FORT COLLINS — When you play for Jay Norvell and the ‘Air Raid’ style of offense, the expectation is to score points — a lot of points.

That’s why watching last year’s film was so hard for Colorado State quarterback Clay Millen. A year after he watched from the sidelines as Norvell-led Nevada put up over 35 points per game as the top offense in the Mountain West, Millen was the leader of a CSU offense that averaged just 13 points per game, second-worst in the league.

Millen knows if they scored one or two more touchdowns — and there were plenty of opportunities for an offense that had just five touchdowns in 23 red zone trips — there’s a chance the Rams win one or two more games and his first year as a starter would’ve had a different feeling.

“We had plenty of games where if we score one more touchdown, if we score 20 points, then we win that game,” Millen said after the Rams’ first spring practice Tuesday. “It’s tough to watch some of the (film) and just see us not scoring. It’s my job as a quarterback — (the) quarterback has the ball every play so I’ve gotta go score points. I’ve gotta make efficient plays (and) we’ve gotta finish in the red zone.”

Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell, left, speaks with quarterback Clay Millen during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Washington State, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

Young Kwak

In Millen’s defense, efficiency wasn’t an issue — he set a new program record for completion percentage in a season at 72.2%. That’s even better than Carson Strong, whom Millen sat behind for a year. But Strong had over double the passing yards and over triple the amount of touchdowns in just two more games played.

Part of the reason for that large disparity is the fact that Millen didn’t have enough time to get the ball out. CSU allowed the most sacks out of all 131 Division I teams in 2022. While Millen knows Strong and the receivers are capable of connecting on deep balls, the intermediate passing game has to be a bigger factor. To do that, he needs more time to throw the ball.

“We’ve gotta eliminate negative plays,” Millen said. “I’ve gotta get the ball out quicker, we’ve gotta eliminate sacks. It just kills a drive.”

That’s why this spring is so important for Millen. It’s his second spring in charge of the offense, and now he has the chance to make real progress as a leader both on and off the field.

“I kind of had that idea that I was a younger guy and now I’ll be a redshirt sophomore so I’m one of the older guys now,” Millen said. “I’m not a young guy anymore. I’m the guy that’s already played a year. There’s no more freshman mistakes anymore. I’ve gotta play like an older guy now.”

It’s unreasonable to expect Millen to lead CSU to a 35-points-per-game offense, but the 2023 Rams know 13 points on Saturdays won’t cut it.

“We’ve had some real frank conversations with our quarterbacks about growing up,” Norvell said. “As a quarterback, you can’t make excuses. It’s our job to score points and those guys are a big part of that. Clay’s taking more responsibility and I can see it in the way he’s practicing.”

Colorado State quarterback Clay Millen warms up before an NCAA college football game against Air Force, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, at Air Force Academy, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

David Zalubowski