FORT COLLINS, CO. — Colorado State Football continues to recruit heavily in the states of Colorado and Texas. Of the Rams’ nine verbal commitments for the 2022 cycle thus far, seven are from either the ‘Centennial State’ or ‘Lonestar State’. 

Over the last couple of days the Rams have picked up new verbals from each of the aforementioned states. Here’s everything you need to know.

Local polymath commits to CSU

The most recent commit from Colorado is Bryce Johnson of Lutheran High School (Parker). A four-sport athlete, with a 4.42 GPA, Johnson does not currently have a profile on 247Sports, however, his Twitter account shows an offer from the Colorado School of Mines and heavy interest from Yale. Other schools that Johnson has posted about receiving an offer from include Albion College, Wheaton College and Valparaiso. On Saturday morning, though, Johnson made his pledge to the Green & Gold public. 

A wide receiver and safety for the Lutheran Lions, Johnson finished the 2020-21 campaign with eight catches for 134 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns in six games. On the other side of the football, Johnson averaged 9.5 tackles per game which was good enough for third-best on the squad. 57 total tackles (36 solo) was also the third-most on the Lions defense. Johnson did not record any interceptions in 2020-21, but he did lead his team with four pass deflections. He forced a pair of fumbles in the COVID-19-shortened season to boot. 

In addition to football, Johnson runs track, plays lacrosse and also wrestles for Lutheran High School. Despite being committed to athletics in a major way, Johnson somehow finds time to be the president of the National Honor Society as well.

Watching Johnson on film he appears to have the size and skills to succeed on offense or defense at the collegiate level. As a safety he plays with intense physicality and consistently demonstrates good form while making tackles in the open field. But his size and length makes him a great downfield target on offense — an area where new offensive coordinator Jon Budmayr is looking to be more consistent. 

It will be interesting to see where he ultimately finds a role at the Division 1 level but two things are abundantly clear: 1. Johnson is a dynamic athlete with great potential on the gridiron, 2. he has a superior work ethic for someone his age and is incredibly driven in the classroom. While there are no guarantees in the recruiting process, I’d take a chance on that type of young man any day of the week, especially when he’s a local product. 

Steve Addazio has been very open about his commitment to keeping Colorado kids local. He preached about it being paramount to establishing a successful program during his first couple of interviews back in 2019. And he’s reaffirmed that promise with a heavy regional recruiting presence ever since. He’s not just offering the players with Power 5 interest either — instead Addazio is trying to identify the undervalued prospects that he can bring in and develop. 

It might not be as flashy, but it’s a recruiting philosophy that worked for Sonny Lubick for over a decade, and it’s the same way Wyoming has been able to build a winner under Craig Bohl. Ram fans are hoping for similar results in the coming years of the Addazio era.

Texas safety joins the mix

While Ram Nation will always be stoked to see homegrown prospects pledging their futures to the Green & Gold, it’s no secret that in order to win on a regular basis, you’re going to have to be able to regularly recruit talent rich areas like Texas as well. 

Earlier this week Malachi Mclean became the fourth recruit out of Texas to commit to CSU for the 2022 cycle. Listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, Mclean does not have a star rating on 247Sports, but does have additional offers from Houston and Utah State. 

Mclean was a consistent presence for Manvel High School in 2020-21, as he finished the season with 51 solo tackles (78 total), two interceptions and four pass deflections in 10 games played. As a result of his stellar performance Mclean earned first-team all-district honors as a safety and was also named second-team all-state. While he is more accomplished on defense than offense, he pitched in as a wide receiver with 34 receptions for 353 yards and three touchdowns.

Although the film available is limited, watching some of Mclean’s highlights, what stands out is how he flies around in the open field and demonstrates a strong ability to read the play and act accordingly. 

With so many defensive backs transferring out this offseason, it’s definitely encouraging to see the staff planning to build the depth back up with this next recruiting class. You can never have enough good defensive backs in the modern era and the Rams appear to have gotten a pair of solid prospects for the position group this week. 

2022 Commits

LB Cooper Walton (Colorado)

WR Ky Oday Jr. (Colorado)

WR Bryce Johnson (Colorado)

QB Jake McNamara (Tennessee)

LB Joseph Sipp Jr. (Florida)

RB Malachi Medlock Jr. (Texas)

DL Aaron Jones (Texas)

DL Travis Bates (Texas)

S Malachi Mclean (Texas)