HEAD COACH

JAY NORVELL

Jay Norvell enters his third season at the helm of the Colorado State program after he was named the 24th head coach in program history by former Director of Athletics Joe Parker on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021.

Norvell, who led the Nevada Wolf Pack to four bowl games in five seasons (2017-21) as head coach prior to coming to Fort Collins, has an offensive-coaching acumen which is unquestioned after he built a conference title contender at Nevada. Former Wolf Pack quarterback Carson Strong was a two-time MW Offensive Player of the Year as Nevada led the MW in passing offense in 2021 at 365.8 yards per game. The Wolf Pack posted four-consecutive winning seasons under Norvell including a pair of bowl wins in 2018 (Arizona) and 2020 (Famous Idaho Potato).

Norvell’s first season in Fort Collins may not have seen growth in the win-loss column from the team he inherited, but the cultural progress under Norvell’s direction was undeniable.

The Rams posted a 3-9 record in his first season, a campaign which opened against CFP semifinalist Michigan and was filled with seven teams which advanced to the postseason. Starting three different quarterbacks during the season (all of whom were redshirt or true freshmen), the Rams showed signs of improvement on offense as the season progressed, averaging 247.3 yards of total offense the first half, improving to 324.1 the second half.

The same trend showed on defense, with the Rams going from 400.8 yards allowed to 309.1. Seven players were named All-Mountain West, including first-team selections for wideout Tory Horton and safety Jack Howell. Quarterback Clay Millen and defensive tackle Grady Kelly were named freshmen All-America by Pro Football Network.

Using his time at Nevada as the blueprint, Norvell set out to build the Colorado State program through recruiting ahead of the 2023 season. That plan resulted in the highest-rated recruiting classes in program history based on 247Sports’ Composite rankings and the second highest in the Mountain West by the same metric.

The 2023 season saw improvement in nearly every category, including the win column with a 5-7 mark. Scoring also doubled from the season prior, from 13.17 points per game to 26.08 as redshirt freshman Braydon Fowler-Nicolosi started under center in week two and finished the season leading the league in total offense with 3,433 yards.

The season produced a program first, a victory over Boise State after a last-second Hail Mary was caught by tight end Dallin Holker in the end zone. CSU scored 21 points in the final 4:02 of the game to secure the first-ever victory.

The Rams looked to return to bowl eligibility, but came up short, suffering losses after leading or tied with less than a minute left in three games, including the season finale at Hawaii.

The Rams earned 12 All-Mountain West awards, highlighted by Mohamed Kamara’s selection as the Defensive Player of the Year. Kamara would go on to be drafted in the fifth round in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Miami Dolphins.

During the offseason, Norvell again built a recruiting class which was a 19-player freshman class ranked first in the Mountain West by 247Sports and ranked fifth overall among the Group of Five, while also using the transfer portal to add players in key positions.

Off the field and the recruiting trail, Norvell’s impact in the Fort Collins and Colorado State community has been equally as significant. From the day Norvell stepped foot on campus, he has interacted with anyone interested in Colorado State University and Colorado State Athletics. From speaking engagements to organizing a run for charity, Norvell has re-ignited a spark in the community around his program.

Perhaps his biggest and most notable introduction has been that of the Grit Run - a 5K fun-run around campus with all proceeds going to benefit research around cystic fibrosis, a disease which impacts his wife, Kim, on a daily basis. In its first year, the Norvell’s raised more than $20,000 to directly benefit the CF Foundation. The total has nearly tripled through year three with more than $60,000 going to research causes.

Prior to the 2024 season, Norvell established a Minority Fellowship position within his coaching staff in honor of his late father Merritt Norvell. The position titled Merritt James Norvell Diversity Fellowship will be for a young minority coach to gain experience and will be completely funded by Jay and his wife. Norvell is the first Black head coach in program history.

At Nevada, the Wolf Pack enjoyed an immense turnaround under Norvell’s leadership, and it paid off in the postseason honors as well. Including Strong’s consecutive Offensive Player of the Year awards, 16 Nevada student-athletes earned All-MW honors in 2021 led by first-team wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who finished the regular season ranked No. 12 nationally in receiving yards. Norvell was named the 2020-21 College Coach of the Year by the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches.

Strong concluded his 2021 campaign ranked top-10 nationally in completions per game (3rd; 30.4), passing yards (4th; 4,175), passing yards per game (5th; 347.9), passing touchdowns (6th; 36), completion percentage (8th; 69.9) and total offense (8th; 330.6).

Norvell’s resume and experiences reaches to all corners of college and professional football. He has spent time in the Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and NFL with the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders – a period that included an AFC Championship and appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002 under head coach Bill Callahan. During his time as an assistant, Norvell coached in every BCS bowl game during the BCS Era including the 2009 BCS National Championship with Oklahoma. Overall, he has been to 22 bowl games as both a player and a coach.

An All-Big 10 defensive back during his playing career at Iowa under legendary Hawkeyes coach Hayden Fry, Norvell got his first opportunity in coaching under Fry on the offensive side of the football. That move proved fruitful for the young graduate assistant in 1986.

Over stops at Oklahoma, Texas, and Arizona State, Norvell mixed his Air Raid-style offensive scheme with principles of under-center schemes employed in the NFL to put together a highly effective offensive machine. While coaching wide receivers at Oklahoma (2008-14), a period which also including serving as co-offensive coordinator (2011-14), Norvell mentored Oklahoma greats in Kenny Stills, Sterling Shephard and Ryan Broyles, who left Oklahoma as the NCAA’s all-time leader in receptions.

His run at Oklahoma coincided with the careers of three of the top four players on OU’s all-time receptions list: Broyles, Stills, and Juaquin Iglesias. He also oversaw five of the program’s top six single-season reception marks and helped his receiving corps earn 10 all-conference and three academic all-conference first team honors.

Prior to his appointment at Oklahoma, Norvell served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at both UCLA (2007) and Nebraska (2004-06). The Cornhuskers were one of only two teams in the nation to rank in the top 25 in total offense, scoring offense, rushing offense and passing offense in 2006. That same year Nebraska totaled nine wins and finished the regular season as Big 12 North Division Champions.

Aside from the college game, Norvell coached for six seasons in the NFL, four of which were with the Colts and two with the Raiders. While with Oakland he coached tight ends for two seasons and worked alongside an offense that included Hall of Fame receivers Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. His trip to the Super Bowl in 2002 was steered by an offense that led the NFL in total yards and passing yards per game. Norvell joined the Colts coaching staff in 1998 as the wide receivers coach and mentored Marvin Harrison to 385 receptions, 5,376 receiving yards and 48 touchdowns during his tenure. His time with the Colts was also the first four seasons of two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning’s career.

A 1986 graduate of Iowa, Norvell was an All-Big Ten defensive back and recorded a league-high seven interceptions in 1985 as he helped the Hawkeyes put together a 10-2 record, a conference championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl. He was a member of the Chicago Bears in 1987 before he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater.

Norvell, who hails from Madison, Wis., has a wife, Kim, and son, Jaden. He is the author of a book, “Complete Wide Receiver,” which was published in 2012.