According to Mountain West Wire, Colorado State is stacked with individual talent leading into 2023.
The publication which features Mountain West Conference football and basketball teams and players recently put out their preseason All-Mountain West teams. And it should come as no surprise that the same three players hit the list: Tory Horton, Jack Howell, and Mohamed Kamara.
Those were the guys just on the All-Conference first teams–with Horton also being named as the first team’s punt returner–and the Rams enjoyed 11 total on Mountain West Wire’s four-deep. The second team was stacked with Rams, including receiver Justus Ross-Simmons, center Jacob Gardner, and cornerback Chigozie Anusiem. Tight end Dallin Holker and defensive tackle Grady Kelly made the third team, while newcomer wide receiver Dylan Goffney made the fourth team.
So, offensively, it looks like this is the year the Air Raid offense gets off the ground for Jay Norvell in Fort Collins. Last year, Norvell’s offense was arguably the worst in all of college football’s FBS level, getting the ball into the red zone less than 20% of the time, and then scoring on only 20% of those trips. Their 13.2 points per game were also 129th of 131 teams.
But if Mountain West Wire is correct, the Rams top-three starting receivers, center and tight end will all have huge years. (However, expect there to be lots of competition at tight end and Holker may not be the starter in September.)
Horton is undoubtedly the star of the entire squad. Not only is he being considered the best receiver in the Mountain West, nationally he’s being touted as the best receiver in the entirety of the Group of Five conferences. He put up fantastic numbers last year as a junior–71 receptions for 1,131 yards and 8 touchdowns–and that was when no one else on offense was helping take pressure off him. With Ross-Simmons and Goffney expected to contribute a great deal, Horton could find himself exceeding those numbers this year.
Undoubtedly, Tory Horton is continuing the legacy of CSU being known locally as WRU, dating back a decade to Rashard Higgins’ rise to glory.
Howell is a star on the defensive side of the ball, and the hard-hitting safety was named to the FWAA Freshman All-American team in 2021 before being name All-Mountain West by the league last year. He’s certainly Colorado State’s defensive leader and lines up with Anusiem in the defensive backfield, a place the Rams have struggled in terms of talent for years.
Finally, Kamara led the rams with 16 tackles for a loss (2nd MWC) and 8.5 sacks (3rd MWC) last year and was named to the All-MWC Second-Team by the league last season. The 6’1″ 250-pound defensive end is a dominant presence up front which will only help the defensive backs come up with turnovers as he pressures quarterbacks.
Horton, Howell and Kamara make Top-20 list, too
In Mountain West Connection’s preseason Top-20 list, all three of Horton, Howell and Kamara each made that list, too.
Horton came in at No. 2 overall, Howell was at No. 4, and Kamara came in at No. 6 overall.
Simply, everyone’s expecting the Rams three stars to have huge seasons in 2023, and if they do, it will likely mean not only is Norvell’s offense improved, but the defense will be as well.
Look for Colorado State to finally get over the three-win mark this year with ease.