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National Signing Day 2016: Colorado State Football tracker

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BSN Denver
February 3, 2016
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The day many have been anticipating for months has finally arrived: National Signing Day 2016.

That’s right, Ram Fam 16 is coming together as you read these words, and it’s a big-time class for a program who wants to make the leap into the wild world of massive college football programs.

Colorado State Football is impressing with the players they’ve been able to land as commitments, and today, as signings. Head Coach Mike Bobo, who was signed in Dec. of 2014 to be the Rams head coach, is experiencing his first, true National Signing Day with the team as he had an entire year to recruit with his staff.

That work is paying off in the number of athletic young men he’s bringing to Fort Collins today.

According to Ryan Krous — the master of knowing all things Colorado State recruiting — CSU has signed 25 players, which is the total number everyone was expecting. It was originally lower, at 15-17 players, but due to attrition — players leaving to the NFL or for other reasons — the Rams had room for 25.

As Bobo has said since he arrived in Fort Collins, he’s “never satisfied” and he’s made it clear through social media he doesn’t intend to settle when it comes to talent. That’s all playing out today, as this is the most memorable recruiting class in terms of talent in the five years I’ve covered the team.

Let’s take a quick look at the signees:

First and foremost, the four student-athletes who signed in December and started school in January: QB Colin Hill, QB Faton Bauta, DB Houston Haynes and DB A’Keitheon Whitner.

As for new signees, the first fax came at 5:59 a.m. from defensive end Arjay Jean.

OLB Arjay Jean

Jean is just the type of player Colorado State needs: He’s big, strong, has a high motor as he never gives up on plays and his long arms allows him to take down opponents when they thought they’d get away.

Linebacker Trey Sutton

Sutton is a two-star linebacker who will add depth inside for CSU.

Linebacker Hunter Donnelly

Donnelly has a nose for the football, has great vision to see the ball-carrier through traffic and then brings hard hits once he gets there. Watch for yourself:  

Wide receiver Michael Gallup

Gallup, who comes to Colorado State via Butler County Community College in Kansas, has deceptive speed due to his long legs on the 6-1 frame. He’s a 3-star wideout per Rivals.

Tight end Dalton Fackrell 

This three-star tight end comes to Colorado State from Snow College in Utah. He’s big, strong, yet possesses the soft hands needed to reel in passes. He has great body control for a tight end his size, running crisp routes and getting his feet in bounds on a corner fade touchdown.

Defensive lineman Toby McBride

McBride played both fullback and defensive line in high school at Fort Morgan, and it looks like he’ll play just on the d-line for CSU. Bobo has to like his 6-2 and 246-pound frame before training at the D1 level.

Offensive lineman Jeff Taylor

(H/T to Ryan Krous for finding this tweet)

Taylor is another giant body Bobo has found to add strength in the trenches. Offensive line was a position in flux last year, and Taylor will likely come in and compete for a starting position right away.

ATH Detrich Clark

Speed kills. It’s a simple fact in football that if your players are faster than the opponent’s, you have a better chance at winning. Getting to the edge and running around players, or breaking the long run for a touchdown instead of being tackled by a safety; these are the plays in which speed factors in.

Watch how Clark’s speed allows him to hit the hole and open up a 10-yard gap between him and a defender as he pulls away for a monster touchdown. Or, see how he’s able to gain the edge and then make defenders miss in the open field. This kid is a special talent, indeed.

ATH Isaiah Pannuzio

Simply, Pannuzio is a football player. He’s raw, nasty, and it’s up in the air where he’ll play because he was solid both as a possession tight end as well as a defensive end.

ATH Robert Awunganyi

As his highlight tape says, Awunganyi is a playmaker. As a defensive back, he plays fearlessly, hitting opposing players to disallow them to catch the football. He also attacks the ball at its peak, allowing him to knock down 11 passes and pick off three in his senior season. He is a bit reminiscent of Trent Matthews.

Running back Rashaad Boddie

Boddie is a big body for a running back. At 230 pounds, this kid is like a freight train running through the hole. Want visual evidence? Here you go!

Running back Darius May

While Boddie is a bruiser, May is a scat back who uses speed and quickness to take off away from defenders. May is impressive because he mostly goes north-south; hitting the hole with all his speed allows him to take off for big gains.

Running back Marvin Kinsey

According to his HUDL page, Kinsey runs a 4.44 40-yard dash; that fast! It’s speed the Rams have sorely been missing since Kapri Bibbs left for the NFL Draft in 2013. Kinsey has sensational quickness to be able to cut the ball back against the grain. Then, once he’s going north-south; look out! He can fly. He’s not just fast, either, Kinsey runs through four defenders on one carry to bust through and go to the house.

Wide receiver Anthony Hawkins

Hawkins played both running back and receiver in high school, but it seems he’ll stick to wide out for CSU. In fact, his size makes him a solid candidate for slot receiver. Possesses solid hands which allow him to catch the ball from difficult angles.

Tight end Darneail Jenkins

Jenkins is a JUCO transfer like Fackrell and is another giant body for a tight end. He’ll be difficult to take down for defensive backs and even linebackers. Solid hands and ball skills. Positions himself well between the ball and defenders, like a basketball player.

DE/LB Anthony Smith 

Smith was the No. 1 high school player coming out of Nevada. He’s an NFL-sized defensive end and he’s only 18. He enjoyed 16 sacks as a junior and his highlight tape shows him as an explosive pass-rusher.

Offensive lineman Nicho Garcia 

Like Taylor, Garcia’s massive size helps Colorado State immediately bulk up and have the necessary big bodies down in the trenches. Those big boys will only help open up holes for the Rams running game.

Kicker Travis Guerra

DB Jamal Hicks

On the first play of his highlight tape, it shows Hicks is a wrecking ball. Whoa, what an explosion. And yet, he also has solid ball skills to pick off passes.

ATH Chris Gaston

https://twitter.com/CoachFairCSU/status/694929657183936514

Finally, Gaston is a three-star defensive back who has impressive ball skills, knows how to pick it off and return it to the house. Colorado State made an emphasis of improving their defensive backfield, which should hype Ram fans up as it was a weakness in recent years.

CB Devron Davis

Davis is a 6-0, 210 pound cornerback who has wheels. According to his Hudl page he runs a 4.4o 40-yard dash.

On the first play in his highlight tape, Davis shows high football IQ to leave his receiver and jump the underneath route, which turns into a pick-6. On the third play, he out-plays the receiver, intercepts the ball and stays in bounds. He shows consistently great ball skills.

Davis was the last commit of the day, and he’s a true stud of a cornerback. In 2015 with Merced College in California, he broke up seven passes, intercepted four throws and forced as well as recovered two fumbles.

Plus, this kid has character. Check out the video he sent our @CSURamsNews Twitter account:

NT Christian Colon

Colon is a former Penn State commit and a beastly body, standing at 6-3 and 300 pounds. In his junior year highlight tape, Colon possesses a good get-off and has some real nastiness when he gets to the ball.

So, here’s how the class breaks down:

QB: 2

RB: 3

OL: 2

TE: 2

WR: 2

DL: 2

LB: 3

ATH: 4

DB: 6

K: 1

Players come from: 

California: 7

Georgia: 4

Colorado: 2

Florida: 2

Texas: 2

Louisiana: 1

Utah: 1

Kansas: 1

Nevada: 1

Washington: 1

Check back later in the day as we’ll have a piece following up Mike Bobo’s press conference which took place from 2:10-3 p.m. MT Wednesday.

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