Monday Presser: Keeping the Focus Forward

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Sep 19

5:30 PM

Football

vs 11/13 BYU

Sep 26

10:00 AM

Football

at UTSA

Oct 3

4:00 PM

Football

vs Oregon State

Oct 15

6:00 PM

Football

at Texas State

Oct 24

4:30 PM

Football

vs San Diego State

The football program is feeling pretty good with reason. Colorado State's 2-0 start is the best since 2011, that enabled by winning a season opener for the first time since 2017.

Not that Jim Mora or his team knew anything about that history. It wasn't theirs. And the way Mora is wired, that 2-0 start is also history he doesn't concern himself with as the third game approaches.

The past is the past. The future is important, and that's a No. 11 BYU team coming to town on Saturday, the highest rated team to ever play at Canvas Stadium. The wins are nice. They are the goal.

Same as getting better each day and every week. So, he shows his team the mistakes they made and the corrections needed. The best part? His squad isn't acting like a team which feels it has arrived or has it all figured out.

"The great thing about these young men is there's no entitlement. They want to be the best football players on the best football team that they can be," Mora said at his weekly press conference on Monday. "And so they're serious about it. They come in there, they take notes. They, they want to learn. They ask questions. They love to be coached. They love to be coached hard.

"They want to be told the truth, and when you are working with a group like that, then number one, it's rewarding. Number two, it's fun, and number three, you see improvement. So I feel very fortunate to work with this group and they accept challenges. And this is a big challenge this week, so 2-0 doesn't mean anything to us right now. OK. That's history."

Hauss Hejny has accounted for 10 touchdowns the first two weeks, and while he was only sacked once, he was hit seven times. That's too many. Hejny and Mel Brown have broken off big runs, but Mora has seen more 2- and 3-yard gains than he'd like. He wants those to become 4 and 5, then 6 and 7. Then 20. Then 40.

Defensively, the Rams have collected eight turnovers. The group has also been gashed for more explosive plays than feels comfortable. Some of those fall in line with missed tackles.

The coaches and players are on the same wavelength.

"It's just continuing to perfect our craft. It's a never-ending quest for perfection, and you never reach it, but you just keep going after it," Mora said. "That's what we do. We don't let any detail slip. It's great to coach a group that feels the same way you do as a coach in terms of we want to be as good as we can. We want to just squeeze all the juice out of this."

Plenty of Help

Brown was trucking down the far sideline on his way to a 73-yard touchdown, and as he neared the finish, he could see receiver Terrance Smith Jr. clear the final roadblock.

"I'm seeing it. I'm just like, 'wow, I probably wouldn't have scored without him right there.'" Brown said after Saturday's game. "I'm extremely grateful for my guys, especially Terrence. You know, they practice that way, so it's like it's the standard at this point. You know, I wouldn't expect anything less, but just seeing it in game and just seeing how the work pays off, it's amazing.

"I have all those touchdowns, that's their work. Those are their touchdowns at this point, especially with the O-line too. I didn't have to do anything, just run."

The Rams are tied with Memphis nationally for the most explosives of 50 yards or longer (five). I many of those cases, it's the work being done downfield by receivers and tight ends. Juice Vereen, RJ Vick and Lavon Brown could be seen making lanes clear for big plays far down the field.

Mora said it's the expected standard, and wideouts coach Caleb Wilson stresses it daily in practice.

"That's just the culture that our wide receiver room has; that's the culture that our team has," receiver Jackson Harper said. "We love to block in the receiver room. We love to create those touchdown blocks."

By the Numbers

Colorado State and Memphis are the only two teams in the country with three plays of 70 yards or longer this season. … Hauss Hejny is second nationally with his nine touchdown passes. … The Rams rank second in turnover margin at positive 3.5 per game, and the eight turnovers generated are tied at the top with New Mexico. CSU's five interceptions are also tied for the national lead with three others.

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