FORT COLLINS — With the exception of a one-year stay on the Jacksonville State staff, Mike Bobo was at Georgia as a quarterback and then an assistant coach since 1993. So there’s a lot of culture shock involved in Bobo taking over as Colorado State’s head coach, and when asked after the Rams’ first spring practice Tuesday about wearing a green hat for a change, he took it off and looked at it.
Yes, his hat was green.
Yes, he’s at CSU.
Yes, he’s the boss.
“It was a little bit different,” said Bobo, who had considerable autonomy and authority as Georgia’s play-calling offensive coordinator. “I’m still calling the plays on offense (at CSU), so I’m coaching the offense. It’s a little different that I have a quarterbacks coach (Ronnie Letson), and I’m not involved in every little thing they do. I have to separate myself a little bit.
“I want to get used to the terminology we have here because it’s a little bit different than the terminology I had at Georgia. Once I get that down I’ll back away a little bit from the offense and just go off the script and maybe put the head coach hat on a little bit more.”
The Tuesday practice was the first of 15 for the Rams this spring, leading up to the April 18 Green and Gold game at Hughes Stadium.
“The first day went well,” Bobo said. “I thought the guys moved around with a lot of energy and played hard. That was the main thing we were looking for, having energy and effort. There are a lot of fundamental things we have to correct. But that’s what film time and study session tomorrow will be about — correcting some little things.”
Bobo’s no-huddle, fast-paced offensive approach is reflected in the practice work.
“The tempo was good,” Bobo said. “We have to do a better job of getting lined up faster at the skill positions and locating the signal guy. I thought it was a decent job and I have to look at the film to be sure.”
Bobo has emphasized the search for a quarterback will be democratic at least through the spring, with Coleman Key, Craig Leonard and Nick Stevens sharing the work. So it was a bit surprising that he seemed to jump at a chance to say which one had looked best on Tuesday.
“The first day, out of the three, I thought Nick had a better grasp and understanding of what we were doing,” Bobo said. “We still have to move faster. We have to play faster with our feet, all three guys. You can see that they’re thinking a little bit too much instead of reacting and playing through habit. But that’s natural, it’s a new offense, it’s new terminology, it’s new coaches. They probably can’t understand half of what I say because of the Southern drawl. So it’s going to take time for them to understand what I’m saying and kind of decipher what to listen to when I’m yelling at them.”
The Rams next will practice Thursday, then won’t be on the field again until March 24 because of spring break.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
