Colorado Buffaloes football recruiting roundup

Well, It’s been a while since the 6th commit of the 2018 class, Josh Jynes, took the pledge to be a Buff. But this is par for the course for CU classes. Often, there is a period of about a month or so in the early summer under Coach MacIntyre where there is little news on the recruiting front. That’s not to say that nothing is happening, but just that nothing official is happening. Offers are being sent out, relationships strengthened, and visits set up. But all of this happens after that period. Why? One, coaches need vacation, too. Give them a bit after spring ball. Two, Coach Mac bases a lot of his recruiting off of camp season.

What’s camp season? Well, unlike Jim Harbaugh’s camp season, which involves sleeping bags and actual camping, Coach MacIntyre loves in-person evaluation. He’ll offer all of the obvious talents, but the camp season is where he extends a lot of offers and makes further plans with recruits. Well, that camp season just started up again, so get ready for recruiting to kick into high gear. Until then, here’s a quick recap of what we deem to be newsworthy stories from the quieter months.

Current Commits

Before focusing on what the Buffs are pursuing, let’s take a second and look back on what they have. All of CU’s commits are right in line with last year’s fantastic class, and may even be better as a baseline. That was verified over the past few months or so as all commits have added big-time offers. Sans Blake Stenstrom and Ray Robinson, who have both shut down their recruitment so hard that other schools have stopped calling, all other commits received Power 5 offers recently. CU often finds these guys first, and now their track record demands that other schools look into them. Walker Culver, an OT with one other offer when he committed to CU, has added offers from virtually every regional Power 5 program (he lives in Tennessee), but continues to be solid to the Buffs. RB Max Borghi (from Colorado) added Pac-12 offers from Utah, Cal, and Wazzu, as well as a regional offer from Kansas State. He still is locked in with CU, and should continue to be if the status quo remains. Joshka Gustav, the huge German athlete from California, had an offer from Oregon State and has the regional big programs sniffing around. Finally, Josh Jynes, the center from DeSoto High School in Dallas, added a big offer from West Virginia. He was the last recruit without a Power 5 offer, and WVU, which recruits Texas hard, is a good offer to get. He is still sticking with CU, so only good news for us, but something to keep an eye on, as an offer from a Big 12 program to Texas kid can be trouble.

Despite shutting down his recruitment, Blake Stenstrom still made waves by becoming one of 25 quarterbacks invited to the Elite 11 camp. A rare feat for CU QB commits, Strenstrom showed well, but not well enough to advance to the finals. By all accounts, he showcased himself well, with the poise and polish expected from the son of an NFL QB. The depth chart at quarterback is beautiful. Almost the exact opposite of what Buff fans are used to this decade.

These current commits keep blowing up, which only helps CU’s profile.

Potential Commits

It doesn’t matter who else CU gets, this will be the best recruit for the Buffs since Nate Bonsu. Brock Sturges, from the very best high school in the country, ALLEN HIGH SCHOOL, is making his summer tour and included the Buffs in his stops. Sturges is a thick running back who makes all the shifty cuts you like to see. If Buff fans are so inclined, when you watch his quick feet and phone-booth cuts, you can imagine Speedy Stewart incarnate. And he’s not destroying scrubs, either. Allen, as the best high school ever, only plays other best Texas high schools, so his production is solid. Sturges wants to make a decision before the school year, and if there’s one thing to bet on with CU recruiting, it’s Darian Hagan getting his running back.

Another Texas athlete that is interested in the Buffs is Maureece Wren. Anytime you read the headline “Dallas Area Three-Star Maureese Wren Lands ‘Dream Offer’”, and it’s referring to the Buffs, you have to feel good about their chances (full article, if interested $). Wren is a large human being, standing at about 6’4 and 220 pounds, and could fit in at either WR or “Buffbacker”. He has great overall athleticism and elite size for either position. I would prefer him on defense, where CU can finally get the freak athlete bending the edge. Either way, this would be a great get for the Buffs.

Finally, CU is going to get summer visits from plenty of big-time athletes, and have already hosted some ballers. If you can get someone to Boulder, you always have a shot at them, and it seems that this year, more focus is being put on bringing kids into town. Daniel Arias is one of those kids.

It seems like a big-bodied wide receiver is a priority this class, and Arias is certainly big. At 6’4 and just over 200, he is able to outmuscle smaller CBs. His tape shows that he is freaky fast, too. Sometimes you just have to shake your head. How are these other high-schoolers supposed to stop that?

Despite only having limited slots in next year’s recruiting class, Coach Chev continues to be on a tear on the recruiting trail. He just can’t be stopped. Eventually our entire team will just be 4 star wide receivers.

Things to Look For

In the coming months, CU will play host a few times for unofficial visits, and then hit the camp circuit hard. Check for offers coming out of camps, as those are almost always committable. As the Buffs rise through the ranks of college football, they will have to be more and more selective with offers, so a camp offer direct from Coach Mac could mean quite a bit. CU will definitely have a big OL class this year, and they are looking for a lot of LBs, so those positions in particular are worth keeping an eye on.

As always, check in with good ol’ Ralphie Report for commitment news and analysis, as well as speculative info in the coming months.