Buffs, Rams In-state Recruiting = FAIL

[sarge87]

Buffs, Rams losing in-state recruit war - CU and Colorado State fail to have any of the top-10 prospects in the state ready to give their commitments.

By Natalie Meisler The Denver Post

Publication: The Denver Post

Date: Monday, December 21 2009

 

Something is missing from the Rivals.com top-10 prospect list for Colorado: the schools CU or CSU attached to any names.

 

For the first time since archived online lists started in 2003, neither Colorado nor Colorado State is the preference of any top-10 in-state recruit.

 

Colorado recruit is No. 11: tight end Kyle Slavin of Chatfield. CSU is nowhere to be found, although the final top-15 list may include early commitment Kivon Cartwright of Pueblo South.

 

Chalk it up to 3-9 records, two highly ranked prospects already decommitting from the Buffs and a relatively new CSU staff looking at lean in-state pickings for the second consecutive year.

 

"It's not for lack of trying. We'd love to get in-state guys who can help us win," said Tom Ehlers, CSU's director of football operations.

 

The state's top two prospects, defensive end Chris Martin of Grandview and quarterback Austin Hinder of Steamboat Springs, are headed to Cal. No. 3 Danny Spond, a Columbine quarterback who decommitted from CU, is strongly considering Stanford, where he would join No. 4 Dillon Bonnell, an offensive lineman from ThunderRidge.

 

Littleton running back Mister Jones, ranked as the No. 5 recruit, also decommitted from CU and has committed to Texas A&M.

 

Jones' coach, Chad Koepke, said of CU and CSU: "They've both been involved (recruiting Jones). Generally speaking, anytime we've had a Division I kid at Littleton over the years, both schools have always checked in and shown interest."

 

Jones did not return calls.

 

CSU's in-state numbers are unlikely to change much: Rivals lists 19 commitments, and the class will tentatively have 20 names. CU is still trying to get Spond and Jones to recommit.

 

Sometimes, proximity works against a program. Any school can fly in prospects and orchestrate a 48-hour recruiting trip. When prospects live closer to a campus, they can drop in unannounced.

 

Spond said the tipping point was when he was at Folsom Field for the finale with Nebraska, a 28-20 CU loss.

 

"When the team is losing and you're kind of disappointed, it was so quiet," Spond said last week. "The stands were so quiet. It was a whole different feeling from the first game (hosting CSU) to the last."

 

A slight factor for Spond was his primary recruiter, Greg Brown, leaving for Arizona. More so, there was the firestorm of controversy about whether CU coach Dan Hawkins would be fired.

 

"If I could do it over, I probably wouldn't have (committed) before the year and the whole season started," Spond said. "You see how whatever program it might be does and the direction they take."

 

CU's record played a role.

 

"I know myself and a lot of people had a lot of high hopes for them," Spond said. "The way the season went definitely raised a lot of questions in my mind."

 

Spond is considering Stanford, TCU and Notre Dame but wouldn't completely rule out CU. A high school quarterback, he said he can change positions if asked.

 

The Buffs had better results the past three years, getting Columbine offensive tackle Ryan Miller (the top prospect in 2007), Ponderosa linebacker Jon Major (No. 1 in 2008) and Legacy defensive end Nick Kasa (No. 1 in 2009).

 

Looking ahead to his next four or five years, Spond said, "I want it to be at a program that's at a high point rather than a low point."

 

He said CSU made a run as soon as he decommitted, but "personally I would not attend CSU. It's just not a fit for me."

 

Meanwhile, Wyoming (7-6) has two of Colorado's top 15: Ponderosa defensive end Riley Lange (No. 13) and Chatfield quarterback Sam Stratton (No. 14). Wide receiver C.J. Morgan (Eaglecrest) and defensive tackle Tyler Strong (Niwot) are also Wyoming commitments.

 

A huge factor was first-year coach Dave Christensen retaining Marty English and his long history of recruiting in Colorado.

 

Hosting 25 players during bowl practice didn't hurt.

 

"They know what you are practicing for," Christensen said last week. "You're practicing for a bowl game. … It's a huge plus to have."

 

Recruiting service rankings don't always pan out when injuries and academics are figured in the equation.

 

Echoing most players who change their minds during the recruiting process, Spond said: "I would say I definitely feel like I committed too early. I'm just very lucky I can have another go-round."

 

According to Rivals.com: Total committs CU (12) CSU (18)

No. of in-state committs**: CU (1) CSU (2)

 

Leading state with committs....CA (6) FL (9)

 

**CU: TE Kyle Slavin, Chatfield; CSU: TE Kivon Cartwright, Pueblo South; S Max Morgan, Greeley West

RB Jones rebuffs CU football team

Coaching staff questions, tough season taking toll on recruiting

Coloradodaily.com

By Ryan Thorburn Camera Sports Writer

Posted: 12/14/2009 10:59:10 PM MST

 

Colorado's decision to retain Dan Hawkins as head football coach after a 3-9 season is not playing well on the recruiting trail.

 

Since athletic director Mike Bohn announced on Nov. 26 that Hawkins would be back on the sideline for a fifth season, despite a 16-33 record in his first four seasons, a pair of four-star recruits have de-committed from CU.

 

Running back Mister Jones is the latest prospect to stiff-arm the Buffs. The Littleton High School standout is leaving the state for Texas A&M.

 

Danny Spond of Columbine High School, who CU projects as a linebacker, backed off his verbal commitment to explore his options at other schools. Spond is also interested in playing quarterback but says that he is willing to play any position in the right program.

 

CU's 2010 recruiting class was ranked 67th nationally by Rivals.com as of Monday. That's the lowest ranking among Big 12 teams.

 

"A lot of kids had more questions than answers with CU," said Jeremy Crabtree, the national recruiting editor of Rivals.com. "Anytime you have questions when kids are setting up official visits or making pledges, that can hurt you a little bit. It has led to some kids going elsewhere."

 

High school prospects aren't typically worried about a program's win-loss record before they arrive. The pitch is all about the future and how the recruit will impact the program when he steps on campus.That was apparently not the case for Jones, who committed to CU in June but was troubled by the direction his favorite childhood team was headed in by September.

 

"I mean, it's obvious," Jones told the Camera when asked after CU's 0-2 start why he was considering other schools. "They lost to like Toledo and Colorado State the last couple weeks. The CU program isn't doing too good right now."

 

Four consecutive losing seasons under Hawkins and the perception that 2010 could be a lame duck campaign for the coach could make life on the recruiting trail difficult leading up to national signing day on Feb. 3.

 

"Other coaches are going to be reminding them," Crabtree said of the Buffs' on-field woes. "Kids who have Colorado on their list might hear things like, 'Why would you go there when he only has one season left?' and 'Look at what the program has been like.'

 

"The negative recruiting has hurt."

 

Losing assistant coach Greg Brown this week to Arizona and having former No. 1 running back recruit Darrell Scott leave the program during the season certainly won't help the Buffs recruit against their Big 12 rivals.

 

"You don't want to lose one of your better assistants, but coach Hawkins is more involved with the recruiting process than most head coaches," Crabtree said. "I'm sure (Scott) gets brought up by other schools, but I think a lot of kids have short-term memories and a lot of them probably don't even know who Darrell Scott is to be honest."

 

Texas, which will play in the BCS title game against Alabama, has the nation's top-ranked recruiting class at this point in the process. Oklahoma (5), Texas A&M (11) and Missouri (17) are also in the top 25.

 

The Sooners (7-5) and Aggies (6-6) had disappointing seasons based on expectations and tradition. The Tigers were 8-4.

 

"That shows you can finish in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 and still have a solid recruiting class," Crabtree said.

 

Oklahoma State (26), Texas Tech (31) and Nebraska (39) are next in the recruiting pecking order. Kansas, which introduced Turner Gill as head coach on Monday, should see its No. 39 ranking climb in the next couple months.

 

Even Iowa State (46), Baylor (51) and Kansas State (53) are fairing better out on the trail than the Buffs, according to the recruiting gurus. CU has 11 known commitments to date.

 

"I'm excited about where we are in recruiting right now," Hawkins said recently. "I think we've got some great kids in the boat. I think we've got some great kids out there. Again, this thing is so liquid these days. You never know one day to the next exactly what is going to happen. You can't totally predict."

 

To be fair, the Buffs did have a small senior class and return most of the key players from the two-deep. On the same day Jones de-committed, CU received a verbal commitment from Eric Richter, a product of Saddleback College in California, who will be able to enroll in classes in Boulder in January.

 

"We've known it was going to be a smaller class and recruiting rankings are about quantity as much as quality," Crabtree said. "You have to have quantity and quality to be ranked in the top 25. With a smaller class you have to hit on your needs, and CU has done a good job of that with two good quarterbacks, adding some big guys on the offensive line and adding some speed."

 

Crabtree described Donnie Duncan, a 6-0 "athlete" from Los Angeles, as a "tremendous steal" and said CU still has time to put together a solid class.

 

"It's a little too early to write off Dan Hawkins," Crabtree said.

[sarge87]

Bump

[WVhuskerXX]

[zoogs]

I'm rooting for Dan Hawkins to pull through. Seems like a good enough guy, a good target to hate in the Big 12 North, and someone I'd like to see us keep beating.

[Nexus]

It probably didn't help CU's case when they stuck with Hawkins instead of firing him after this season, but the the problem with firing him would've drained their finances if I recall reading? Supposedly a booster was willing to buyout the remainder of Hawkins contract just to get rid of him, but I'm not sure whatever happened with that?

 

Either way though, it seems like Hawkins has been their downfall, much the same way Callahan was ours.

[Overland Park Husker]

Either way though, it seems like Hawkins has been their downfall, much the same way Callahan was ours.

Difference is Callahan actually improved and won the North division before the bottom fell out (can't believe I'm typing this). Hawkins has done nothing since he's been there.

[Nexus]

Either way though, it seems like Hawkins has been their downfall, much the same way Callahan was ours.

Difference is Callahan actually improved and won the North division before the bottom fell out (can't believe I'm typing this). Hawkins has done nothing since he's been there.

 

True. Good point.

[zoogs]

yeah - Callahan changed a lot of things at Nebraska and made big strides, offensively, in setting a foundation and moving us in the right direction. People forget we were all thinking NC before the '07 season with a former Heisman hopeful soon to be at the helm.

 

What happened is he lost control of the program, you can't do that as a HC. Things spiraled out of control real fast that year, and hardly everything was his fault - but it ultimately led us to Bo and well, no gripes there from me I will always look back at BC as an important step in the process that didn't work out, but gave us some good years and helped get us to where we are today.

 

I am extremely comfortable with the idea of a Hawkins-led CU. Please don't ever change, Buffs. Hawkins is a terrific guy (I'm serious!) He deserves some more chances

[mmmtodd]

"worst day as a buffalo" and all that...

 

 

buffaloes like salty nuts?

[husker98]

i lol at any Colorado misery.

[GSG]

So where are all the Colorado kids going if they're not going to CU or CSU?

[EZ-E]

So where are all the Colorado kids going if they're not going to CU or CSU?

 

Well... We have two kids from Colorado and are looking to add a 3rd.

[RockyMountainOySker]

So where are all the Colorado kids going if they're not going to CU or CSU?

 

Well... We have two kids from Colorado and are looking to add a 3rd.

 

EZ-E...you really think we'll end up with Kolter? I'll be honest, as much as his play making ability excites me, his throwing ability scares me. Now with Bell on board, I look at Kolter as more of a take a QB to take one (which Bo said will not happen) type of guy.

[caveman99]

So where are all the Colorado kids going if they're not going to CU or CSU?

 

Well... We have two kids from Colorado and are looking to add a 3rd.

 

EZ-E...you really think we'll end up with Kolter? I'll be honest, as much as his play making ability excites me, his throwing ability scares me. Now with Bell on board, I look at Kolter as more of a take a QB to take one (which Bo said will not happen) type of guy.

The indications are that that staff likes Colter a lot, he and Carnes are the two I think the staff are trying to get 1 of. I would guess that Carnes is option 1 and Colter is option 1a, but that is just a guess.

[Nexus]

FWIW, Colter hosted Northwestern for an in-home on Tuesday of this week and is hosting Watson today.

 

I have a feeling he'll head for Northwestern when it's all said and done. He was raving about Northwestern's academic program in a recent interview.