FORT COLLINS — Anthony Hawkins is getting pretty adept at having a short-term memory, but as he heads into his third season at Colorado State, he’s actually able to set some long-term goals to carry forward with the lessons from one year to the next.

Coming out of Bowie High School in Texas, the Rams knew they had a bit of a project in him. Athletically gifted at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, he was as big of a threat as a prep when he was handed the ball as much as when it was thrown to him. His true-freshman season at CSU showed as much.

He played in all 13 games, starting four at wideout, but he only had two catches to show for his work, collecting 11 carries. He was physical on the outside and a good blocker, but his hands weren’t quite trustworthy.

Not yet, so during the offseason, he worked hard on everything. Catching the ball. Improving his routes. He was ready for the spring.

Then it was all thrown in reverse.

Literally.

“I can say it was weird. I can say the difference is everything backwards is much harder,” Hawkins recalls of his crash course in playing cornerback, with the lessons continuing through this spring. “A receiver can run up on you in three steps and you don’t know what happens, so the things I tried to improve on was my peddle, work on my motor technique a lot, then I just worked on my off-hand when I’m jamming. I don’t want to get my off-hand in there and get my hips locked.

“I’ve been working on technique and stuff, and doing everything backwards, it’s a challenge, but it’s becoming natural now. It is getting easier.”

At least this season, he’s getting to move forward — that is, in the same position. He played all 13 games at cornerback, starting eight. In his first game, he had an interception. In his final game, he had an interception. In between was a mix of highs and lows, growth and growing pains, as his three interceptions led the team, the eight passes he defended ranking third.

CSU cornerbacks coach Eric Lewis, new to the program, has seen the tape. He doesn’t know much about the transformation, but he can see progress, more of which has to come for Hawkins to realize his potential.

“He has improved, and he knows he has to,” Lewis said. “He knows he has a ways to go, and admittedly, he would tell you that. He’s a talented kid, a competitive kid and he’s got some toughness. When you have those things, you have at least the necessities and recipe for success, and I think if he keeps working, he’ll do a good job and you’ll see, hopefully, a large jump from last year to this year with his play.”

Hawkins, one of two scholarship corners on roster this spring healthy enough to participate, has been getting plenty of reps to work on all aspects of his duties. At one point, head coach Mike Bobo highlighted his physical play, but last week, he admitted Hawkins had to be pressed about giving it his all throughout every practice.

With the message delivered, Hawkins had a better practice that day, and he’s going to need more of them to be better suited to handling the passing attacks the Mountain West presents. Improvement is good, more would be better in Bobo’s eyes, but in terms of the transition Hawkins had to make, the head coach felt he handled it well.

“He stayed positive throughout the year. I thought he finished on a decent note and had a pretty good bowl game,” Bobo said. “He’s coming into this spring practice with a good attitude. I think he’s taken well to coaching and listening. I see a guy who’s trying to work on his technique, and you’ve got to be a technician out there at that position. It’s something new for him, but I think he’s getting to a point where he can function.”

The change from Terry Fair (now at Tennessee) to Lewis has brought about some alterations in how some things are done, but for the most part, Hawkins said the lessons are very much the same. A technique may be tweaked, but the overall message and approach has been smooth.

By this point, change is fine with Hawkins. Better yet, it’s starting to feel permanent, to the point where he can put all of his energy into his craft for the remainder of his time in green and gold.

“It was a change, but it was the best change for me. Now I’m pretty comfortable at the position I’m playing,” he said. “I’ve gained some type of confidence, and I think that helps me make more plays. At the time, I was kind of iffy about some of my reads and some of my technique. I just tried to master my craft and take what my coach puts into me and run with it.”

Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/mbrohard