Surprise! Kanan Ray signs with the Colorado Buffaloes!

Klayton Adams is very persistent. If you didn’t know that before, you know that now. Kanan Ray, the rare player named after TWO types of weapons, was a UCLA signee in 2017. He grayshirted with the Bruins, meaning that he didn’t enroll this fall and was planning enroll for the Spring 2018 semester. Then, Chip Kelly told him that he was no longer needed. Whoops. Adams, who recruited him a year ago, scooped him up, put him on a plane to Boulder, and now here we are. Kanan Ray is a Buffalo!

Ray is quite the get. Because he delayed his enrollment, he still has four years of eligibility left on the field. As a player coming out of high school, Ray had quite the offer list. Almost every Pac-12 team offered him, and he had plenty of big offers from outside Pac-12 country, like Tennessee and Texas A&M. He performed in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the most prestigious of the high school all-star games, and played well. Ray then had surgery, forcing him to delay his enrollment. The Buffs got lucky.

It’s easy to see why he was so highly recruited out of Sierra Canyon High School. He shows everything you want to see out of a prep OL. He’s big, he’s athletic, and he’s nasty. Ray can play guard or tackle, though I’d love to see him inside. He has plenty of room to get up to 300, but with what he’s doing at 280, that’s not a necessity for him to play early. An unproven depth chart at guard means he can some time right away.

And, for those keeping score at home, this brings Klayton Adams’ 2017 class to: Jake Moretti, national recruit, Grant Polley, national recruit, Will Sherman, national recruit, Kanan Ray, national recruit, and Heston Paige, the second best lineman in the state of Colorado. Not bad.