Intro [Music] good morning y'all we are back with another edition of dnvr rams live as always I am your host Justin Michael I got a fun show plan for you I caught up with CSU athletic director John Weber yesterday really appreciate him giving me some time he's been making the rounds this week I know I caught up with Kevin he was on The Brady hle show I think he had a a seven News segment this morning so he's he's making the rounds and and rightfully so you know the school is really going out and then trying to make the the game day experience a lot more engaging we talked about all that we talked about some of the things he's prioritized since taking over as ad about seven months into the gig now it was a great conversation I think you guys are going to enjoy it we'll get to that here in just a couple of minutes uh I'm I've always been a big sucker for AG day and the orange out in general I remember when they introduced the uniforms back in 2010 AG day goes back you know 40 plus years but I remember just like implementing the orange out how much fun it was actually uh basketball side against Wyoming and then you know the following September they wore the orange jerseys they wore them with green helmets the first two years which a lot of people probably don't remember the the uniforms have made great strides we can definitely say that uh at the end I'll get into some of my favorite AG day memories a lot of them are from when I was in school obviously but kind of fun to to just go down uh memory what is that memory lane a little bit and then you know just kind of reminisce on all the fun times uh real quick I tweeted this last night or posted on X whatever you want to call it uh I recently did episode number 12200 of the DVR Rams podcast which is pretty wild this will be my fifth year of doing it this fall pretty crazy uh I appreciate all of you the show has grown a ton in in the last year especially but the last couple years and it's just been a wild ride so shout out to all of you that's crazy since I took over there's never been an episode that I did not host which you know sometimes I think about just how many minutes I've spent rambling on this show and I'm not sure why you guys choose to listen to me sometimes but I certainly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart so shout out to all you before we get to that um to that interview with John Weber I I did want to give out a couple of keys for CSU against UNC if you missed it I had 3 keys for CSU against UNC Mike Sanford on yesterday he is going to be doing color commentary for the game gave a lot of great Insight you know he's been able to make it to practice practices for both teams Mike's a guy that that knows his stuff I mean he's coached all over the league he was Jordan Love's quarterback coach at Utah State was at Boise State for a long time when they were dominants had some success at Western Kentucky he was the interm head coach at CU actually post Carl derell so he's been around he's got a lot of ties to the to the region to the Mountain West as a whole uh but he he does a really good job of you know just despite being a Boise alum despite having worked at CU kind of being able to put those aside and just talk about ball and I mean you know going back to the summer he's talked about why he thinks CSU can be a much improved team and a lot of that has to do with the athleticism that they have out wide and I think like all the fans I really would like to see that you know come to fruition this weekend and really see the Rams kind of take advantage of the athleticism and the talent they have out wide which brings me to my first key and that is Unleash the Beast on offense I mean there's a lot of different ways to look at this matchup you know I do think they will be holding some stuff back for the CU game like you know I'm sure they have a couple of plays like in mind that they're kind of keeping in their back pocket there that said especially coming off of a a zero point performance when she really didn't do much of anything through the air I know the game plan was a little bit different I've said my piece on that I know a lot of you have as well whatever you you know at this point you just got to get it going and I think this is a nice opportunity here against probably a lot of man coverage at least that's what we've seen from UNCC so far to take advantage of the speed that you have with Tory Horton with armanii Winfield Caleb goody all these great athletes you have a receiver you've got a quarterback with a ton of arm Talent uh if they're going to be pressing at the line of scrimmage if they're going to be playing man coverage and they're daring you to throw the Rams really need to take advantage of that and um I think this is just a great opportunity to get some positive momentum rolling to kind of start establishing the identity that you hope to be moving forward obviously the offense is not going to look like it did against Texas in most games I do think they want to be able to run the ball when they need to and they want to have that that physical component so I don't think they're just going to completely go away with it and based on what we've seen out of Justin Marshall and based on the talent that they have in the back field I don't think they should go away from it totally but obviously they need to open up that passing offense in a major way this is a great start we saw CSU throw the ball all over the place against Utah Tech last year defensively they gave up some big plays and I think if uh I think if they give up the amount of explosive plays in this game that they gave up against Utah Tech that would be alarming um you know I'm not trying to put UNCC down it's just a program in rebuild mode under Ed lamb I think they play hard I think they have an identity and I think he's a guy of if anybody is g to be able to have success there I do think he is probably the guy I I think there's also a clear Gap in talent and athleticism in this one kind of similarly you know to the Gap that we saw against Texas last week there's obviously levels to college football and I I I think you really need to kind of dominate on both sides of the ball but especially offensively even if you give up a couple plays so long as you know you put you know 45 plus 50 plus points on the board you know you should be fine I have a hard time seeing UNCC score that many against CSU though maybe I shouldn't tempt fate because obviously there have been some stinkers against FCS teams over the years uh second key you got to stop the run they have got a solid two-headed monster in the back field between David afari Washington State transfer and Van Shield who obviously was csu's running back last year it was kind of fun to talk to cam barow about that earlier in the week he he made a comment about how they met in the hole quite a few times on practice and he's looking forward to getting that opportunity in a live game I think both sides you know if you're CSU you don't want van to run wild on you if you're van you obviously want to come in and make a statement and make that team you know feel sorry for forever you know letting you go so you got to stop the run uh uncc's got a couple of quarterbacks that can that can hurt you in the Run game as well a couple big athletic guys so I think that's the biggest priority if you can force them to be onedimensional and then you know get after the quarterback a little bit I think it's going to be a nice little game for this CSU defense nice bounceback opportunity that said though again you don't want to overlook this team they do play hard you got to win the turnover margin man it wasn't atrocious last week you obviously finish minus one and you know with the interception you know I've kind of heard it was a scripted goball so essentially like you're going to throw it either way I don't know if that's true but that is kind of what I've heard Tori did have a step Braden threw it a little bit late and off his back foot allow the other DB to kind of recover there you know if you hit it everybody's feeling stoked obviously they've got to cut down the interceptions you can't have the air on special teams that you had that that was brutal um but UNC turned the ball over four times last week and that was basically the difference in the game you should have some opportunities here to create some turnovers and obviously when you do you got to take advantage of them a big big game for the Rams big opportunity and obviously it's really exciting because they're going to be honoring John Mosley uh they're going to introduce the battering ram which is exciting they're going have two separate flyovers I mean it's going to be a really special day I talked about all of that with John Weber and we're going to get to that interview here in just a second as foco RAM says in the Toyota chat need a convincing win anything less will be tough going into RMS week it's it's a situation where you kind of need some style points you know I think looking at the game coming into the EUR is easy to be like you know sandwiched into the CU game or in between the Texas and the CU game easy like like Overlook opportunity especially against a smaller team out of the the Big Sky there that said you got embarrassed last week you know you got your you got your tailes kicked on national TV and because of that I think you've got an eager team that that wants to come out and and kind of prove themselves and reading between the lines what we heard from the players from the coaches throughout the week especially on the offensive side like I feel like this is a group that is uh pretty eager to release some demons essentially so I'm I'm interested to to kind of see what they're able to do um one thing I'm also really interested to see is how does Tory Horton perform it would feel pretty fitting you know with 14 being retired for Lieutenant Colonel John Mosley if Horton had the type of game that he had last year 227 receiving yards I believe last year three Tes I mean absolutely went off I was curious I went through the history he he reminds me so much of Rashard Higgins just I mean they're both kind of like skinnier guys they always have big smiles highly athletic athletic if I really had to put it I would say he's kind of a cross between Higgins and Gallup which is a pretty good place to be but Hollywood would always go off on AG day in three orange out games he had 19 catches for 418 yards seven touchdowns obviously four of them came against Tulsa back in 2014 we'll talk about that a little bit later on but Horton so far in two orange out games 13 catches for 354 and four Tes I mean if he had another three touchdown performance he would tie Shard for the most touchdowns in an orange out uniform obviously that stat is somewhat skewed as you know they've only worn the uniform since 2010 uh but kind of an interesting opportunity and obviously an interesting opportunity for Tori to honor the legacy of John Mosley he talked about what it means to him to wear that 14 he didn't pick the number four Mosley obviously or or have any you know previous knowledge of it when he came over from Nevada but it is you know something that he takes pride in he talked about wanting to get the win on AG day for John Mosley and here was Tory Horton after practice earlier this week maybe live TV you approach this game week have you'd like the approach of your team uh heading into this game no I mean this is an important um you know home stand we're coming in we're coming home and we want to you know we didn't play the way we wanted to play last week we want to get in the groove and really just everything we've been talking about all season we want to see from this team so uh our approach is to you know to get after it and and uh have high intensity workouts and and get in a good rhythm of playing good so the response you wanted to see is those the response you've seen yeah so far yeah yeah so far especially like offensive side do you feel guys kind of jump in the bit a little bit to you know get get a zero I mean we played a little differently than we normally did last week we tried to um kind of slow the game down a little bit and um you know we we weren't able to accomplish our our game plan so you know guys are anxious to get going and and and uh you know we want to spread the ball around get it in a lot of people's hands and um and play with a little bit more Tempo this week do you feel like the skill gu like in particular the receivers understood that this wasn't what it was going to be I don't know that I don't know that to be honest if we were have a mature enough team to understand that this kind of game plan to be honest with you know so um you know this is this is uh was a pretty complicated game plan we had last week a lot of things had to go our way for it to be good and it just didn't and so um but we'll get them back at it and we'll get back in the RH how much does it help we talked a little bit about money but just being home getting the rhythms of that and everything that can come with kind of Comforts no it's good to be home it's good to be home and get some rhythm going with what we're doing playing for the home crowd um and just not have to travel and and um you know it'll be good it'll be good to get three weeks of it too and so you know this is the big start of that and uh you know obviously we want to get a lot of guys involved we want to see a lot of guys play well at a high level unique opportunity this year just given that you play all the local Front Range schools is that a big point of emphasis of kind of dominating that portion yeah you know it's a big uh big part of what we get to do here is play all these Front Range schools and you know Hank reminded the guys of that today and so this is the first one um so it's it's important we get off start on the right foot when you think about one of the things you wanted to establish here when you first got here was canvas becoming a place where you won where there's a HomeField Advantage because that hadn't been that way um is this an important First Step because you did have a winning record of canas last year to get that reestablished again to continue yeah I mean we made some strides last year it's always our goal to play well at home and we made some strides last year and you know this is the start of making those strides again this year and so um you know it's our first opportunity it's a day it's always a fun day to play here and and um you know we'll get in our our orange jerseys and be ready to roll so noticed on the too deep that new still let sit out still going to be out this week yeah he's not going to participate this week you know and you know he's got a pretty serious foot injury we're hoping we're going to get him back but he will not be back this week good thank all right that obviously was not the clip of Tory Horton we had a mix up on the back end there there I misplace the files so we'll get to that Tory Horton clip here in just a second and then we will play that interview with CSU athletic director John Weber that obviously was Jane orell talking post practice also setting the scene for AG day but my bad there on the mixup uh real quick trucks have always been a part of Toyota's DNA for Generations Toyota has built durable Legends destined for greatness and perfect for Colorado whether you're conquering Offroad Trails or hauling the way of the world there's a Toyota truck that's just right like the allnew 2024 Tacoma or the return of the iconic 2024 Land Cruiser Toyota offers 17 models with available all-wheel driver 4wheel drive like the Epic 4Runner Toyota also offers more low and zero emission Vehicles combined than any other automaker to give customers numerous choices to reduce their carbon footprint 16 different hybrid vehicles to choose from the tundra I force Max 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to decompress you know doing some deep breaths doing some yoga maybe whatever you got to do those little things every day they add up and they make you healthier and that's what it's all about just Little Steps each and every day to find that balance and to to make your life just a little bit better if you want to join UC heal's Ready Set Co challenge click the link in the show notes or go to www.health.org retco all right I think we have the uh the Tory Horton clip here we're gonna play that for you this is him talking about the opportunity to honor John Mosley wanting to perform well what it kind of means to him to represent that number 14 one's wearing it what have you Can Horton go off? learned about John was does it mean to to be wearing his number uh you know it means a lot you know him doing so much for the community and you know just even the state of Colorado um you know just finding out he was a multiport athlete he did well football and wrestling um uh was voted class president twice um you know that that that takes a lot especially uh in the time and era that he was in with them being segre that's a that's a lot of heart and you also you know see that he went into the war and know he even became a fire pilot and that just you know that's that's something cool to learn and and just the amount of stuff that he did for the uh you know just for the school and just for you know our our country and whatnot so you know it's really a blessing and honor to you know wear his uh wear his number you know I can say that wear his number and you know just go out with a bang for the last year the numbers being out he's not the reason you picked that number obviously but when you learn that do you take more pride in in getting to represent that number just given everything he accomplished oh yeah you know uh you know once I found out the number was being retired you know they they were saying I was able to keep it and you know just kind of you know they they felt like I was one of the perfect examples of you know having that having that number go out with a bang and you know I took that as a you know true honor so you know the stickers on the back you know it's not for me and I know it's not for me it's for him and everything that he's accomplished and done and you know just wearing that number I just want to go out there and give it all you know show the state of Colorado and even you know the School uh how much that you know how much that number 14 means to everybody here especially on aie day you had three touchdowns on a day last year have you thought about like what having a big performance would be like especially on this day for John Mosley uh yeah you know it mean a lot you know I kind of I kind of want to dedicate this game to him you know of course uh when he was at school it was the it was the Aggies it wasn't you know the you know for calling the Rams it was you know they wearing their orange and and you know the green so you know us wearing our orange jerseys on on that day and you know the number being [ __ ] on that day I feel like uh I got to go out with a bang I got to I got to give it all I got and of course I give it all I got every game but know this game is very special and um you know we got to we got to come out with the win for him gotta come out with the win for him you love the statement from Tory Horton I appreciate him taking a second to reflect on that Legacy that's always a tough spot too getting put you know on the spot to talk about the the legacy of of such an important man and uh Tori did a really great job uh he's just a really humble and and just gracious individual I really appreciate him man I mean like honestly a lot of star receivers after how that Texas game would have went they probably wouldn't have even given us the time of day would have just done no media this past week they never act like that they never Big Time us or anything like that and it's much appreciated uh also much appreciated is the time that John Weber gave me and we're going to play that interview with him Colorado State athletic director I picked his John Weber Interview brain a little bit on why uh it was such a big priority for him to honor John Mosley we talked about some of the game day initiatives uh I I put him on the spot and asked him what his first CSU memory is it was a lot of fun and I appreciate him giving me some of his time and here is that interview with CSU Athletics director John Weber I am thrilled because we have John Weber joining the show CSU athletic director it's a big week it's a big month for CSU honestly I mean obviously this three- game home stand we got State pride we got the orange out we got the first Rocky Mountain Showdown since 96 I'm sure you've got a million things on your mind at the moment so I really appreciate you doing this but just first things first you know how are things going H how's this first full year on the job been for you so far First full year so so first of all thanks for having me uh on on on here I really appreciate it always great to connect with you and and connect with uh with with all of our Ram fans out there um so what are we we're about month seven now at this point um it's been it's been great you know I'm I'm absolutely honored to do this um it's special to be able to do this at your Alma moer you know really make a difference for uh you know you know you for your own school um it's just it's it's absolutely been great and uh super excited as we head into the fall here we have a lot to talk about you guys have a ton of initiatives going on right now uh I definitely want to talk about John Mosley but just kind of as a a warmup question for you you know when we talked in Vegas we kind of asked you about what some of your favorite CSU football memories were and you know you brought up some of the you know classic BYU games and you know Border Wars obviously but I'm curious if I put you on the spot and I say what is your first CSU memory what comes to mind oh boy um you know honestly it's going to be a tailgating out at at at at Hughes you know so you know I was here let's see I was here 87 and ' 91 um and uh absolutely remember headed out to Hughes from my very first game out there and was uh uh you know instantly attracted to what was going on there and had you know had a great four years while I was here there was something about those Hughes nights like being up against the reservoir like it was such a party and I mean that's a fun time obviously with the program turning around under Earl Bruce and the freedom bow and that's the same time frame my dad wasn't Alum so he loves that period yeah and that was probably the most vivid memory was the uh was was that freedom Bull with that Upper Deck and back and forth uh you know that's uh you know that was certainly a special moment while I was a student here programs come a long way obviously since then I mean canvas is is just an incredible facility and I saw Kevin liel post and now you caught up with him earlier that it sounds like the UNCC game's approaching a a sellout now 34,000 it sounds like yeah yeah we're we're I think we're pressing past 34,000 at this point and we've just got a handful of tickets left for what is going to be a very very special and historic day here at uh in Fort Collins at canvas Stadium on Saturday uh really really want to pack that place and make sure that we honor uh Lieutenant Colonel Mosley and and and honor our a tradition as well on that day it's a it's a really great day a day has long been one of my favorite annual Traditions I mean on the hoop side and and football it's just it's fun I remember when the uniforms got introduced and it's been cool to see how they've changed over the years I'm obviously excited to see the new variations which which look just really sharp uh but you mentioned John Mosley and it's a really special day on on top of all of the the things that we have for AG Day weekend which is a great tradition but I mean John Mosley one of the more remarkable men to you know ever attend this University um why was this a priority for you because I mean this is one of the the first you know big things you're doing from a historical standpoint why was it so important to you to honor you know this special man no that's that's a great question and and you know when you look at Lieutenant Colonel Mosley's life his legacy um it's really important to me it's really important to this University that we um honor him with uh you know honestly probably the best thing that we can possibly do which is to retire his number 14 across all of our Sports um you know he fought um literal and societal battles that most of us you know you really don't understand and you know you know Justin you know you and I and so many other people out there are able to do what we do uh because of people like that and uh you know he left a legacy um he uh you know he probably had well I know he had um countless times that he could have chosen to quit and he never did and you know when when you look at uh kind of that Relentless Pursuit that Relentless attitude um it's something that this University embodies it's uh it's something that we need to celebrate is something that we need to honor um and it's just phenomenal that we're able to do that you know I'm not trying to butter you up just cuz we got you on the show but this is what I said when the news was announced is that this is just a slam dunk move by the Admin like frankly this was probably pretty long overdue and like I'm not taking any shots at anybody that used to be there or anything like that but it's just I mean you look at what he did obviously being a part of the tus G Airman and and one of the first black uh Pilots to fly bomber planes and in multiple Wars and I mean to do what he did in this state like he was only the second black football player in program history first black Letterman only the second black wrestler in the in the state of Colorado like it's just incredible everything that he did in his life and I mean he he did this a full decade almost before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball he he did and and you know doing it at a place like a Colorado State you know makes this place even even more special right you know at the time that he was uh you know competing in in in that conference he was the only black athlete in that conference on a football team um you know across all of the teams so it was uh you know it was a challenge for him uh it was a challenge honestly within his own team at times uh but there was a you know a good group of folks that that supported him um fought for him uh made sure that he was a integral part of that team and you know that led him to continue to be integral to the university as a whole you know he he you know and also you he came to to Colorado State or Colorado A&M at the time um as a National Merit scholar out of out ofan he was decorated coming out of high school yes I mean he's a great student um and then went on and was vice president of his Junior and senior class um at a time that you know that was a struggle for him to to to achieve that so you know it was clear that campus supported him um and uh you know it's clear that campus supports him today and and uh you know what what a legacy he's left and we're just we're we're thrilled to be able to celebrate him I know we've got a lot of initiatives to hit on but I mean I'm I'm just really excited for this and I'm curious what was what was it like you know getting I'm sure you guys have had an opportunity now you know to speak with the Mosley family I know they're going to be there on Saturday like what was their reaction that you know this long overdue recognition of this just incredible human was was finally happening well they're they're they're they're certainly grateful and and they're they're super excited to come up here and and spend time at canvas they're actually coming up Friday you know so a good group of the Mosley families coming by Friday we're going to have a private reception for them uh We've you know many of you may have seen the the Lieutenant Colonel Mosley logo that we created you we've created Flags out of those um cool those pins are awesome by the way they are cool aren't they um you we're going to have a really cool uh Flag Ceremony on the Friday afternoon uh we're going to raise and lower a couple of the flags um over canvas and hand them to uh two of his four uh children two are surviving um Eric and lorett so they'll each get a flag uh we'll have another fun private ceremony with them inside he's going to have an opportunity to meet privately with Tory Horton um obviously wearing number 14 for us this year um and then he's going to have a chance to Eric will have a chance to speak with the team and then we're going to head over to uh volleyball and do a ceremon ceremonial for serve uh before that game as well so it's going to be a fun afternoon on Friday which will lead into an epic and historical day on uh on Saturday at at cus I love that you guys decided to retire 14 not just with football but across the board because I mean his legacy is impact is just it's so much far-reaching and it's so much so much broader than just you know what he did athletically oh there's no doubt you know and you know and he was a two- sport athlete himself so he was a wrestler and he was a football player so he was a multiport athlete here at Colorado A&M um and uh you know when you look at things like the the mosle leadership program you know that's been in place here he impacts um you know student athletes you know from from every single team so it was uh it was uh you know an obvious move for us to to do that uh but it's also you know it's the highest honor that we can do uh for someone and uh you know it takes unusual circumstance um unusual and unique um uh humans to be uh uh you know revered in this manner and um you again Saturday is just going to be a special day do you have a strict set of rules in terms of Jersey retirement because obviously there are a lot of players that have great careers and you can't retire everyone's numbers simply because you're going to run out of numbers eventually correct but like for instance a guy like Trey McBride who wins the macki award I think there's an argument from some that you know maybe 85 should never be worn again I'm just curious like what goes into that process yeah there's you know there there are certainly guidelines that go along with it and we reviewed those this spring and uh you know we we've got those updated a bit as well uh to make sure that that something like that is attainable uh but uh you know when you look at uh you know the the folks that we've recognized by you know numbers being hoisted into the Rafters at Mobi or on the side of canvas Stadium um you know we let's be honest we probably have a little bit of work to do to to to do there and and uh you know over the coming years we'll we'll continue to evaluate what uh what makes sense uh to to to move forward with I love that I think it's I think it's just important you know to stay connected with the past obviously and and you guys have made uh great strides I think from the athletic department with just even small things like moving the firing of coma toast to 48 minutes before kickoff Dire from mcra these just little details that allow you to stay connected you know to your roots to your past all the tradition and the things that we love about college football you know the pageantry but I'm curious how tough of a balance is it especially in a landscape that's like ever changing and you have to keep up with it and we're seeing you know Traditions go out the window with conference realignment and rivalries loss and all I mean just all kinds of changes across the board is has that been one of the the tougher balances you've had as an ad of like well we want to stay true to our Roots but I mean like you got to keep up with the train or it'll leave you behind it it it will but you know when you look at uh you know at at college game day you know uh you know a football game day in the fall uh there's so much pageantry and pump and Circumstance that goes along with that and uh we want to make sure that we're you know engaging our fans um engaging our students engage engaging our alumni engaging our players you know that that are you know competing um on the behalf of the University we want to do that in a way that uh is celebrated um and and the other thing we don't want to lose track of is is is the fun part of this I mean College athletics is an absolute blast and when we put on a competition regardless of the sport that we're competing in uh we want it to be fun for all that those you know involved those that are there in attendance to watch and cheer and those that are competing on the behalf of CSU and and uh you know we've got a huge focus on on on that as we head into this uh this comp competitive season you mentioned student engagement engaging the fans you guys have got some some changes coming to game day this year you know we mentioned komos and that but you're also um you have a battering ram which I don't even know what that means but I'm excited to see it like how much can you tell us about that I'll tell you a few things and and actually so you mentioned Kos first U so you know that's been a long-standing tradition that the you know Cannon fires to signify the you know the you know the team coming on the field and start of the game and a touchdown and score that kind kind of stuff we're going to extend its use a little bit and uh uh 48 minutes prior to kickoff so thumble gr's number uh 48 minutes prior to kickoff we're going to fire komos and that is going to kick off What's called the March the new march to Victory Parade so we're going to bring um uh you know uh band Spirit um ascsu members uh you know the president will often be in it I'll be in it often um and that that really signifies the time that it's uh you let's uh let's put down the tailgate materials and let's get into the stadium to uh you know to make sure that we pack that place as the team comes out on the field so that's that's really you know signifying as time to come inside and really want to make sure that we are getting um our fans inside and ready for the game uh before we get to kickoff um so you know what you'll see and we we got a we got a slight variation for the Mosley game coming up uh but uh in general what you'll see is a lot more um engagement happening before kickoff and you mentioned the battering that's going to be one of the most obvious ones we it's uh it's uh being put together in partnership with some folks across campus um so you it's really fun to work with with those folks on campus you know bring this thing to reality uh but we've got uh Gates that are going across the north uh let me think here Northwest uh tunnel where the team comes out you know uh pregame yeah and the battering ram will be is is really symbolic of the student section um opening the gates and and uh bringing the team out onto the field field so um it's a it's a really big very obvious thing that you will not miss I assure you uh when you see it on Saturday uh but that'll be used to open those Gates um and that'll lead into a new intro and Tunnel Walk and the team will come out on the field uh you know to to to some really fun new music as well I'll give you that little tease oh I like it I'm hey I'm excited I think it's a unique way to kind of make your entrance have or stand out a little bit more you know not that there was necessarily anything wrong with the the prev but I mean you know just like we see it across college football you know like Virginia Tech and Sandman or CL like it's it's cool to have something that stands out and and it's and it's getting energy in the crowd you know as we head into kickoff uh you know we want that to be uh we want that to be a Rowdy space um and uh you know we're all about creating a a really fun safe but fun environment um and uh you know making sure that we're back in our team as as much as we possibly can I don't want to take up too much your time here I know you got a lot going on this week but one of the things I really wanted to ask you about was the decision to move the marching band uh to Midfield they're in my opinion going to be a much more integral part of the game day experience now I just felt like the sound kind of went out the the North End of the stadium there before and you couldn't hear him quite as well as I remember you know back in back in my day at Hughes you know when I was a student I just I felt like they were a little bit more part of the experience and to me this kind of brings some of that back but what went behind that decision exactly that it's you know wanted to put them back on the 50 um that's where they've been historically when we're were at Hughes um and it's uh it's one of those things where if we put the band right in the middle of the student section you know I I want the band and and spirit and uh and the students all working together um and and when I I talked to uh uh our our band director and to our our Spirit Squad coach you know I talked to them about you know their job is to make our teams one score better you know on any given day and and that extends to the student section as well so you know the more that we all work in unison um on a on a given game day that you know the the better our team is going to be on that field and and there's no such you know no such thing better as a as a home field advantage what is the early response been to that change I mean obviously we haven't had a home game yet so we'll see like how it actually Saturday aren't we yeah it's it's been really good you know everyone's excited the band honestly is super excited about going back to the 50 um and uh coaching staff that was uh you know one of the very first things that I talked to Coach norell about and he says absolutely let's do that so um you I think there's pretty pretty Universal support for it be before we get out of here um I I get asked about this a lot and I I know it's kind of a complicated legal thing but people want to know about the trombone suicide and like why why can't we bring it back and it it was admittedly one of my favorite tra Traditions at CSU like I I used to get so hyped for it growing up even when I was in college I loved it when I was in school is when it went away I remember from the reporting like there was there was some legal stuff I think it's probably a liability issue but like can you say anything on that or is that more something I need to talk about the band yeah it probably talk about the band a little bit more but but but really what it is it's a safety issue and and uh you know when the trombone suicide when that when that goes when that goes wrong when that goes arai um it it's it's it's not a good thing so you know it's a it's a really cool tradition that we had it's a fun memory to have but that's uh that that's not something that we'll that we'll bring back figured that was the case but hey when you say it maybe they listen to me a little or they'll listen to it a little bit more than when it comes from me um and last thing I'm going to ask you here and it's probably pretty obvious but you got seven home games you got a three- game home stand you know coming up just how crucial is it to capitalize on that you know you got you got 34,000 plus coming in this weekend it's going to be a sellout crowd probably the biggest crowd in canvas Stadium history or will be well probably will be for The Showdown like how how crucial is it to get this thing rolling yeah of course it is you know we've got uh we've got to take advantage of these types of moments you know um you so we're we're excited to to start things off right this uh this Saturday and we'll worry about the the next game after that um and the next game after that and the next game after that um but uh you know right now we're focused on doing everything we can to beat Northern Colorado um and uh get in that wind column and to and to build that momentum John this was awesome we you know we appreciate how accessible you are you've been great to work with since you took over and obviously we're all really excited for you know a special day in canvas stadium and you hopefully get to see a big Rams you know orange out Dub yep I I I appreciate that and and specifically for the Saturday um let's get everyone in inside that Stadium be the stadium I'd say in and in your seats no later than 25 minutes before kickoff uh we've got some really good celebrations onfield celebrations number uh you know um review in you know on the side of the the stadium and we've got two separate flyovers coming through uh the stadium as well so going to be a whole lot of fun that happens before the game uh today so in all seriousness let's let's get everybody inside that stadium and uh honor Lieutenant Colonel Mosley and have a great time doing it you heard the man don't be late uh we're always proud to be here on the dmvr Rams podcast John thank you so much appreciate it Justin go big shout out to John Weber there he gave me you know about 20 minutes yesterday really appreciate him um I know somebody some folks were commenting live had some questions for him I will get the answers to some of those questions you have in the near future before we get out of here I'm going to give some of my favorite a day memories uh real quick I want to talk to you guys about Kors light who encourages you to choose a chill mindset life can be chaotic and stressful I I think we all have those days where it just feels overwhelming I mean you know maybe it's work maybe it's something in your relationship or friendships maybe it's just one of those days uh I almost made a a Break Stuff reference there but I I don't know about copyrights and all that fun stuff so probably shouldn't go that way um but you also don't want to go the bad way when life starts to get frustrating you want to choose a chill mindset you know do what you got to do take your deep breaths go out and do some yard work and then when you do reward yourself with an ice cold Coors Light Of course after you put yourself in the right State of Mind when the mountains turn blue it's as cold as the Rockies Coors Light is cold logger cold filtered and cold package for that smooth finish make the most out of the times you choose to chill choose cor light get Kors light delivered straight to your door with instacart by going to coorslight.com dnvr celebrate responsibly Kors Brewing Company Golden Colorado I also want to talk to you guys about game time if you don't have tickets yet for AG day hit up our friends at game time nobody makes it easier to get last minute deals than our friends at game time they have a new feature called Game Time pick that makes it easier than ever what game time pick does is it filters out the fluff it gives you just the best of the best they've got thousands of tickets that can be a little bit overwhelming to sort through at times with game time picks you're just going to find the best options that they've got um from a seat view perspective from a price point perspective it factors in all of that and it finds you the best deals available and that's what game time does they just want to save you money they've got Flash Deals they've got Zone deals they've got the best price guarantee which means if you actually find tickets somewhere cheaper on the same section same Row for Less they'll credit you up to 110% of the difference I love game time so much because they've got a great options for sports but I'm a big standup comedy fan I'm a big musical theater fan you know maybe you want to take your significant other on a night out at the dcpa can't can't do much better than that game time's got great deals um and again game time picks curation makes it easier than ever to save more on Sports comedy theater Etc take the guest where out to buying tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account use that code dmvr for $20 off your first purchase turn to apply again create an account excuse me use that code dmvr for $20 off download game time today what time is it game time uh really really great interview with John Weber it's Orange Out History just it's refreshing to to see the approach that they're bringing to the table they're they're just trying so many more things to engage the fans I'm not going to go on some big rants about how things used to be but I think for a long time the approach was just like oh well what are we supposed to do you know it's it's just it's tough to be us so darn it and instead we're now seeing both from an ad standpoint and from the school president I mean this really is top down a commitment to leaning into athletic excellence and you know you hope that it's not too little too late you know you hope we didn't miss the window but the thing about College athletics is it's it's always changing and I don't think realignment is necessarily ever done uh if you could strike here while the iron is hot generate some success these next couple of years man that would be big for the future of this school for the future of all these sports teams and for the future of us as PSU supporters uh before we get out I did want to just give a couple of my favorite orange out memories these were some of my favorite games to go to as a student um if you're curious about the history I'm not going to do like the the whole extended history I highly recommend uh reading the the many pieces that John Hearn has written about it over the years csu's his he's incredible um but the the orange and green actually dates all the way back to January 7th 1893 a CSC was playing a Weird School in Longmont I don't really know it's like a hybrid teacher school or something and they had to use orange and green ribbon to distinguish themselves you know everyone just kind of had like the same brownish you know looking uniforms back then they needed green and orange ribbon to distinguish themselves and uh somewhere around the early 1900s they they put orange officially on the Jersey didn't have to use uh ribbon anymore green was established as the primary color officially CSU went to green and gold as the school colors in 1909 but obviously you know we've seen green and orange be incorporated in various ways you know over the years and then in 2010 they bring the uniforms back it became the annual tradition always been one of my favorites I'm a big sucker for pageantry for the tradition and honoring your roots um admittedly you know these aren't necessarily like the most impactful moments in ag day like I think you could make an argument 2010 the first you know should be in this list I wasn't you know I wasn't in the stands so these these are just ones that I hold near and dear to my heart I know you all have your own favorite a day memories as well but starting at number three it's the 2014 win over Tulsa uh this is one Justin’s Top 3 Orange Out Moments of the I think the 2014 and 2015 agday uniforms are some of the sharper ones with the green helmets with the orange bone that's with the white pants but with the the green and orange striping and the Aggie a I just looked really really sharp and they won that game 4 2 to 17 Rashard went off he had three touchdowns in the second quarter alone four six catches 178 yards four touchdowns that day Dart had a pair of rushing tutes as well a Total Domination more importantly the Rams got revenge if you remember back to 2013 week two CSU got walked off on the road by Tulsa lost a really frustrating game had some dumb turnovers and they just they 2013 man they lost that game in San Jose State in the first six weeks and it really could have been like a N9 or 10- win season had they not had that slow start out of the gate but you get to exercise those demons a little bit in 2014 Hughes was rocking I've got some great photos from that day um one of my favorite memories as a CSU student uh number two we're going 2013 my first a day I was a freshman in college the Rams beat UTEP 59 to 42 it was a wild game they went up 280 I think or 287 allowed UTEP to come off way back and tie it they gave up like 35 points in the second half it was absurd at one point you know you're up 287 they come all the way back and tie it and then I think CSU regains the lead with a safety it was just it was an insanely dumb game um but it was huge for the Rams in that 2013 season because like I said they had just lost that game to Tulsa um they had actually beaten calply at home and and just gone to Tuscaloosa and played a tight game against the number one team in the country ended up losing 31 to six but you played well sha Barrett hung it was it's like a 10-point game in the third quarter um obviously a lot different than what we saw against Texas this past week but that was just a it was a really big game Rashard another big game in that one like I said he was huge in all the orange out games I had six catches 156 yards and a pair of tutes Capri went for 147 on the ground he had three scores on just 13 carries that was kind of right around when he started to establish himself as the starting running back you know people forget Capri put up that that insane year like 31 rushing touchdowns or whatever it was he wasn't even officially the starting running back until like halfway through you know was constantly clashing with the staff I always kind of getting in trouble but God was he special I know Dart was incredible in 2014 but there will always be a part of me that just what if what if Capri had come back in 2014 with the way we saw that passing offense execute Grayson you That season was as good as any quarterback in program history really fun day it's kind of a random moment um but I had a bunch of friends from high school come up um actually the my future wife she was at that game with me so it's it's just a i it's one that's near and dear to my heart although it's probably not the most significant orange out for a lot of you 2013 UTEP but number one 2016 Northern Colorado they won this one 47 to 21 this was the first time they wore the the true pumpkin fits with the green pants the orange jerseys the green Lids highly divisive online I think the fit is atrocious I think the white pants look so much better but I know some people really do like the true pumpkin look uh Colin Hills first start though he went 21 to 27 that day for 315 and four scores set up uh what was then a really nice performance on the road against Minnesota and obviously he tore his ACL against Utah State like two weeks later really sucked um but me I'll tell you what on that day you couldn't tell me anything I I just remember being so in on Colin Hill and he'll he'll always be one of the greatest wha ifs for me because I think if that dude stays healthy he goes down as the greatest quarterback in program history I mean at least at that time I think he puts up insane numbers I think he's in the NFL right now I mean I really think if he doesn't tear his ACL three times in two and a half years that kid was special I mean he just he was highly intelligent he had that it Factor you need to have as a quarterback that little bit of swagger while still being you know like a good old southern boy that was just really genuine and all his teammates loved him he just that dude had all the talent in the world and they stomped cly that day and that's obviously what you need to see the Rams do this weekend you need some style points I really think you do to calm down the masses to get the confidence back with all your skill players I think you got to let it rip this weekend now are there some things you keep in your back pocket I'm sure uh but I I really don't think want to get too cute I don't go out there put some points on the board hopefully you know do it early and then you're able to get some younger guys in the second half and you're able to hang on to you know some of that stuff you might be trying to to save for down the line uh but you got to capitalize there's going to be 34 plus thousand probably approach a sellout sounds like the next couple weeks like State pride only has a a limited availability of tickets left at this point as well you got to establish some positive momentum here create some positive experiences and make AG day the thrilling experience it was for so long I mean they didn't lose until like eight or nine A's in and then we all remember how that went under Bobo and it feels like it's kind of lacked some juice ever since then last year was better was a step in the right direction uh but I I really think a a big time win like a Savannah State style 2016 where they won 63 to7 I mean if you could do something like that to just get the vi right get some confidence it would just it would Final Thoughts go a long way uh before we get out of here kind of a tough note um I just wanted to uh say a few words uh in honor of Dawson Thompson he he was a friend of a friend um I had the the privilege of interacting with him a handful of times you know Ram supporter sent me a a couple of really nice messages on on social over the years he was tragically shot and killed uh earlier this week I I don't know what one is supposed to say in these in these moments and I'm not trying to make it all about me because again you know I did not know him super well uh but I I was fortunate to get to interact with him on a a couple of occasions and I know some people that were very tight with him and it just seems like he was a very caring you know sweet individual a great friend and um I just I I can't believe that this happened my heart goes out to his family everybody impacted I I I would love to see the Rams pull out a a big win this weekend and in honor of him so rest in peace Dawson gone far too soon my man I'm heartbroken uh but hope to see the Rams pull it out on Saturday I'll be going live Saturday night uh sometime between 9:30 and 10 p.m. we'll kind of see what happens there with a Time perspective obviously I got to do the the postgame press and all that and then I will will get here get set up in the studio and we'll be rocking I'll have written takeaways I'll have all that fun stuff I cannot wait for game day it's going to be a great atmosphere again make sure you're there early they got a couple of flyovers we're honoring John Mosley one of the most important men in program history uh always proud to be much love y'all [Music] peace we all sitting like the mayor