As practice ended, off in the distance, the sound of the jug machine starting to whir crept over the field.

Armani Winfield was ready to go to work: 30 minutes on jugs to work on his hands and ensure the balls he dropped against UTEP won’t become a pattern and that he remains a trusted target in the Colorado State football offense.

The Baylor transfer had two crucial drops in that game: one on fourth down and one on third down, each ending the Rams’ drives. However, as quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi took the snap, standing on the Rams’ 10-yard line, Winfield’s name was called again.

Winfield faded toward the back corner of the end zone, and Fowler-Nicolosi floated him the ball — trusting that his receiver would atone for his earlier drops and go make a play. As the ball sailed over the defender, seemingly too high for anyone to grab, a streak of white jumped, snatched the ball and somehow managed to get a foot down.

“I’m looking through all these people, I throw it up, I’m watching the ball and then I see him,” Fowler-Nicolosi said. “And all I see is him come way up above two dudes, and then I look at the ref because I couldn’t see anything lower. And then the ref put (his hands) up, and I was ecstatic. I knew how much that moment meant to him, and we wanted to get him that first one.”

The dazzling play is not only a candidate thus far for the catch of the season by a CSU receiver but also Winfield’s first-ever collegiate receiving touchdown — one that is undoubtedly special but also one that allows for a sigh of relief.

“He’s gotten better every single day, and now we’ve just got to keep building on that and stacking days so he can develop into his complete potential.” –Chad Savage, CSU wide receiver coach

“I really didn’t know what to feel,” Winfield said. “I just saw the ref throw up his hands and had the ball in my hands. It was a lot of excitement, a lot of joy. I also want to say a lot of relief.”

Despite the crucial drops, the trust in Winfield remained unwavering from his coaches. Having that trust through thick and thin is something that coach Jay Norvell has preached over the past couple of seasons.

So while those drops hurt, wide receivers coach Chad Savage never let doubt creep into his mind as the clock ticked on.

“He had a few drops on some critical downs, which we got to eliminate because he knows we’ve got to make those plays to keep the offense going,” Savage said. “But for him to respond the way he did, I was excited and happy for the kid.”

As one of the leaders of the offense and someone who has faced his fair share of struggles, Fowler-Nicolosi understands that those moments give an opportunity to build someone up.

He said that usually when errors like that happen, they’re mental. Fowler-Nicolosi told Winfield that he still trusted him and to be ready when his number was called.

“That goes a long way,” Fowler-Nicolosi said. “Especially for those guys, when mentally they’re thinking they get a little nervous or jittery when they catch a ball. He’s got me; he’s got confidence in me.”

Confidence from his QB and coaches will help Winfield’s own confidence grow — something that could help the Rams as they continue to search for that bona fide No. 2 guy opposite Tory Horton.

Winfield, a former four-star recruit, has the frame and clearly the intangibles to meet his potential — something that he’s on the right track to do.

“Armani still is a young player,” Savage said. “So it’s our job to keep developing him. He’s gotten better every single day, and now we’ve just got to keep building on that and stacking days so he can develop into his complete potential.”

Like much of the team has said, Winfield’s own goals, as well as the team’s, remain in front of him.

With eight more games on the schedule, Winfield is eyeing every single one of them.

“We still have everything in front of us; it’s still a long season,” Winfield said. “We can still go 10-2. That’s a really good season, so that’s what we’re looking for.”

Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.

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