2017 Colorado State Recruiting Class
John Blasco, OL, 6-7, 306, Stadium HS (Tacoma, Wash.) — An all-area pick as a tackle … Considered sixth-best tackle in the state of Washington.
Scott Brooks, OL, 6-3, 271, Moorpark HS (Moorpark, Calif.) — An interior line prospect … Scout.com named him one of the 10 best guards in the West, though he also played at tackle.
Zoauntarrious Brunt, S, 6-3, 187, Orange Coast CC (Calif.) — Long and lean, he made plays at the junior college level … produced 81 tackles and six forced fumbles at OCCC.
Cameron Butler, TE, 6-2, 225, Ridge View HS (Columbia, SC) — Had 44 catches for 533 pages and one score as a senior … Played in Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.
Darius Campbell, S, 5-10, 170, Ehret HS (Marrero, La.) — A two-way standout in high school, also playing receiver … team advanced to state quarterfinals.
Christian Cumber, DB, 6-0, 179, Mullen — A long cornerback with cover skills … Finished with 54 tackles and two interceptions, blocking a kick as well.
Kieran Firment, OL, 6-4, 298, West Allegheny HS (Imperial, Pa.) — An interior lineman prospect … Was a first-team, all-state selection and a two-way starter for his team who was first-team all-state on offense.
Christian Howard, DL, 6-2, 268, Independence CC (Kans.) — Posted 33 tackles on the season, nine for a loss, including two sacks … Has two years of eligibility remaining.
Ellison Hubbard, DT, 6-1, 267, Grayson HS (Loganville, Ga,) — His team was ranked fourth in the nation this year … Was first team all-county, honorable mention all-state and considered the sixth-best defensive tackle in Georgia.
Warren Jackson, WR, 6-5, 196, Alemany HS (Mission Hills Calif.) — A big target the Rams were able to take away from Arizona’s verbal commitment list … Had 57 catches for 955 yards and seven scores as a senior.
Emmanual Jones, LB, 6-4, 245, Woodland HS (Cartersville, Ga.) — The last NLI received, he was a late get for the Rams … Possibly a buck or outside backer for CSU, was the 2016 Georgia Region 7A co-defensive player of the year.
Louis Lebron, OL, 6-4, 356, Sandalwood HS (Jacksonville, Fla.) — Helped guide his team to a District 1 championship in 8A competition.
Nickolas Maka, DB, 6-1, 185 College of San Mateo (Calif.) — Announced after the signing press conference … Played two years at the junior college level, spending his time at free safety last year.
Justice McCoy, QB, 6-1, 186, St. Augustine HS (New Orleans) — A dual-threat, he amassed more than 6,000 total yards in his career, accounting for 58 touchdowns. … Chose CSU to focus on becoming a pro-style passer.
Marcus McElroy, RB, 5-10, 211, Mullen — The top-rated back in the state of Colorado is the only one signed at his position … He rushed for 1,175 yards for the Mustangs with 17 touchdowns.
Patrick Moody, LB, 6-1, 236, Vero Beach HS (Vero Beach Fla.) — He has state ties, having played at Chaparral his first two seasons before moving to Florida … Recorded 58 tackles with a pair of interceptions this season.
Livingston Paogofie, LB, 6-1, 250, Bowie HS (Arlington, Texas) — Seen as an outside linebacker by the coaching staff, he had an outstanding senior year … He had 93 tackles, 20 for loss, with 10 coming via sack.
Joctavis Phillips, OL, 6-4, 305, Neville HS (Monroe, La.) — A signing-day addition for the team, he was a Northeast Louisiana all-star after his senior season … Started 30 games in prep career.
EJ Scott, WR, 6-1, 189, McEachern HS (Powder Springs, Ga.) — The potential to be an explosive offensive player … He had 47 catches for 813 yards and seven scores.
Corte Tapia, DL, 6-2, 230, Windsor — The state’s career sacks leader with 46, seven of which came this season … A probable buck, he had 93 total tackles as a senior, 18.5 for loss.
Jadon Walker, DB, 6-0, 1171, Chapel Hill HS (Douglasville, Ga.) — Named his region’s offensive player of the year … A quarterback as a prep, felt his best collegiate potential was in the secondary, even after compiling 1,074 passing yards and 895 rushing yards that attracted the attention of the service academies.
Darius Wise, CB , 5-9, 164, Bay Area HS (Beaver, Pa.) — Also a talented RB as a prep, the Rams see the athlete making plays in the secondary … Ranked the 21st best player in his state.
Signed in December
Tyler Bjorklund, OL, 6-4, 281, College of the Canyons (Calif.) — Will have three years to play two … Originally from Valencia (Calif.) HS … Blocked for an offense that averaged 25.8 points per game.
Griffin Hammer, TE, 6-4, 222, St. Charles North HS (Saint Charles, Ill.) — An early enrollee as a prep … Had 24 catches for 424 yards and eight touchdowns.
Ben Knox, OL, 6-6, 328, Independence CC (Kans.) — Has two remaining years of eligibility … Ranked the 73rd best juco prospect this season.
Preston Williams, WR, 6-4, 209, Tennessee — Will have to sit out 2017, but then will have two years of eligibility … Played 12 games for the Vols with 16 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
Local prospects
Two area players have already decided where they will be playing next year, with Mountain View offensive lineman Mitch Pias signing with Black Hills State, and Resurrection Christian two-way performer Brin Hayden choosing to be a preferred walk-on at Northern Colorado.
Hayden, signed as a linebacker, played quarterback as well for the Cougars. He said talks heated up the past month, and he’s excited to focus on one side of the ball and see how much he can develop as a defender.
Pias was a standout on the Lions’ offensive front that helped pave the way for an offense that averaged 375 yards and 27.2 points per game.
FORT COLLINS — No hype. No promises. Not from Colorado State football coach Mike Bobo.
No, during Wednesday’s signing day press conference, all he talked about was expectations for where he sees the program headed and how the Rams intend to get there. In his thinking, the 26 players they announced during the day as the 2017 signing class are part of that process.
They are seen as the future, but many of them would like to dispel that notion.
No, they are the present.
“That was one thing he stressed a lot,” said Warren Jackson, a wideout from Mission Hills, Calif., who was once committed to Arizona. “He said, ‘If you can play, I don’t care if you’re a freshman, I don’t care if you’re a senior,’ he said, ‘the best players are going to play, son.’ That really hyped me up.
“I feel with (Michael Gallup), me and the other slots we have at receiver, it’s unstoppable. We’ll be a wide receiver university. I’m very excited about that.”
Bobo said a common theme he is finding is that the school is attracting players who are strong in family commitment, finding that quality in his program. The Rams are also attracting players who want to push to be on the field now.
Of last year’s class, 14 players saw action, and nine true freshmen in the program played, many of them making an impact. Toby McBride led the team with four sacks, Gallup was an all-conference receiver. Bobo wasn’t anointing anybody, but his hope is there are players who will do the same this season.
“You look at what we’ve done the last two years in playing guys, and not just true freshmen,” Bobo said. “I think we stick true to our word that it’s truly a competition; it’s not just mouth service. We’re going to compete every week, and the guy that competes in practice and the guy that makes plays in practice is going to get an opportunity to play on Saturday, and then you’ve got to perform on Saturday.
“True competitors like that. They like to go somewhere where they know they have an opportunity to compete, and we’re able to prove it.”
Naturally, the Rams had a few hits and misses on the day players could finally sign. Offensive lineman Sincere David had verbally committed to the Rams, but signed with Mississippi.
The loss of David led to the signing of Joctavis Phillips, an offensive lineman out of Monroe, La., bringing the total to seven signed across the offensive front.
The Rams lost three starters from last year’s unit, and they’ll lose four seniors from the group at the end of 2017. Bobo said he prefers 16 on scholarship in the program, and even the heavy influx of new linemen will still leave them a little short.
“We felt we needed to obviously improve the needs there by the number, and we were able to get seven guys, two able to come in midyear, two of them junior college guys that hopefully can provide depth immediately for us,” Bobo said. “Then five high school guys that I wouldn’t rule anything out as far as being able to come in early and play.”
As he noted, they are all big, all tall and fit very much the model they are looking to fill in the program.
The class also is heavy in the secondary (six total), with three each across the defensive line and at wide receiver, other areas of need in terms of depth and competition.
Scout.com ranked Colorado State’s class the 65th best in the nation, second in the Mountain West behind Boise State (60th), fifth among Group of 5 schools and independents (BYU was 58th, Cincinnati and Memphis out of the AAC ranking 62 and 63). The class has 15 three-star recruits according to Scout.com, the most in any one year for the program.
Bobo admitted, if they were ranked No. 1, they’d tout it, and if they weren’t, he’d say rankings don’t matter. What does is results, and fifth place in the Mountain Division and a 7-6 record are not his version of the mountain top.
“I want to be ranked the top in the Mountain West, and I think some of these guys are going to help us do that,” Bobo said. “One of the best players on this sheet is Preston Williams, and he’s not in those rankings.”
Williams, a transfer out of Tennessee who cannot play next year, will have to wait. Others don’t, and Bobo doesn’t want them to think a redshirt is in their future.
That chance is attractive.
“Most definitely. The talk tract from the CSU coaches was pretty much they expect me to come in contribute and challenge for playing time,” said Christian Cumber, a safety out of Mullen who is one of three Colorado players signed. “They’re not handing me or anything, but they tell me the opportunity is there, and they’re open to that. I’m absolutely open for that. I want to get as much playing time as possible. I’m going to try to get every rep I can.”
Roster move — Running back Bryce Peters is no longer on the roster, with Bobo saying he was going to graduate, basically declaring him a senior. Sammie Long had announced earlier he was leaving the program too.
Staff addition — Bobo said he would be interested in adding a 10th coach, a proposal currently under consideration by the NCAA. He said he has had some preliminary discussions with athletic director Joe Parker about it, but if it passed and CSU added, he’s unsure what direction they would head.
“We voted for it as Colorado State. How I would use it yet, I haven’t really decided,” he said. “If it goes into affect, there’s a couple of things that you kick around. Do you hire a full-time special teams guy, do you hire somebody who is just primarily a recruiter and goes out on the road more than the other coaches? It would definitely be somebody on defense, because I help on the offensive side of the ball, or slash special teams.”
Early signing — There is another proposal that would allow for an early signing date in December. Bobo is all for that, taking a jab at the fact CSU lost a few players in the final week, two on signing day.
“Yeah, maybe they may not be able to steal a few of our guys at the last minute,” he quipped.
Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/mbrohard or twitter.com/mbrohard
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
