Colorado Buffaloes Recruiting: Closing In On Signing Day
by Jon Woods on Jan 31, 2012 11:36 AM MST
in Buffaloes Football Recruiting
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PrintColorado Buffaloes head coach Jon Embree and his staff are getting closer and closer to their second (and first full) recruiting class in Boulder. This years class has been nothing if consistent, with Tyler Henington pledging his college years to Colorado all the way back in March of last year and commitments coming nearly each month (outside of a slight slump in September and October) up until signing day tomorrow.
The two highest ranked commits in the class, cornerbacks Yuri Wright and Kenneth Crawley, both came aboard last week and were pretty big surprises to the outside recruiting community. The shift to a pro-style offense continues, with four running backs, two fullbacks (one of whom committed while I was writing this story and one who is already on campus), and three tight ends joining the team.
Most of the signing day intrigue for Buffs fans will come from the National Letters of Intent being faxed in from each of the current verbal commits. Colorado is nearing it's scholarship limit and may not have room for any more than one additional signature (if that) without heading into dangerous oversigning territory, which we would prefer to avoid.
The players that Embree would still accept signatures from are Seth Jacobs, the California linebacker prospect, and Jontrey Tillman, a Louisiana athlete who had formerly been committed to Stanford but recently found out that he would not be able to qualify.
Much more and and a list of current commits after the jump...
Whether or not the Buffaloes receive any additional signatures tomorrow, this class is already set to be a monumental one for the longevity and success of this staff. These players will lay the foundation for this team over the next few years of Jon Embree's tenure and will be key replacements for the few (11) current juniors whose eligibility will be up after the 2012 season is over.
Stay tuned to The Ralphie Report all day today and tomorrow for constant updates on the signing day 2012. Tomorrow we will have a running live blog updating when each and every player signs his letter of intent.
Join in the discussion that is already on-going in BIGXIITDOG's excellent discussion thread.
If you need even more recruiting coverage, I highly recommend signing up over at BuffStampede.com. Adam does an incredible job (and has been a big help to us) and he offers a free 7-day trial period for new subscribers. Not only will you get a ton of 2012 coverage, but you'll get a jump start on 2013 as well.
Current Buffaloes 2012 Verbal Commits:
| Name | Pos | Location | High School | Ht | Wt | 40 | Stars | Rating | Committed |
| Shane Dillon | QB | El Cajon, CA | Christian | 6'5" | 185 | 4.6 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 5/12/11 |
| Clay Norgard | RB | Highlands Ranch, CO | Mountain Vista | 6'2" | 240 | 4.8 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 2/17/11 |
| Donta Abron | RB | Upland, CA | Upland | 5'9" | 187 | 2 stars | 5.4 | 12/12/11 | |
| Terrence Crowder | RB | Galena Park, TX | Galena Park | 5'10" | 212 | 4.5 | 2 stars | 5.2 | 6/13/11 |
| Davien Payne | RB | Perris, CA | Citrus Hill | 5'11" | 213 | 4.6 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 8/9/11 |
| Peyton Williams | WR | Southlake, TX | Carroll | 6'1" | 185 | 4.5 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 7/13/11 |
| Gerald Thomas | WR | The Colony, TX | The Colony | 5'10" | 170 | 4.4 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 7/5/11 |
| Jeffrey Thomas | WR | Duncanville, TX | Duncanville | 6'3" | 180 | 4.7 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 6/18/11 |
| Vincent Hobbs | TE | Mesquite, TX | Horn | 6'3" | 230 | 4.7 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/29/12 |
| Sean Irwin | TE | Cypress, TX | Cy-Fair | 6'4" | 220 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 8/28/11 | |
| Austin Ray | TE | Columbia, MO | Rock Bridge | 6'6" | 235 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 11/22/11 | |
| Jeromy Irwin | OL | Cypress, TX | Cy-Fair | 6'5" | 289 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 8/28/11 | |
| Gerrad Kough | OL | Pomona, CA | Pomona | 6'5" | 270 | 2 stars | 5.4 | 7/1/11 | |
| Tyler Henington | DT | Denver, CO | Mullen | 6'3" | 265 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 3/24/11 | |
| Kory Rasmussen | DT | Honolulu, HI | Kamehameha School | 6'3" | 255 | 2 stars | 5.4 | 12/19/11 | |
| Justin Solis | DT | Westlake Village, CA | Westlake | 6'3" | 287 | 4.9 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 7/13/11 |
| Josh Tupou | DT | Buena Park, CA | Buena Park | 6'4" | 302 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 12/11/11 | |
| Kisima Jagne | DE | Chandler, AZ | Chandler | 6'5" | 235 | 4.5 | 3 stars | 5.7 | 12/9/11 |
| Samson Kafovalu | DE | Riverside, CA | Arlington | 6'3" | 253 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 12/16/11 | |
| Derek McCartney | DE | Arvada, CO | Faith Christian | 6'4" | 220 | 1/22/12 | |||
| John Stuart | DE | Westlake Village, CA | Westlake | 6'4" | 230 | 4.7 | 2 stars | 5.4 | 12/5/11 |
| De'Jon Wilson | DE | Washington, DC | H. D. Woodson | 6'3" | 240 | 4.7 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 11/28/11 |
| Kenneth Crawley | DB | Washington, DC | H. D. Woodson | 6'1" | 170 | 4 stars | 5.8 | 1/23/12 | |
| Yuri Wright | DB | Ramsey, NJ | Don Bosco Prep | 6'2" | 180 | 4 stars | 5.9 | 1/24/12 | |
| John Walker | DB | Washington, DC | H. D. Woodson | 6'0" | 175 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 1/12/12 | |
| Jeffrey Hall | DB | LaPlace, LA | St. Charles Catholic | 5'11" | 180 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 1/29/12 | |
| Marques Mosley | ATH | Upland, CA | Upland | 6'1" | 174 | 3 stars | 5.5 | 12/20/11 | |
| Christian Powell | ATH | Upland, CA | Upland | 5'11" | 250 | 3 stars | 5.6 | 1/31/2011 |
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Good good good. For all of this action, and signing day tomorrow it is QUIET on the threads. How are we feeling, buffs?
by Denny Majewski on Jan 31, 2012 12:28 PM MST via mobile reply actions
unless McCartney opts not to sign an LOI, or someone else flips, we're done.
That’s the 28 person max.
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
scholarship wise, yes. LOI wise- no
As far as I understand, the new NCAA rule says that we cannot accept more than 28 LOIs, for no more than 25 scholarships per class.
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
Is that a National Rule now or is that still just an SEC thing? I remember the SEC voted last January to keep the LOI’s to 28 but wasn’t sure if they made it national or not. I think your right thought that the NCAA legislation backed that rule as well
A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves
by waterboy31321 on Jan 31, 2012 1:54 PM MST up reply actions
it's a national rule now
I think next year it drops to a straight 25 for 25
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
Yes and yes
So we’re technically allowed to ‘sign’ 28, but only 25 can count towards this years class. Which means we can still ‘sign’ 2 more guys for this year that can’t actually count towards this year. So there’s a few things to take away from this:
1: They’re worried about (or they just expect) a couple of guys not qualifying academically
2: Someone else will be an EE (early enrollee), but that would be really difficult at CU seeing as the semester has started already (besides it being a big academic adjustment, it’s tough to get classes this late. I believe still possible, but difficult)
3: More greyshirt candidates are on the list besides McCartney, though you’d think we would’ve heard about it
4: Some of these guys are not signing LOIs to Colorado on Signing Day
DAG
Email: David.Gerhardt@gmail.com
by DavidAGerhardt on Jan 31, 2012 1:47 PM MST up reply actions
This class has surpassed my expectations
A winning season this year would be nice but I can see 5-7 or 6-6 be easily obtainable. I think that once this class, and future classes, start to gel and develop 8 to 12 wins per year will be the norm.
Please God make this so.
in fact, I’d like to get back to point where 8 wins is a bad season. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
by BuffulanceMan on Jan 31, 2012 1:52 PM MST up reply actions
Looking forward to Powell and Norgard opening holes
We really haven’t had a real FB in forever it seems.
Amen to that.
Maybe we can get a Lawrence Vickers type of FB out of the two of them.
will Norgard stay at FB
now that we’ve got Powell? Doesn’t seem like we’d need two FBs in the same class. Could probably use his help on defense…
I'd guess he stays
Even though they’re in the same class, they’re still the only 2 scholarship FBs on the (soon to be) roster.
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
I am very happy with this class
I couldn’t have imagined us doing any better after going 3-10. If we were to get Jacobs and grey-shirt McCartney to do so, that would just be icing on the cake.
McCartney already accepted our grayshirt offer right?
A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves
by waterboy31321 on Jan 31, 2012 1:41 PM MST up reply actions
McCartey is set to GS
That was the plan when his commit was announced. As the class stands now, Buffs are at the max for LOI signatures in any one recruiting class (28). Could be some movement if there are any non Q’s in this bunch.
I was hoping there would be atleast 1 spot going into Signing Day
keep some excitement going
A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves
Embree's tweet was on Sunday
I believe he was referring to flipping Powell from UCLA.
Ah
woulda been nice if the article stated as such as I do not do the twitter.
by BuffulanceMan on Jan 31, 2012 2:06 PM MST up reply actions
If we have 28 right now, the only news tomorrow could really be bad news
A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves
by waterboy31321 on Jan 31, 2012 2:27 PM MST up reply actions
could really only be bad news **
A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves
by waterboy31321 on Jan 31, 2012 2:28 PM MST up reply actions
Rippy?
Anyway we still get Rippy?
I dont think he has committed yet.
by AlaBuff on Jan 31, 2012 3:24 PM MST via mobile reply actions
Rippy has taken CU off his list
I think he is down to three schools, and CU wasn’t one of them, I think the staff was worried about his academics.
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
"Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun" - Ash from Army of Darkness
"H.I., you're young and you got your health, what you want with a job?" - Evelle from Raising Arizona
"It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes." - Agent Rogersz from Repoman
Not getting Rippy, we backed off of him some time ago
He wasn’t doing well with grades and the CU staff didn’t like the way he was handling his school work.
Seth Jacobs is still a possibility and we have a visiting recruit(s) this weekend.
Shoulder to Shoulder
Daily Camera clarifies 28 player LOI rule
Julie Manning, CU’s director of compliance, said there are scenarios in which CU and other programs can announce more than 28 additions on signing day, but only 28 recruits are allowed to sign national letters of intent. The NCAA recently approved a rule change that will go into effect next year that limits the number to 25 in any one year.
Manning said if CU has more than 28 prospects who want to join the program, the only way to include more than 28 in the class is if one or more players agrees to pay a $300 enrollment deposit and join the program as a walk-on. Manning said after June 1, that player or players could be awarded a scholarship if one is available.
http://www.buffzone.com/ci_19859236
So long story short we are done unless some negotiating goes on between Embree and a current recruit.
Shoulder to Shoulder
This is shaping up to be an interesting class
I am surprised though we seem to be pretty weak in OL this year, and with Asiata leaving, seems we will be pretty thin. I wonder if they think Irwin brother will turn into a Nate Solder type of player.
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
"Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun" - Ash from Army of Darkness
"H.I., you're young and you got your health, what you want with a job?" - Evelle from Raising Arizona
"It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes." - Agent Rogersz from Repoman
In other news...
We might have just lost one of our most experienced DL, Will Pericak.
Will Pericak, CU Buffs lineman, accused of lighting fire in Boulder bar
Doubt it results in being excused from the team
Probably miss a game or two though. Dumb.
GIVE UP- At some point, hanging in there just makes you look like an even bigger loser.
I doubt even that. He'll be "suspended indefinitely"
back in uniform for spring practice.
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
First off Will...
Don’t be that guy. Second off, I used to frequent that place, even back when it was under street level by where Chipotle and Bacaro are now, and I never had a problem there so you must have been being a d-bag. Go back and apologize and get the charges dropped.
Unbelievable...well let's act fast
and free up a scholly for Fosala.
really?
In a matter of hours, you’re ready to drop a 3 year starter at our thinnest position to accommodate a 2 star academic risk? Some perspective, please. The guy got drunk and acted the fool. Send him to some alcohol classes, some community service, probation for a year, and be done with it.
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
Fine, it was just hyperbole-I only said Fosala because I feel bad for the big guy.
I agree WP was drunk and being dumb, but I dont think they can be lenient with this one. There is a legitimate endangerement issue here (even if the fire was contained quickly), certainly worse than kicking in the side of an empty parked car. As such, it probably has to be addressed sternly. Fwiw, i hope thats not the case and WP turns a new leaf and becomes the greatest d-lineman we’ve ever had.
Agree
If I had a nickel for every time I got drunk at that particular establishment and did/said something dumb, I’d be like $5 richer. Make it right and move on.
by highlandsbuff on Jan 31, 2012 8:58 PM MST via Android app up reply actions
someone needs to photoshop that picture of Embree into the “Strutting Leo” meme. Not me- someone else.
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
Top Hat and Cane would help
with a pimp cape.
by BuffulanceMan on Feb 1, 2012 6:31 AM MST up reply actions
is there a blog or someone on twitter you i can follow for these updates?
A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves
by waterboy31321 on Feb 1, 2012 6:41 AM MST up reply actions
hey thanks
A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves
by waterboy31321 on Feb 1, 2012 8:00 AM MST up reply actions
Yuri Wright signing on the line
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
by Phil Fraser on Feb 1, 2012 6:58 AM MST reply actions 1 recs
Really love it!!
Small tear of hometown pride…
GIVE UP- At some point, hanging in there just makes you look like an even bigger loser.
too bad
but would open a space for Jacobs.
by BuffinCuse on Feb 1, 2012 7:32 AM MST via Android app up reply actions
Jacobs is out. He's ARK/ OSU/ Ucla
(I still say OSU). Besides, we were one over anyway
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
Signed!!!!
Bogus rumors.
GIVE UP- At some point, hanging in there just makes you look like an even bigger loser.
Gotta love all the guys that sign early in the day.
I think it sends the right message to the coaching staff. Props to Yuri and the Irwin brothers for getting them in quick.
I’m guessing you have to wait 7am local time to send them in? Does anyone know if that’s true?
yes, I believe that's true
A lot of kids have signing ceremonies at school. And others want to announce on TV. I remember that Embree couldn’t talk about Nembot last year because he was announcing on TV, but he knew that the kid was signing. Same thing with Devin Lucien- Embree basically announced that he was going w/ Ucla before Lucien announced on TV.
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
and to recount my favorite signing day moment:
Charles Burks from Edison signed his LOI to USC last year at the Sugar Shack in Huntington Beach. Why? “They have a fax machine and good food.” Yes, yes they do. Order the french toast.
This bowling alley has my favorite restaurant in Pawnee
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