Mora Impressed With Player Initiative

With a bye week to work with, the plan was to give the players a bit of time off before returning to practice, then a shortened week ahead of them with a Thursday road game at Texas State on Oct. 15.

The players essentially had time away built into their schedule. A lot of them spent it at Canvas Stadium anyway.

"What I've seen is a lot of them around the building (Tuesday) when they could have taken the day and just gotten away from us. At this point in time, sometimes they just want to get away from us, but they don't want that," Colorado State coach Jim Mora said after Wednesday's practice. "I mean, they're here all the time, and I think part of that is that is we have a great facility. We've created a really great environment for them to congregate. We give them great food. They've got great Wi-Fi. They've got an amazing player's lounge. They've got a great locker room. They can hang out. They can laugh. They have music.

"They can sit up there, and they can play the game. They can do anything, and that's what you want. You want them together. Within that, you also find time for football. So, that's the type of environment we have here, and that's what we want here, and I think it's a really healthy, positive environment. I think it becomes really important when you're in a little bit of a rough patch, you know, that guys don't just start going their own ways. They stay together, and they just get to know each other even better."

The Rams enter the bye week on a three-game skid. The coaches naturally have laid out a plan to address areas of focus on the practice field. Seeing most of the team around the facility, not just hanging out with each other but talking to coaches and watching film was a good sign to Mora.

The players are just as invested in improving as the staff is, and they are taking some individual initiative.

"Those are the type of guys that we want around here, and good football players, of course, but good people who are selfless," Mora said. "That's so important, especially when you're on a rocky road, which, we've been on. I've done this a long time. I've seen it go the other way, and I've seen what holds a team together, and as I've said -- I'm a broken record sometimes, I know that -- but I've seen the clues that indicate to me that we're on the right path.

"Nobody thought this was going to be easy, and quite frankly, we don't want it easy. Now, we don't need it hard either. But the most encouraging thing is just the attitude and the intent and the intentions of the players."

Defensive Shift

As Mora said after Saturday's game, Kenny McClendon, the co-defensive coordinator, will be the primary defensive play caller moving forward. He also serves as the defensive line coach, but moving forward, he'll be in front of the entire defense at practice at times. That shifts roles not only for him, but others, such as assistant defensive line coach Isiah Lee.

"The best coordinators I've been around are involved in every room, but they never stray too far away from what helped them get to where they were," Mora said. "For Kenny right now, that's defensive line. What I think would be very surprising to people is that he has an amazing understanding of coverages and coverage concepts because when you're a young coach and you're preparing for the next level, you're focusing very intently on how you're doing the job that you've been assigned to do, but you take time in the offseason and you learn the entirety of a defense, the entirety of an offense, the entirety of a special team situation so that when it's time to ascend, you're ready to ascend."

As for the defense and what is run, the scheme remains with the focus being on executing at a higher level. Six weeks into a season isn't the time to reinvent the wheel.

"You have to really be careful. You tweak things. Sometimes it's a change in attitude," Mora said. "Sometimes it's a change in emphasis. You're not going to scrap everything you've done and put a whole new scheme in. That just wouldn't work. That would go against everything I've been talking about for the last four weeks, which is make sure the players can play with certainty so they can play fast."

Rest and Recovery

The team didn't return to practice until Wednesday, giving them an extended period for rest and recovery. Some players who are feeling the effects of the season a little more than others either took no reps or limited ones.

Quarterback Hauss Hejny, out since early in the BYU game, did side work, Mora said. Running back Mel Brown, who Mora said was taken to the hospital during Saturday's game for precautionary reasons, practiced with the team.

The Rams spent the day in spiders, with Mora saying the team will remain in that gear or possibly move to shells for Thursday. Friday will be another recovery day, with Saturday triggering the start of a normal week of preparation.

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