FORT COLLINS — Rocky Beers isn’t as famous as his younger sister, but he can still school her at her own game.
The tight end, who came to CSU after two seasons at Air Force and then two more at FIU, brings a bruiser element and another aerial option to the offense in 2025. Beers is the older brother of Oklahoma basketball star Reagan Beers, one of the top women’s players in the country and a likely high pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
“I’m her biggest fan,” Rocky said of Reagan. “She’s killing it. I can still beat her, though. Funny thing is, every time I go and watch her play a game, we always play 1-on-1 after.
“After everybody’s left, we go to the practice gym and she’ll let me whoop up on her, let me feel good about myself. I’m dropping threes on her, I’m pulling up. I’ve got a bag too, you know.”
The 6-foot-5 Beers only played one game at FIU in 2024 as he suffered a season-ending torn hamstring in the opener. He had 22 catches for 176 yards and two TDs in 12 games over his two seasons at FIU, and did not catch a pass over two years and 12 games at Air Force.
CSU is the redshirt senior’s chance to finally make a significant mark on college football, starting with the season opener on Saturday at Washington. He got many of the Rams’ first-team reps at the position in the spring when starter Jaxxon Warren was still recovering from shoulder surgeries.
“What I bring is some hard-nose blocking and a little bit of catching, though that’s mostly Jaxxon’s area of expertise,” Beers said. “I can do a little bit of everything.”
Beers is one of two Valor Christian products on the CSU roster — the other being Tanner Morley. The redshirt sophomore steps into a starting role at left guard this year.
“(Morley) is about six inches taller and about 150 pounds heavier than when I played with him last,” Beers said. “… He leads this team well from the offensive line, and he gets us going in the weight room and on the field. Whenever we need to pick up the slack, he’s chirping in our ears, leading us from the front. I’m really happy to be playing with him again.”
BFN’s 2025 mindset. Last season, CSU quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi morphed from gunslinger to game manager as the Rams leaned heavily on their rushing attack over the last two months of the season.
In his fourth season at CSU and third as a starter, the QB said that his evolved role in ’24 helped him do “a lot of maturing, just because of how different the offense was than what we expected coming in.”
Fowler-Nicolosi threw for 3,460 yards and 22 TDs in ’23, averaging 288.3 yards per game while also leading the Mountain West with 16 interceptions. Last season, those totals declined, with 2,796 passing yards (215.1 per game) and 14 TDs to nine picks.
“(2024) helped me grow a lot, and helped me understand that not everything’s about me,” Fowler-Nicolosi said. “It doesn’t have to be a highlight play every time. I just need to get the offense in the right looks to win games, rather than have a highlight pass. It’s about sacrificing personal wants for what the team needs.”
Reloaded defense. The biggest names from CSU’s defense last year are all gone.
Buom Jock, the team’s leading tackler, transferred to Cal. Another key linebacker, Chase Wilson, graduated, as did safeties Jack Howell and Henry Blackburn. And the team’s top sack artist, defensive lineman Gabe Kirschke, transferred to Wake Forest.
So the CSU defense needs new leaders this fall, and Norvell is confident he has them. Newcomers Jacob Ellis and JaQues Evans were both voted captains, as was fellow linebacker Owen Long, the youngest player ever named captain under Norvell.
“Owen Long has all the qualities we’re looking for in a young leader,” Norvell said. “High-level character and extremely tough.”
On the defensive line, the Rams look to redshirt senior Mukendi Wa-Kalonji to be this year’s Kirschke. Another captain, Wa-Kalonji started every game last year, recording 35 tackles (5.5 for loss) and 2.5 sacks. CSU is expecting even more production out of the Grandview alum this year.
“During winter training, the coaches told me I needed to step up and take a bigger leadership role,” Wa-Kalonji said. “They know I’m a quiet guy, so I made it an emphasis to always be leading by example, outworking everyone in every drill. I needed to set the standard for this defense.”
New leg in town. After losing the reliable Jordan Noyes to graduation, CSU turned to the transfer portal to fill the kicker spot.
Isaiah Hankins played four seasons at Baylor before arriving in Fort Collins this year. Hankins converted 70.8% of his field goals in his Bears tenure, including a career-long 54-yarder at Cincinnati in 2023 and a game-winning 33-yarder to beat TCU in ’24.
Norvell hopes Hankins can bring the same consistency that Noyes did. Noyes was 20 for 20 on field goals inside the 40-yard line over the past two seasons, hit a 60-yarder last year and was also 117 for 117 on extra points in his CSU tenure.
“We’ve put (Hankins) in a lot of end-of-game situations (during camp),” Norvell said. “He’s got a really live leg. He’s probably got the strongest leg of any kicker I’ve ever had. Just natural pop. He’s very confident, very comfortable, and he’s shown that in (pressure) situations in practice.”
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.