Monday Presser: Norvell Makes Switch to Brousseau

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Like every other week, Colorado State's coaching staff goes over game film, makes evaluations and plans out adjustments across the board for the coming week.

After Jackson Brousseau's performance the final two drives of last week's game, coach Jay Norvell announced the redshirt sophomore would make his first start of his career this Saturday against Washington State.

"I think Jackson has a lot of respect for his teammates. He's the kind of guy who does exactly what you ask him to do, and I told him this morning, I sat down with him and told him how proud I was of him, of how he's handled himself as a backup," Norvell said. "It's not easy to prepare yourself every week and not know if you're going to play or not, and I think he's done a fantastic job of that. He did a great job in the game with his two drives.

"We had two successful scoring drives with him at the helm. He made several really good plays, did things the way that we were coaching it and had great execution. I told him this morning, I said, you've got a lot of playmakers. You've got several good running backs. You've got good tight ends and receivers that are going to make plays for you. All we need is for you to do the things that we're coaching to do and execute. He gave us a chance to win the game at the end and so he's going to get his opportunity this week."

Brousseau led touchdown drives in both series' he led, completing 10-of-12 passes for 78 yards and his first career scoring pass, 4 yards to Rocky Beers. Both drives covered 75 yards and came with the Rams trailing.

Naming him the starter early in the week benefits both he and the offense in gaining continuity heading into the contest.

"I think it'll help everybody. I think the biggest thing about that position is that everybody gets used to the rhythm of the play caller and that has to happen in practice," Norvell said. "We started this week off this way and that's how we're going to be."

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi had started 27 consecutive games for the Rams prior to Norvell's announcement on Monday. He has thrown for 488 yards this season, with one score and two interceptions.

Norvell sat down with both quarterbacks to let them know he was making a change, making it clear they were working to get both of them better from here forward.
"Those guys are our kids. We're coaching them up and we want them all to play their very best, but I do have a lot of confidence in our quarterback room because of the number of repetitions all those guys have gotten," Norvell said.

Not the Same Team

It's been just two years since Colorado State last played Washington State, but boy, how times have changed. When last the two teams met – doing so in a home-and-home in back-to-back years – Cam Ward was the Cougars' quarterback and Jimmy Rodgers was coaching at South Dakota State.
Rogers was at SDSU for 12 years, the final two as the head coach.

When the two schools face off Saturday, Rogers will be on the WSU sideline and Ward will be prepping for an NFL game. What Washington State runs and how it goes about things will be vastly different.

Welcome to college football, particularly after a coaching change.

"It's different. It's very different and you can see it all over the country with some of the scores and some of the things that happen every Saturday," Norvell said. "There's just a drastic turnover. And when you get drastic turnover on a roster, you're not quite sure what to expect."

Washington State opened the season with two wins, but has dropped the past two results, allowing 59 points in each. The two teams have one common opponent – Washington – both losing to the Huskies.

Here and There

Saturday is the annual State Pride game, with the Rams wearing their specialty uniforms. … Linebacker Owen Long now leads the country in tackles per game at 12.7. The true sophomore has posted at least 12 tackles in each game. … This is Colorado State's final non-conference game of the season, but moving forward, the two squads will be Pac-12 foes moving forward. They haven't played much in the past, with Washington State leading the series 1-2.

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