UPDATE: CSU hires Nevada football head coach Jay Norvell

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(Graphic Illustration by Malia Berry | The Collegian)

Taylor Paumen, Sports Director

Four days ago, Colorado State University announced the termination of two-season head football coach Steve Addazio. Today, Director of Athletics Joe Parker has announced the hiring of University of Nevada, Reno head coach Jay Norvell to be the 24th head coach of the Rams. 

At 2:30 p.m. this Tuesday, Norvell and his family will be officially introduced to the Fort Collins environment in the Iris and Michael Smith Alumni Center in Canvas Stadium.

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Norvell had his fifth season with the Wolf Pack this year and they are currently 8-4, with their last game being against the Rams. Ram fans have put the game as far back in their heads as possible as the Wolves dominated the game 52-10

After two losing seasons led by Addazio, Norvell might be the fresh offensive-minded leader the Rams are looking for. The Rams scored a total of 284 points this season, while Nevada added 440 points while never scoring less than 22 points in a win. 

Norvell is 33-26 in his five seasons at Reno, starting off on a rough start in 2017 for his first season going 3-9 but improving greatly after, appearing in a post season bowl game the last four years. With that, it might take a season or so for Norvell to get comfortable at Colorado State, but he will hopefully gain some momentum in the following seasons. 

With several decades of experience, Norvell has impacted a handful of college teams, including the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Nebraska. He has also worked in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts and the former Oakland Raiders. More recently Norvell was honored by the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches and named the 2020-21 College Coach of the Year in May. 

Reach Taylor Paumen at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @TayTayPau.