Here's why Steve Addazio should focus on dominating the local recruiting scene

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Steve Addazio has been pretty open about his lack of familiarity with the state of Colorado. At his introductory press conference last week, Addazio mentioned that this was the first time he had ever been in FoCo. And at his most recent media event on Wednesday, Addazio was honest when asked about his previous opinions of high school football in the Centennial State.

“I really didn’t have a perception of Colorado high school football,” Addazio said. “I had not done a lot of work here.”

Addazio explained that he had previously worked in California, Texas and many other areas but Colorado is a state that he is still getting to know. It’s not as if he has zero ties — after getting a chance to hit the road, Addazio said he knew some of the people in the region from his work running national football camps.

“I realized some of these coaches I’ve met before,” Addazio said.  “In my career I’ve done a lot of clinicing. In fact, I came into Denver nationally so I know a lot of these coaches… going on the road was really a lot of fun.”

While Addazio may not be the best guy to ask for directions around town, it is clear that he recognizes the importance of landing local talent. After receiving the job last week, the first thing Addazio did was visit a couple of local stars.

As a result, Addazio was able to reaffirm Henry Blackburn’s commitment and flip Tanner Hollens from Northern Colorado to CSU. Blackburn was a two-way star for Fairview High School but will come in as a safety. Hollens was the lead back for a Columbine squad that reached the state title game this season and was also named Gatorade Player of the Year.

In total, CSU signed four local players. Along with Blackburn and Hollens, CSU was also able to land Brian Crespo (Poudre) and Chase Wilson (Ralston Valley). Crespo is an offensive tackle with a ton of upside and Wilson is an athletic linebacker that also played running back for the Mustangs.

At Addazio’s press conference on Wednesday, he explained that being able to land the players from their own backyard will be key to CSU’s success on multiple levels. Obviously, as a smaller state school, CSU needs the local players to help fill out the roster.

Recruiting at CSU is not like recruiting at Florida — there aren’t going to be four and five-stars knocking down the door. So being able to find “diamonds in the rough” and developing the talent is paramount. With this in mind, Addazio said that he and his staff will start their recruiting focus locally and then expand outwards from there.

On a deeper level, though, the local players are often who come in with the most passion for CSU. Addazio wants guys that are genuinely thrilled to don the green and gold every week. And when you grow up dreaming of representing CSU, the pride of stepping out on that field and going to war is genuine.

“I’m excited about the young men from Colorado,” Addazio said. “You know what I like? They had a real passion to want to be here. That’s half of it to me.”

Addazio said that when you fill out the roster with enough young men that really buy into the culture and take pride in being a Ram, it can be huge for the foundation of the roster.

“My experience is that there’s a real glue there and a chemistry that you can start with the foundation,” Addazio said. “I think that’s really important.”

Obviously, the coaches will focus on much more than the state of Colorado. This was made evident when they flipped tight end Dylan Walker (Pennsylvania) from Bowling Green and running Kyjuan Herndon (Florida) from Maryland. And CSU will need to continue to be able to sign talent from all around the country if the Rams are going to be able to contend.

It would really benefit Addazio to keep true to his pledge and make a genuine effort to thrive in the local recruiting game, though. He doesn’t need to go out and fill the entire roster with local players but having a strong presence and consistently pounding the pavement will buy Addazio good faith with both the fans and local high school coaches.

Why is this important?

While guys like Mike Bobo and Mel Tucker have strong sway in SEC country and are definitely great at landing players from that part of the country, it’s pretty clear they were not as worried about dominating Colorado.

Looking at the recruiting rankings, eight of the top 10 local players for the 2020 cycle on 247Sports, are taking their talents out of state. CU was able to sign Carson Lee, who is the seventh-ranked player in Colorado. And Air Force landed Adam Karas, who is tabbed the No. 10 prospect in the state.

Being fair, some of the best players are always going to leave. When someone gets the opportunity to play for one of the truly elite programs, it’s going to be tough for any of the schools in the region to compete. For instance, Mullen’s Aidan Keanaaina signed with LSU.

But even if you expand and look at the top 20 recruits from Colorado, three signed with the Rams, two signed with the Buffs, Wyoming snagged two and Air Force signed one. That means that as of right now, 60 percent of the best local talent will be leaving — 70 percent if you factor in the two players that the Pokes signed but as far as I’m concerned, they’re a local school.

Now, I’m not much of a recruiting guru. But it seems to me that if more than half of the state’s best players are not being signed by the local schools, something is not right — especially not when the top 3 prospects end up at Virginia, Washington and Northwestern.

Moving forward, Addazio should do everything in his power to get out locally and make sure that Colorado recruits know that they have a home in CSU. If CU isn’t going to make a big effort to win over those prospects, Addazio should be there with open arms.

Addazio got off to a great start by signing four local prospects in the early signing period — all of which were ranked in the top 30 by 247Sports. But if the Rams can land some of the higher-ranked local prospects in future classes, it’s only going to help CSU that much more.