Colorado State picks up a verbal from 2022 QB Jake McNamara

FORT COLLINS, CO. — It’s all about the quarterback. 

We all know the deal. In the modern game, if you don’t have a strong option to run your offense and lead the team, it’s just about impossible to consistently win. Sure, quality defense and a foundational rushing attack are important as well, but with the way the rules favor the offense — particularly passing offense — you simply must be able to stretch the field vertically. 

As things currently stand, the Rams have quite a few young options to develop under center in the coming years. Steve Addazio and Co. signed three different gunslingers for the 2021 cycle, Luke McAllister (Colorado), Evan Olaes (Nevada) and Chance Harris (New Mexico); all of which are promising in their own regard. The staff has also added transfers from Temple (Todd Centeio), Boston College (Matt Valecce) and Eastern Illinois (Jonah O’Brien) to help round out the depth after losing Patrick O’Brien to Washington and Collin Hill to South Carolina since Addazio’s arrival in December, 2019. 

Even with a plethora of options to compete for QB1 over the next two seasons, it’s never too early to start building for the future. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any football program and nothing is more important than finding the right quarterback to help transform your squad. So, with that in mind, it makes a lot of sense that the staff has put an early emphasis on finding a QB for the 2022 cycle.

On Thursday morning, Jake McNamara, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound quarterback out of Franklin, TN., announced his commitment to Colorado State. According to 247Sports, the Fred J Page High School product currently holds offers from Utah State and Eastern Kentucky. McNamara’s Twitter page also shows an offer from Gardner Webb University. 

Listed under 6-foot-0, McNamara lacks the height of a traditional starting quarterback at the D1 level, but he is coming off of a monster 2020 season in which he was named the 5A Region Offensive Player of the Year. In total, McNamara threw for 2,197 yards and 19 touchdowns in nine games last season. He also added three more scores with his legs, demonstrating some versatility as an athlete. 

Jake’s brothers, Cade and Kyle, are both currently Division 1 football players. The former is a quarterback at the University of Michigan while the latter is a wide receiver for Western Kentucky. While it’s not necessarily an accurate predictor of success, it’s definitely encouraging to see that he comes from strong bloodlines and likely grew up in a household that bred competition. 

What’s more, according to an interview with Ryan Wright, McNamara has been training with QB coach Jordan Palmer, who is widely regarded as one of the best in the business. Some of the players that have worked with Palmer include Deshaun Watson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Sam Darnold, among others. McNamara also attended the prestigious Elite 11 camp back in May, so it’s clear he is highly regarded by those in the know. 

As reported by Wright, McNamara was at least expected to attend camps at Utah State, Western Kentucky and Vanderbilt this summer. It will be worth monitoring the situation in the coming months, particularly if McNamara puts up another monster season this fall and blows up.  After going multiple cycles without adding a high school QB under Mike Bobo, though, it’s a good sign to see Addazio building the room from the ground up again. 

In addition to McNamara, CSU also added a verbal from local speeder Ky Oday Jr. this week. So far the Rams have three publicly known commits for the 2022 cycle.

2022 commits

RB Malachi Medlock (Duncanville, TX.)

WR Ky Oday Jr. (Englewood, CO.)

QB Jake McNamara (Nashville, TN.)