just fun. It takes football to the next level."

Further broken down, the class brings in 12 players from California and three each from Colorado and Texas. Two come from Washington, one each from North Carolina and Louisiana. All of the transfer students will enroll in January, as will both high school quarterbacks.

Funny thing is Horton is a bit worried he'll be welcomed right away. After all, he was part of a 52-point outburst against his new teammates.

"I feel like I'm gonna get a little bit of hay, possibly a little grief, because of what happened," he said with a laugh. "It's something I've got to deal with. Coach is probably getting it the same, too. Most of them are probably thankful he's coming in, but I'm sure there are a few throwing him some hay because of what we've done."

There may be a quip or two, but definitely no animosity. Not now that they are on the same side. That's the way things go in a revolution. You give up or join forces. When the promise is 30-plus points per game, the decision is relatively easy.

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