Colorado State Football: Rams face total rebuild in 2018
By Zach Bigalke
Defense
If Dave Johnson has it rough, new defensive coordinator John Jancek has even more holes to plug up on the Rams defense. Colorado State lost seven starters on that side of the ball, and have one of the greenest units in the entire country as a result.
Jancek, formerly a defensive coordinator at Georgia, Cincinnati, and Tennessee, will need to find the right parts immediately. The team will transition from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 base, making this season that much tougher to read going forward.
Arjay Jean offers a strong presence at defensive end. The rest of the personnel on the defensive line looks to benefit from the shift as well, as the talent on hand was undersized on the line for a 3-4 look.
With the adjustment, the linebackers have more room to excel as well. Josh Watson seems well suited to the shift from interior linebacker to middle linebacker, as he is strong against both the run and the pass.
Focusing on the secondary
Colorado State had just two scholarship cornerbacks for spring practices this year. Senior cornerbacks Kevin Nutt Jr., Shun Johnson, and Justin Sweet are all gone from Fort Collins after graduating. That left Anthony Hawkins and Darius Campbell to do all the heavy lifting at corner, and the two are likely going to be the starters by default.
The cornerbacks could get assistance from graduate transfer V.J. Banks. A three-year starter at Rice, Banks comes to Colorado State for his final year of eligibility hoping to make a final impression on NFL scouts. The 6-foot-1 defensive back can play at either cornerback or safety, though he will likely get most of his reps at the corner spot this season.
Colorado State is in better shape at safety, but there are still question marks. Utah graduate transfer Jordan Fogal is back for a second season after ably joining the team in 2017. So too is Jamal Hicks, who returns from an injury that cut his sophomore season short. When Hicks went down, the Rams regressed painfully. His return will bolster the secondary further.