FORT COLLINS — Fred Zerblis can talk. He’s also proving he can listen.

When the former Colorado State all-conference guard worked his way back to Fort Collins to become a graduate assistant, his former position coach, Will Friend, gave him some advice.

It was to attach himself to Dave Johnson’s side, and from what head coach Mike Bobo can tell, he did it with super glue.

“Those two are tied at the hip right now,” Bobo said with a laugh. “They’re in here every day at 6 a.m., and I think Dave feeds him every night for dinner, and whenever Dave is done round 9 or 10, he drops him off. Fred doesn’t have a car right now, so I think Dave picks him up and takes him home, which is good.”

Johnson, the Rams’ new offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, welcomes the company. He’s new to town, and he knows Zerblis knows the good places to eat. Besides, his children are grown and gone, so he compares it to feeding his new son. Beyond that, Zerblis — just two years removed from his playing days — has a working knowledge of most of the offensive linemen on roster, plus the way things were done prior to Johnson’s arrival.

That, the coach admits, is a major benefit to having a former player around.

“What helps me with him is I kinda get the sense of mentally where my guys are coming from, what they’ve been taught in the past,” Johnson said. “What things are totally going to blow their mind, and what things are transitional and what things are fully new, that we’ll have to go over it a couple of times or attack it from a different vantage point.”

Zerblis gave life without football a whirl for a year, but he found he missed it way too much, and coaching was always in the back of his mind. He first planted the bug in Bobo’s ear during last season and the conversations advanced.

Even when he was back in Georgia, he was never far removed from the program, talking to his friend and former linemate Jake Bennett, usually more than once a day.

“I think he missed me more than I missed him,” Zerblis quipped.

Because of that, Bobo believes it will work even better for Zerblis to join now than earlier. It’s much easier to remove himself as a former teammate and become a coach with the buffer in place.

This wasn’t a decision made on a whim, either. But joining the coaching ranks with his former program makes it better.

“I missed Fort Collins as a town. I missed the game, too,” Zerblis said. “I think sitting at home on Saturday’s was good, going to the opener was fun. But after week two, it was, ‘alright, I’ve got to get back into it.'”

Johnson and Bobo have both been impressed with Zerblis’ diligence, open mind and willingness to work and become a positive addition to the staff. In turn, Zerblis said a new part of the game is opening up to him.

By the time spring starts, Johnson said his new shadow will become even more valuable.

“That goes a long with him being an ex-player here. These guys know him,” Johnson said. “I think there’s some camaraderie there, but also some respect. Once he masters what we’re trying to teach, I’ll give him a segment of the offensive line and they’ll listen, because he was a good three-year starter here. He has that respect.”

The staff may have undergone a major overhaul since Zerblis’ playing days, but the graduate assistant’s room is nothing but familiar faces. Trent Matthews has been hired and Nolan Peralta is ready to begin his second season. There’s also a position waiting for Deonte Clyburn when the time is right.

All of them were in uniform when Bobo took over the program, but he said all are players he would have recruited had he had the chance. Giving former players an opportunity at a coaching career is something he takes great pride in offering.

His coach at Georgia, Jim Donnelly, gave him that chance, and the spots are hard to land, noting he receives about 500 resumes for the positions.

“One, they sacrificed themselves for the university and did a great job for us here. It’s hard to get in the coaching profession, so I’ve always been a firm believer that if a guy played for you and he was the type of player, student and character and wanted to get into coaching, why not give him an opportunity?” Bobo said. “Sometimes it’s good to go away, and I tell them that. It’s a chance to see how things are done differently, and you’ve already got connections here. If they don’t, sometimes it’s easier to get a foot in the door at your alma mater.”

For Zerblis, Johnson becomes his third teacher, having started under offensive line coach Derek Frazier when he came to Colorado State from Georgia. All of his coaches have had their own style, own way, and for Zerblis, it’s a plus to see a different vantage point.

Already, he said he’s learned more about the game than what was required as a player, and he’s appreciated Johnson’s style and teaching manner.

On top of it, the company hasn’t been bad for either of them.

“It’s good, because he’s going to be a really good coach,” Johnson said. “It’s really an honor for me to be part of his development, and hopefully I can plant some things in him he can take to another level after I’m long and gone. It’s good to be able to contribute to his development, give him some thought, some things to hash out in his own mind as he goes through this profession.”

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