The 2026 Colorado State football program will look much different from the Rams' program in 2025. Colorado State made a significant coaching change, firing Jay Norvell after a disappointing 2-10 season. Colorado State then hired Jim Mora away from UConn, and he will have a massive rebuilding job in front of him. It only gets even more complicated with the Rams losing another quarterback to the transfer portal.
Cal football and new head coach Tosh Lupoi grabbed Colorado State quarterback Jackson Brousseau out of the transfer portal to help fortify the quarterback room. CBS Sports college football reporter Matt Zenitz was one of the first to report the news. Brousseau finished out the season for Colorado State after Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was benched in his favor.
Brousseau is a former three-star recruit out of Utah. While he is not expected to start for Cal due to Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele coming back, it gives him a good opportunity to develop and still play at the Power conference level. He finished the 2025 season with 1,354 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions on a 63.7% completion percentage.
The Rams are rebuilding the quarterback room completely after Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi also entered the transfer portal. Fowler-Nicolosi decided to transfer to Michigan and play for new head coach Kyle Whittingham. He is also not going to start either due to Michigan keeping Bryce Underwood, but it allows him to develop at a high-profile school for one season.
Fowler-Nicolosi ends his career with the Rams with 6,938 yards passing and 38 touchdowns to 29 interceptions. He’ll have at least one more season of eligibility to use, which is one reason why transferring to Michigan is puzzling.
To weather the transfer portal, Jim Mora and his staff hit the ground running on the recruiting trail, explicitly targeting the Colorado area and its surrounding high schools.
“I would like to build our program through high school recruiting. I want to capture every great athlete in this state and make them Colorado State Rams,” Mora said at his introductory press conference.
