On an early Saturday morning before Colorado State officially began fall camp, head coach Jim Mora and his wife were driving by the CSU Arboretum and Botanical Garden with the sole intention of looking at the flowers.
After taking a couple of turns, they happened upon a football field and saw members of the Rams team practicing on their own. Mora admits he slowed down a bit but never stopped.
“One day, it was a Saturday morning, it was about 8:15 a.m., and there is our botanical garden right over here. If you haven’t been there, you should drive by it; the flowers are gorgeous,” Mora said. “So, my wife and I are driving by there with the intent of just looking at the flowers because itap gorgeous, and we take a left, and we take another left, and there’s a football field over there. And the team was out there at 8:15 on a Saturday morning practicing on their own.
“So, I’m not going to lie. I slowed down. I didn’t stop because I’m not allowed to stop and watch, but it was like, ‘Oh my God, thatap what you’ve got to have.’ Thatap a player-led team, and thatap what I saw. Maybe they knew I was going to go out and look at the flowers or something, so they all ran out there really quickly, but I don’t think so. I think thatap just who they are.”
Player-led practices like the one Mora happened to catch a glimpse of have played an integral role in player development and bonding in the past, and with a large roster turnover from last year, should again this season.
Defensive lineman Jack Moran said even though the team had been together in the spring, those practices helped the players not only sharpen their skills but build confidence and the bond they need to have to be successful this fall, especially in a couple of key areas.
“I think our focus and our speed during those practices,” Moran said. “I think we did a really good job of staying focused, rallying around each other in those harder times.”
Newcomer Jackson Harper, a transfer from UConn, said the player-led practices were important because, on those Saturdays, the players are the leaders between the sidelines when the coaches are purposefully absent.
“We try to be a player-led team because player-led teams are successful,” Harper said. “The coaches aren’t out there on the field with you in the game. We would get together, the whole offense as a group. The defense would get together, no coaches out there. We would find a field around here and get together and work together.”
The team hopes their extra preparation and time forming a bond will translate to success once their Sept. 5 season opener against Wyoming arrives.
“Itap been a process that started all the way back in January, led into spring ball, and we’ve taken huge steps throughout the summer,” Harper said.
Five Rams named to Pac-12 Impact List
CSU had five players named to the Pac-12’s 2026 preseason impact list late last week. The league released the list in lieu of a preseason all-conference team.
Tight end Juice Vereen, wide receiver Terrence Smith Jr., running back/kick returner Mel Brown, linebacker Oumar Diomande and defensive back Caleb Presley were each recognized by the league ahead of the season.
Diomande, a native of New York City and The Bronx, was 20th in the nation with his UConn-leading 116 total tackles last season, and his 65 solo tackles were tied for seventh in the country. Vereen grabbed 22 receptions for 310 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games last season with the Huskies.
Brown was limited to just five games last season due to injury but recorded 262 yards on 32 attempts with a pair of touchdowns for UConn. In 13 games as a junior, he racked up 673 yards on the ground while averaging 29.1 yards per kick return.
Smith Jr. spent two seasons with the Huskies before following Mora to Fort Collins. Last season he played in all 13 games and logged four receptions for 34 yards, while racking up 75 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Presley has previous Pac-12 experience, having started his career at Washington before spending the 2025 season at San Jose State. He played in 12 games for the Spartans, racking up 22 tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups.
Starting QB decision won’t come soon
Mora said Monday after practice that he won’t name a starting quarterback anytime soon, possibly not until right before kickoff against the Cowboys.
“We’re going to name a starter probably about 4:02 p.m. on September 5th, not before that,” Mora said.
The quarterback battle has only intensified during the first week of fall camp. With seven signal callers on the roster, the competition to be the starters has narrowed, but not one has definitively solidified starter status.
In fact, it wouldn’t been surprising to see the Rams go with multiple quarterbacks early in the season.
Hauss Hejny and K’saan Farrar lead the pack. Both have had sensational moments last spring and early in fall camp as well. Returner Darius Curry has caught Mora’s attention also.
“They’re both highly competitive,” Mora said. “So, even if we were to name a starter today, they’d both continue to compete well. I’m putting DC in there because he’s competing his tail off, too. I have a lot of respect for that one.”
