More than 60 years have passed since a true freshman quarterback started the season for the Colorado State University Rams football team, but that isn’t swaying coach Steve Fairchild from starting Pete Thomas.

The Loveland Reporter-Herald breaks down the situation, with Fairchild extolling the consistency and poise of the six-foot-five-inch Thomas, who left high school in San Diego County a semester early back in January to travel to Fort Collins and begin training.

“I have to perform,” Thomas says. “That’s the bottom line.”

Luckily, he won’t have to do it by himself. As the CSU football preview in this month’s issue of 5280 points out, the team has 10 returning defensive starters, quality experience at linebacker, a bevy of quality running backs, and the bitter taste of last year’s 3-9 season.

“We’re not going to lower the bar for anybody just because of their age,” Fairchild explains. “If you earn the right to get on the field, we’re going to hold you to a certain expectation level, and we expect [Thomas] to play very, very well.”

Photo credit: Scout.com.