A new leader means a fresh start.
And with entrance into the Pac-12 on the horizon and a rough season thus far in the Mountain West, Colorado State football made one of the biggest changes in recent years, promoting Tyson Summers to lead the Rams for the remainder of the season.
After Jay Norvell was fired Oct. 19, CSU Athletics announced Summers would rise from defensive coordinator to interim head coach to replace him. His experience at Western Kentucky brought him to Fort Collins over the offseason, and the sudden leadership opportunity opened a door in the week leading up to the Border War matchup against Wyoming.
Upon joining the Rams, it was evident that Summers wanted to invoke an aggressive mentality within the defense, one of the more stable groups for CSU amid its rocky season.
“The beauty of me is I’ve failed. I’ve failed and I’ve won. And I’ve failed and screwed it up. And I’ve failed and I’ve done better, and I keep coming back. … I like my scars. You know, not everybody likes theirs. I like mine, and I think that I’m at the best version of myself.” –Tyson Summers, CSU interim head coach
And despite Matt Mumme stepping up as play-caller for the Rams, it was Summers who stood out to CSU’s Athletic Director John Weber, giving him confidence that there is still hope for the rest of the season.
“I have complete faith in his ability to lead, to represent our university and to recruit to our program,” Weber said. “This program is now fully focused on our game versus Wyoming on Saturday. … I’m excited for coach Summers to lead us into that game and take full advantage of the upcoming bye week, as well for us to prepare to finish strong.”
Weber reinforced that Summers has every authority to do whatever he feels necessary to finish out the rest of the season, and the program has already seen more shifts among staff besides the change in head coach.
Tight ends coach Grant Chestnut was announced as the new offensive play-caller and coordinator during Summers’ first press conference as interim head coach. Chestnut came over to the Rams along with Summers after the two worked together at WKU in 2024.
“I talked to coach Chestnut today about giving him the authority and the ability to kind of make some of those adjustments to practice as we go through,” Summers said. “I’ve got a lot of faith in Grant, (and he’s) been very successful in his career. And (I am) looking forward to what he’s able to do with those guys and the staff as we move forward the next couple of weeks.”
The tight end group has shown promise so far this year, so the decision could open up things up the middle for the Rams. With Jaxxon Warren still out due to an injury without a clear timetable to return, Rocky Beers will continue to headline the group.
And as Chestnut rises, the scales have to balance out, as Mumme goes from being the play-caller to retaining his position as passing-game coordinator and assistant head coach.
When asked how much consideration associate Mumme got in the decision to become interim head coach, Weber was brief.
“I made the decision to go with coach Summers because I thought he was best qualified and best suited to do so,” Weber said.
And as Summers is now the acting head coach, he hasn’t hesitated to do his part for the team and get involved with every single athlete, staff member or anyone else in the program.
It’s been his job to work with the defensive staff day in and day out; that isn’t going away. but within the past day, Summers has been dedicating his time to work with the offensive group more, including meetings with every single offensive player and staff member.
“I really feel like my role here is to be the best example of servant leadership I can be,” Summers said. “(I) really want to do everything that I can do possible to lead and to help the young men in our program the best way that I can the next couple of weeks. And same thing goes for our staff; to our fans, (they) give us the greatest opportunity to win over the next couple of weeks.”
Despite the bumpy road the Rams have taken so far in the season, Summers has his sights set on the future rather than getting stuck in the past.
“We’re going to try to do our best to make sure that we finish out this week with a good win against a rival,” Summers said. “Really trying to do my best not to look into my rearview mirrors and have a wreck (happen) in front of me.”
Despite all the commotion surrounding coaching changes, the Rams don’t have long to recuperate before going on the road to take on the 3-4 Cowboys.
And instead of worrying about the past and getting caught in a “wreck,” Summers indicated that he uses past mistakes as fuel instead.
“The beauty of me is I’ve failed,” Summers said. “I’ve failed and I’ve won. And I’ve failed and screwed it up. And I’ve failed and I’ve done better, and I keep coming back. … I like my scars. You know, not everybody likes theirs. I like mine, and I think that I’m at the best version of myself.”
Looking to the immediate future, Summers is the the next step for the CSU football program. Although Norvell’s end with the program might not have been ideal, the two did share a short conversation after Summers was named interim.
Now the torch of CSU football has been passed along, and Summers will drive the 2025 season home.
“My goal is to make sure I do a great job with those kids today, and if I can see into tomorrow, I’ll try to see into tomorrow,” Summers said. “I want to do this right by (the players) and our staff and our fans and our administration.”
Reach Michael Hovey and Sophie Webb at sports@collegian.com or on social media @michaelfhovey or @sophgwebb.
