FORT COLLINS — The topic was an on-going joke during the 2015 season. Now it has become Jordon Vaden’s reality at Colorado State.

It started simply enough with a special teams drill, where Vaden — then a wide receiver — was doing pretty good at stuffing gunners on kick coverage. Then defensive coordinator Tyson Summers joked to Vaden he may want to consider a position change. And on and on it went.

It was funny to Vaden, who continued to ask during the offseason — jokingly — when the Rams were going to let him play some defense, play some cornerback.

The answer was this spring, and there was no punch line. It was an honest-to-goodness position change. It has also invigorated the start of what is his final season for the Rams.

“I kind of feel like a freshman again,” said Vaden, who is running with the top defense. “I always come out for spring and training camp really hyped. I just love the game, and being on the field and stuff, so practice is always fun. Having a new challenge and learning a new position is something that gives you a little extra juice every day.”

The reasoning behind the move definitely made sense. At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, his size and length were intriguing to the defensive staff. The other numbers — a lack of depth at cornerback — made for a clearer bottom line.

Vaden’s career as a wideout was a bit of a rollercoaster, too. As a redshirt freshman, he showed promise with 22 catches for 255 yards and three touchdowns. A year later, those numbers dipped to 5, 42 and 0. As a junior last year, he had 11 receptions for 184 yards, his spot on the depth chart was rather uncertain.

When the joke became serious, he was all for it. He said he likes the challenge of a new position, but also the promise of being able to help the Rams out in a larger role.

Now all he has to do is get up to speed.

For him, it’s all about the technique. Then, once he learns something, he has to believe himself he actually knows it as well as he thinks. Throughout the spring, you can see him going up to cornerbacks coach Terry Fair trying to reaffirm what knowledge he’s gaining.

“It’s not just doing it how he wants it, but how he wants it to look,” Vaden said. “Being smooth in and out of transitions and breaks and in my press and in my back-pedal, all those types of things. Making it look how he wants it to look. A lot of corner is just almost the look. Playing with swag, playing with confidence and learning as you go, trying to catch on as much as you can.”

His former position mates are coming away impressed, as are the quarterbacks on roster. Players from both sides have commented how Vaden’s reach and his speed to break have made for smaller passing windows. While he’s still making mistakes in the process, head coach Mike Bobo felt Vaden held up well during the first scrimmage, making the declaration that the switch was permanent through spring camp.

“He played the whole scrimmage with the ones. He did have a couple of pass interference calls, but I thought one was probably questionable,” Bobo said. “Two, he did snatch a jersey that had an interception called back. But there were no deep balls thrown on him and he did an nice job defending. Where the nemesis of the second defense was the deep ball in the air, Vaden did a nice job on a couple of opportunities.”

Bobo cautioned he still has much to learn, and he wants to see Vaden gain more confidence and trust what he sees. Vaden agrees, noting being a former receiver helps him in some regards, crosses him up in others.

Such as he knows at certain depths what a receiver may or may not do, how they’ll break, how they’ll use their hands. Yet he also grasps the complexity of the Rams’ offense and how diverse it can be, leading him to second guess at times.

What nobody is questioning is Vaden’s attention to detail and trying to make the move benefit him and the team.

“I think Jordon is doing an outstanding job of getting extra help, meeting with me, being as attentive as he possibly can in meetings, and he will get better because he wants to get better at the position,” Fair said. “I think what he can do, his skill set, his size, his length, his speed, his ability, he loves to compete. He wanted to play the position as well, and that certainly makes it a lot easier when the kid is on board to do so.”

Running with the top defensive unit has given Vaden some confidence, but he said it also shows him daily how much more he needs to learn to keep the job. He realize the competition will increase in the fall, making it his goal to continually work throughout the summer to be the player he and the Rams hope he can be at the spot.

To him, it’s all about his eyes. Having them in the right spot, using the right technique and putting it all together, again and again. It comes down to reps he said. The more he gets, the better he’ll become.

“I’m always up for a new challenge, learn a new position and help the team in whatever I can,” Vaden said. “I was definitely excited. It was just better for the team, and I think I can play the position and play the position well and help the team. It was just the best move, honestly.”

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