After being gone all summer I came back to the CSU Rams that were far different then when I left. First off a visual change came with a new set of threads for the Rams. I have heard good and bad reviews, without a good picture I will just say that they are not the worst uniforms but I am a fan of classics. As long as they leave the helmet alone I don't care what they do with the uniform. The orange "Aggie Day" uniform will be the ugly one so we all have that to look forward to. The Rams also had under armor make custom shoes for the season so be on the lookout for those.
The next thing I came back to was a quarterback which was a nice change from last year when everyone found out just days before the game against Colorado. True freshman Pete Thomas looks to be the signal caller for the next 4 years in Fort Collins. Considering how well freshman have panned out lately in the conference it could be a good sign to follow in the steps of Utah's Jordan Wynn and Wyoming's Austin Carter-Samuels. Obviously there will be bumps and bruises but it looks like Fairchild has found a player he wants to groom and coach for more then a season. This is good news for Ram fans everywhere.
Perhaps the most important change has come on defense. After the loss of three defensive lineman the Rams needed to do something. My favorite part about their decision is that you can see the tactical purpose, to get fast and athletic on the defensive ends. Former linebackers Broderick Sergeant and Davis Burl were put on the line along with freshman tight end Crockett Gillmore. Former tight end Adam Seymore is now a defensive tackle. Sergeant has also played fullback and tight end. Another change that some had speculated was moving freshman safety Mike Orakpo to linebacker. All players have been noted as making athletic plays including some 70+ yard interception returns. The Rams will be small and vulnerable to power backs if they don't develop a gang tackling persona. However they should be able to cover the faster running backs and running quarterbacks in the mountain west.
For the MWC and Ram fans lets hope that 3-9 record from last year gets a makeover also.