2023 recruiting update: Colorado State adds experience in the trenches

The most crucial weeks of the recruiting season are here and things are really starting to come together for the Colorado State Rams. 

CSU has more than 20 established verbal commitments from high school players around the country. And now that the transfer portal window is officially open to FBS players, the Rams are seemingly in on more and more experienced guys by the day. 

Here’s everything you need to know about as of Wednesday morning on Dec. 14.  

Rams bringing in pair of linemen with a combined 52 starts

On Tuesday night CSU snagged a verbal commitment from Trevor Radosevich. A multi-year starter at Penn and a 2022 first-team All-Ivy League selection, the 6-foot-4, 290-pound center brings both the size and experience that the Rams were seeking this winter. 

https://twitter.com/trevorradosevic/status/1602856848222199808

With Radosevich anchoring Penn’s offensive line, the Quakers averaged 26.6 points and 251.5 passing yards per game, both of which were near the top of the Ivy League this fall. 

After announcing his decision to enter the transfer portal and finish up his collegiate career elsewhere, Radosevich has since posted about receiving offers from Illinois State, Middle Tennessee, Missouri State, UMASS and Toledo. It seems that a trip to Philly from head coach Jay Norvell sold the two-time starter that his best route was to come to Fort Collins though — a big win for a program that desperately needed to improve the depth in the trenches this cycle. 

In addition to Radosevich, CSU is also bringing in Drew Moss, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive lineman from Lamar University. Over the last two seasons he started 22 games at right tackle for the Cardinals. So he too will be coming in with quite a bit of experience under his belt. 

It would be surprising if these were the only two linemen that end up transferring into the program in 2023, so we’ll see what happens with some of the other players that the staff is currently pursuing.

A couple of people to keep an eye on are Grant Starck and Aaron Frost, both of whom were recruited to Nevada under Norvell, and were ultimately developed into all-conference caliber tackles.

Both will definitely get a lot of interest from power five schools, so it’s not a guarantee that they would want to reunite with their former coaches and teammates. That said, as we saw with Norvell’s first recruiting class, established relationships are huge when it comes to landing quality transfers from the portal. 

Richie Anderson flips commitment 

While it was mostly a celebratory night for the Ram faithful on Tuesday, CSU did lose a longtime commit to a Mountain West foe. 

Richie Anderson, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound defensive lineman from Tualatin, OR, announced that he is de-committing from CSU and will instead sign with Fresno State. 

Considering the fact that CSU was the first major program to show interest in him, and that he had been committed for roughly six months, it’s unfortunate that one of the top prospects from the state of Oregon will suit up for the Bulldogs now and not the Rams. 

According to an inside source though, the decision was not a surprise to the CSU staff. They told him to sign with Fresno State after Anderson’s loyalty started to waver and his commitment became less firm. 

It will be interesting to see what type of impact he ultimately makes for Fresno State down the line. And it will be even more interesting to see how he fares in future games against CSU. But with most of CSU’s 2023 verbals seemingly locked in, there really is no reason for Ram Nation to freak out. 

Flipping commitments is just part of the game. It’s the drama that keeps college football fans hooked on the process 52 weeks a year. 

High school commits 

(QB) Jackson Brousseau | Lehi, UT | Lehi HS 

(ATH) Damian Henderson | Los Alamitos, CA | Los Alamitos HS

(RB) Justin Marshall | Merrillville, IN | Merrillville HS

(WR) Stephon Daily | Tolleson, AZ | Sierra Linda HS

(WR) Lavon Brown | Las Vegas, NV | Sierra Canyon HS

(WR) Jamari Person | Brownsville, TN | Haywood HS 

(WR) Caleb Goodie | Port Arthur, TX | Memorial HS 

(WR) Israel Polk | Pittsburgh, CA | St John Bosco HS

(WR) Silas Evans | Denver, CO | George Washington HS

(TE) Mason Muaau | Honolulu, HI | St. Louis HS 

(OT) Christian Martin | Dehestran, LA | Dehestran HS

(OT) Aitor Urionabarrenechea | Mission Hills, CA | Bishop Alemany HS

(OT) Tanner Morley | Littleton, CO | Valor Christian HS 

(OT) Chris Maxey | Bryan, TX | Bryan HS

(DL) Andrew Laurich | Yorkville, IL | Yorkville HS 

(DL) Davion Smith-Combs | Denver, CO | Cherry Creek HS 

(Edge) Kennedy McDowell | Frisco, TX | Memorial HS

(Edge) Whitfield Powell | Austin, TX | Regents School 

(ATH) Kenyon Agurs | Inglewood, CA | Inglewood HS 

(LB) Drew Rodriguez | Salem, OR | Sprague HS 

(LB) Buom Jock | Alexandria, VA | Episcopal HS

(LB) Niko Lopez | Rancho Santa Margarita, CA | Santa Margarita Catholic

(DB) TJ Crandall | Sammamish, WA | Sammamish HS

(S) Dante Scott | Chula Vista, CA | Bonita Vista HS

(S) Jett Simpson | Canton, KS | Canton-Galva HS 

(S) Jaylen Gardner | San Antonio, TX | Tmi-the Episcopal School Of Texas

Transfer commits 

(OL) Drew Moss | Richardson, TX | Lamar University

(OL) Trevor Radosevich) | Englishtown, N.J. | Penn

(DB) Dominic Morris | Spring, TX | Furman University

(WR) Vince Brown | Matteson, Il | College of Dupage

Flipped commits 

(LB) Richie Anderson | Tualatin, OR | (Fresno State)