FORT COLLINS -- A familiar face has returned to run the defense at Colorado State.
Jay Norvell announced Monday the addition of Tyson Summers as the Rams' new defensive coordinator, marking a return to Fort Collins for Summers who spent the 2015 season in the same role at CSU before leaving to become the head coach at Georgia Southern.
Summers was fired midway through his second season and has bounced around a few different stops, including at Colorado in 2019 and 2020 and most recently as the defensive coordinator for Western Kentucky the past three seasons.
"I had my own process. I've had so many people reach out that were interested in this job (and) coming here -- former head coaches, people in the NFL -- but I was very specific (with) what I was looking for," Norvell said. "I really believe we need to play some more combination coverages, more bracket coverages. He's got an extensive history of doing that and people are playing more fronts."
Norvell hired Freddie Banks to run the CSU defense when he arrived at 2021 but chosen not to bring back Banks for the 2025 season. It's clear Norvell prefers the Rams to be a more aggressive defense and not play a conservative, two-high style of defense that has become increasingly popular in the NFL in recent years.
"I talked to coaches from some of the major teams in the country from Oregon (to) Kansas State -- some of the great colleges across the country," Norvell said. "Every team is playing multiple fronts. It was clear to me in my conversations that we needed to make some changes. Like some of the very best defensive teams in the nation, we need to do some things coverage-wise, we need to play some multiple fronts and that allows you to free up your coverages."
Even though the CSU defense had a better season statistically in 2024 as the Rams finished 8-4 in the regular season and play Miami (Ohio) in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Saturday, Norvell wasn't going to stick with the status quo if he felt there was a chance to improve.
"You've gotta be willing to change," Norvell said. "You can't be hard-headed and stubborn in this day and age. Football is constantly evolving and we have to evolve with it. We can't play like it's 1985. I talked to a lot of people and Tyson's name kept coming up. I just was convinced that he checked all the boxes of what we were looking for."
Norvell is also continuing to evolve his off-the-field staff as well, hiring CSU's first football general manager in Alex Collins, who worked for Norvell at Nevada and was most recently in charge of recruiting at Ole Miss.
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"This is a position that a lot of schools are moving to," Norvell said. "Alex was my recruiting coordinator at Nevada. He's got (a Los Angeles) background, as well. He was at USC when I hired him. We just always tried to tap into Los Angeles and people that have great knowledge of Los Angeles. He's been involved with Ole Miss and all that they've been doing, kinda setting the bar in college football for the transfer portal. His knowledge and his ability to understand that and help us in the portal is really critical and (was) really helpful this past week."
Rams welcome back talented wide receiver
Nothing should surprise college football fans in the transfer portal and NIL era -- even players returning to schools for a second stint after previously transferring away.
CSU did so in signing wide receiver Louis Brown IV, who played last season at San Diego State after spending his first two seasons with the Rams. Brown was the leading receiver for the Aztecs in 2024, catching 38 passes for 620 yards and three touchdowns for a team that went 3-9.
The best game of Brown's career to date remains a 10-catch, 131-yard and a touchdown performance against Colorado in the 2023 Rocky Mountain Showdown at Folsom Field. He quickly becomes the Rams' top wide receiver heading into 2025 after the team's two leading receivers from this season, Caleb Goodie and Jamari Person, both entered the transfer portal.
"I always felt like if we had a chance to get him back, it would be great," Norvell said of Brown. "I'm the kind of guy (where) I don't hold grudges against kids or coaches or people in general. We talked when he got in the portal and I told him I wanted him back. He went through his process and I couldn't have been happier when we talked the other night and he wanted to come back. He loved his time here at CSU. He had some great games and we want to help him finish his career out and go on to the next level. It's awesome having him back."
CSU has been active in the transfer portal, also welcoming back running back Vann Schield, who was a walk-on with the Rams previously before spending last season on scholarship at Northern Colorado.
The Rams also beefed up in the secondary with a pair of former four-star recruits in Jahari Rogers (SMU) and CJ Blocker (Utah) to go along with the addition of an experienced linebacker in Jacob Ellis from Iowa State.
"We are very active in the portal and we're getting better," Norvell said.