Mike Bobo brings in JUCO linebacker Caleb Smith

In the world of college football, there's never time to stop building a team from a personnel perspective.

On Wednesday, Colorado State football head coach Mike Bobo found a young man who could be a starter for his defense in the fall.

Caleb Smith, out of Santa Monica College, signed with CSU yesterday, making him the 14th of Bobo's first recruiting class with the school. Smith is the third junior college/community college transfer, with Deshon Mayes and Darnell Thompson moving up from community colleges and Mitch Parsons moving over from Vanderbilt.

In his one season with Santa Monica, Smith played in 11 games as a freshman, compiling 44 tackles with 10.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. What stands out about him is his superb size. At 6'4” and 245 pounds, Smith is the tallest and heaviest linebacker on Colorado State's roster currently.

Seniors Max Morgan and Aaron Davis – who each started all 13 games last year – left the program following the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl loss, meaning there are voids to be filled. Smith may step into one of those spots.

All told, there are 17 linebackers on the team, with senior Cory James almost certainly taking one of the three starting positions as the defense transitions to a 4-3. That leaves two openings for the many young men to compete over during the rest of spring ball and into fall camp.

That is, if he plays linebacker. Bobo announced Smith as a defensive end on Twitter, so that may be the plan moving forward with the sophomore. Time will tell where he fits best for CSU.