FORT COLLINS — Colorado State’s coaches believe there is talent at cornerback.

Funny thing about coaches is they expect to see it. Daily. It’s how believing turns into knowing. That’s the issue. The Colorado State coaching staff has not been getting consistent looks from the players at the position.

Senior DeAndre Elliott missed all of spring with a leg injury and has spent time in fall camp wearing a red jersey to keep him out of contact. True freshman Braylin Scott has been in red, and Preston Hodges missed some time to take care of a personal matter.

“It’s a little bit unsettling,” CSU head coach Mike Bobo said. “We haven’t had the consistent play we need to have there all the time. We’re trying to create competition there. We’ve got to get some more competition at that position. Overall, they’ve improved from the spring, but we still have some work to do.”

Maybe that tide is starting to turn a bit. On Saturday, when the Rams held their second scrimmage of fall camp, Bobo was quick not only to praise the defense as a whole, but individually point out the efforts of Elliott, Tyree Simmons and Scott after the 120-play scrimmage. The defense finished with four interceptions, and Elliott and Scott collected one each.

Though that consistent flow hasn’t been there for the coaches, Elliott has a lot of confidence in his fellow corners.

“I still feel there is a lot of competition in the corner group whether there’s minor injuries or not, or who’s running with the 1s and 2s,” he said. “I feel like all the corners are good enough to compete. I think the competition and depth is always going to be there.”

The Rams lost starter Bernard Blake to graduation, but Elliott returns with 23 career starts and five interceptions, and brings the size (6-foot-1, 185 pounds). coaches love at the position. Simmons, a junior, has started 11 games the past two seasons (eight in 2014 when he had three interceptions), and sophomore Shun Johnson started a game last year.

Pair it up with safeties Trent Matthews (39 starts) and Kevin Pierre-Louis (25 starts), and there’s a lot of mileage on the group. It was a secondary that made gains last year, improving in pass efficiency defense by allowing 50 fewer yards per game to opponents and trimming touchdown passes allowed from 33 down to 14.

Yet as much as they’ve played together, they are still working with a new staff. The coverages aren’t anything new, but they may come with new terminology or technique. Being able to relay that information is crucial, and Bobo said improved communication is needed.

What the time missed has cut into is valuable practice reps using the style of play new cornerbacks coach Terry Fair brought with him, and Elliott admitted that does take time and practice. Scott’s 6-3, 185-pound frame makes his body college ready, and while he’s shown flashes in practice, the coaches are still looking for more consistency in his skill set.

“Whatever it is, when we go into the first game, whatever we call, we’re going to make sure we know what we’re doing,” Bobo said. “If we can’t execute but two coverages, that’s what we’re going to call. They have to be able to do it. If they can’t do it, then we’re putting them in a situation where we’re not going to be successful.”

The secondary as a whole expects to be successful. New terminology and techniques or not, the back end of the defense expects to build off last year’s gains.

“We have a lot of confidence,” Pierre-Louis said. “I think our secondary is great; we good. We’re working on becoming better together.”

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