FORT COLLINS — Jim Mora moves from station to station, watching every position group like a hawk.

A blow horn sounds.

While the Colorado State football practice has entered its third hour, it’s time for the next competition period. It’s the first scrimmage day of the spring, so it’s the No. 1 offense vs. the No. 1 defense up first, again.

No one inside Canvas Stadium bats an eye. This is what the Rams have become accustomed to nearly a month into Mora’s first spring practice period.

On and off the field, the program is putting the pedal to the floor.

“Practices are designed for us to break down (and) quit, but if you keep your mind to it, you get the best out of it,” said junior linebacker Oumar Diomande, a UConn transfer. “The location is different, the altitude is different, the weather is different, but in terms of work and how (Mora) does at practice, it’s the same thing. It’s hard and it’s different from everywhere else.”

Different is the best way to describe the vibe this spring in Fort Collins. 

Mora hasn’t backed off of his promise that CSU will compete for a Pac-12 championship in his first season. 

In order to do so, a lot must be accomplished. 

A new offensive and defensive system must be installed under coordinators Pryce Tracy and Tyson Summers, one of the few holdovers from the previous coaching staff. So far, so good.

“We’re pretty far along,” Mora said. “We force fed ’em. We’ve gotten a lot of work in. We haven’t held back. Certainly, not everything’s in. There’s a lot of situational football that still has to happen.”

While there are 18 transfers who followed Mora from UConn to CSU and a similar amount of players who stuck around from last year’s Rams, this roster is still working at building camaraderie and a bond that will be required to win games in the fall.

“That’s so important in this day and age with the number of transfers and early enrollees we have here is just how fast they can come together as a group on and off the field,” Mora said. “They have to have great relationships off the field, they have to develop that trust that carries over to the field. 

“They’ve gotta care about each other, like each other to a certain extent, share a mutual love of the game and what we’re trying to accomplish and I see that developing. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s a high-character team and these guys do care about each other and it’s growing.”

Most important, though, Mora is working to establish a culture of hard work that he believes is the biggest key to winning games — something he’s done at all of his stops, from the NFL to UCLA to UConn.

“What you are on the practice field is what ends up transforming into who you are on game day,” Mora said. “We’re getting better. We’re not there yet. A lot of teaching, a lot of learning. A lot of guys come from different systems, different ways of doing things, different tempos, different pace, different demands, different workloads. We practice for a long time … and that’s common. 

“A football game is over three hours, so you’ve gotta develop that competitive stamina. Not every place does that. Just seeing these guys adapt to the way we do it, learn the drills and the way we like to do it, I’ve been encouraged, but there’s still a long way to go.”