Utah transfer has made quick transition to Rams
Loveland Reporter-Herald
FORT COLLINS» Mike Bobo knew Jordan Fogal moved well, knew he had some football savvy to him. The Colorado State football coach was also aware the defensive schemes Fogal played at Utah were in stark contrast to those employed by the Rams.
Flash forward four weeks, and all the questions are now geared to how high the ceiling is for the transfer from Utah.
“I couldn’t have guessed that the guy’s never played some of the stuff that we’re doing,” Bobo said. “He was primarily a high-hole guy who would come down and play man at Utah, and there’s a lot of different things coverage-wise he’s had to do, and he’s adapted. Not to say we’re going to go out there and play perfect; we all still make busts, but it’s like he’s been in the defense for two, three years.”
More impressive than landing a starting role as the Rams’ free safety is the fact he was named a team captain for the contest with Oregon State.
“He works really hard. He caught on real fast,” said Jamal Hicks, who will start at strong safety. “He’s a real leader. I just like how he loves the game. He works hard, and he plays every day.
“It seemed like it was all natural for him. He came out there, was talking to everybody. He knows the plays already.”
Fogal didn’t arrive in Fort Collins until late June, and he still needed to be cleared. Early workouts were telling in regards they had found a player who would add to the defense, but to the degree where he’s become a player who can lead in a new surrounding was a major bonus.
It was something else entirely from his perspective.
“I was shocked, honestly. I really was,” Fogal said. “It surprised me a lot, but I talked to my mom about it, and she said you shouldn’t be surprised, the type of person I am, I guess. I thank the guys and the coaches. Without them, I wouldn’t be so comfortable. Being comfortable, that helps everything.”
Having experience not only has helped him in practice — he played 11 games in an injury-shortened two-year run at Utah — but also with adjusting to a new program.
He has done that before, too.
He went to the College of San Mateo out of high school, a junior college program, before heading to the Utes. Making that kind of jump was hard then, but relieved much of the unknown this time around.
“I just know what to expect coming to another Division I program. Going from juco to DI, you don’t know what to expect, how guys are going to treat you,” he said. “Just being older, a more mature guy and being around kind of a similar system was easy. The guys were great. I gelled with them.”
All that was left was coming to grips with the defensive system, and even that wasn’t too much of a stretch for Fogal. He fell back on his experience playing nickel at times for Utah, which he could translate to some of what safeties coach Jamie Bryant was asking of him.
The rest of it brushes off as no big deal, just being a football player and knowing how to go about the task at hand.
“I am a little bit familiar with zone concepts, but other than that, I think it’s just being mature and knowing how to study film and break down film, learning the whole defense, not just what I have to do,” Fogal explained. “Coach Bryant, he’s a great teacher, not just a coach. The guys took me in and helped me out a lot. It was a few adjustments here and there, a lot of new stuff, but at the end of the day, it’s just playing football.”
After his first season as head coach, Bobo shuffled players around, seeking someone who could play center field and defend from sideline to sideline. Fogal might very well fill that role.
“He’s got the ability to do that. He’s got great instincts back there,” Bobo said. “He does a great job playing the ball in the air, he does a great job of anticipating throws and taking breaks. Sometimes it might not look like he’s there to make the play in practice, because we’re not going all out and hitting our receivers, but he’s there.”