CSU Camp Notes Added numbers — Colorado State had just three quarterbacks in spring ball, but that number has grown by two with the addition of true freshman J.C. Robles and walk-on Chandler Drachslin. Colorado State coach Mike Bobo said they were able to get by in the spring because of days off in between practices, but five is the right number in his mind. “You need five in camp. You’re two-spotting drills. You need guys to throw balls, and it’s a chance to develop young guys, too,” Bobo said. “When you’ve got three, that puts a lot of pressure on their arms. You’ve got to have five quarterbacks to take some throws off them.” Sizing up — Bobo listed off some of the backs he had as offensive coordinator at Georgia, and all were of the bigger variety. Not necessarily tall, but thick lower bodies. While the top two backs on his depth chart — Treyous Jarrells and Dalyn Dawkins — might not meet the height chart, he’s still confident they’re up to the task. Jasen Oden, who at 5-foot-11, 220 pounds meets those standards, factors in, as well. “It doesn’t have to be a 6-2 guy; you’ve got to have some thickness in the lower body,” Bobo said. “Sosa (Jarrells) is thick in the lower body. He’s 5-6, but he is thick in the lower body. Dawkins is not real thick, but he’s got a passion and a desire. He’s probably been told he’s too small his whole life, so he’s got something to prove.” Up next — The Rams, who have been in helmets and shorts the first two days, will add shoulder pads for Sunday’s practice. Monday’s practice, following media day, will be the same. Tuesday will be the first day in full pads, with Wednesday the first two-a-day session. Target points — As noted, finding a starting quarterback is at the top of Bobo’s checklist this camp, but there are others. Finding a guy to snap the ball to him is growing, as Jake Bennett is slowed out of the gates and Kevin O’Brien is also dinged up, moving guard Fred Zerblis in to take some snaps. There’s also the fact the team is getting used to the new systems on both sides of the ball. That will be a constant push in camp, which will also lead to another. “I want to figure out what truly is our identity,” Bobo said. “Everybody knows I talk about being physical, but there’s two-back physical, two-tight end, there’s one-back …. I’ve got to figure out what we are as a personnel group on offense. Defense, I think we’ve pretty much got it figured out what we’re going to be.”

FORT COLLINS — All they have.

That’s what Colorado State coach Mike Bobo expects his players to deliver every day at practice, and it didn’t take his new team long to catch on to the expectations he and his staff carry into each day.

To that end, Bobo credits the players themselves, saying they were well trained under former coach Jim McElwain. Bobo also believes the coaches have to be involved in the process, constantly applying pressure, the kind that will prepare them for game days. Eventually, he wants to see it be on the players, and Saturday’s session was a glimpse toward that end.

“There will be a point and time when we’ll pull back, but we’re nowhere close to that,” he said. “You want it to become player-led, where they expect it and they’re doing it. Where coaches don’t have to be constantly driving, the players are driving each other. We saw some of that today. That was really the first sign of that I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”

Spring practice was a 15-session trial run to get practices down right under the new staff. Each day was a learning experience, but by the time the spring game was done, the players walked away with a good idea of what was coming in the fall.

Tight end Nolan Peralta said there isn’t anything tricky in the message, just ultimate effort all the time.

“I think we know what he expects. He’s not going to allow anything to be run incorrectly,” said Peralta, who as the son of the coach, is well-versed in meeting expectations. “I feel like we understand what he wants from us out of practice. He’s not going to allow us to go anything less than 100 percent out here. It’s really about competing every rep, because the second guy behind you is always fighting for the spot. It’s really coming out here and giving your all every rep. That’s really what he expects from us.”

While the spring laid the groundwork, the summer sessions without coaches around were a fertile ground for improving performance.

Not only did the players spend time re-teaching the new systems to themselves, but they also spent the months in seven-on-seven and conditioning drills to make sure the effort aspect was up to standard.

“Spring was pretty good. Coach Bobo … It was hard coming into the new system, learning all the new stuff, all the new schemes, but I believe the offense and defense, we both got the hang of it by the end of the spring,” linebacker Kiel Robinson said. “Over the summer, I think we got better at what we do. Even the coaches said we got better at it.

“We worked as a team. The senior leaders, Trent (Matthews), Cory James, (Kevin Pierre-Louis), they were running the plays. It was on us over the summer to do it, but the seniors were a big help.”

Competition on the field is a necessary fuel for Bobo, and Saturday he heaped praise on a defensive unit he felt it hadn’t earned prior. When spring ended, he said he wasn’t sure the defense knew how to compete, but they spent the second practice contesting every ball thrown.

“I really, really liked the effort of the defense,” Bobo said. “Enthusiasm, the life of practice, if we can continue that, we’ve got a chance. It’s a long way, it’s a long process.”

The next step for him is to see the pace pick up. It was a major stumbling block for the team when McElwain arrived, and with Bobo’s up-tempo offense, he wants to see it revved up even more.

Peralta and Robinson agreed studying the new systems over the summer led to less thinking, quicker reactions and a faster pace of play to start camp. As they learn more, they’re confident the next goals will be met as well.

When they get there, Bobo likes the chances of what the Rams can accomplish. For starters, he said it helped to inherit a team that had tasted winning and had developed a belief in themselves. Once that carries over to the new schemes and techniques being taught, more strides will be made.

“The key to us being a good team and then possibly turning into a chance to be a great team is can we be consistent at that,” he said. “Can we come to work every day? That’s what we’re trying to get out of them as coaches, and that’s a challenge for us.”

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