FORT COLLINS, CO. — Colorado State Football continues to have a strong local presence on the recruiting trail. 

As of Monday, July 5, the Rams have 11 verbal commitments for the 2022 cycle, including pledges from five different states. Of those five states, Colorado and Texas have been the most frequent recruiting destinations for the Green & Gold with seven combined verbals between the two areas; eight if you also include Aaron Jones, who played in Texas in 2020, but will be playing in Massachusetts this fall.  

Jade Arroyo is the most recent local player to commit to CSU, doing so over offers from Eastern Michigan and Western New Mexico according to 247Sports. The local product visited CSU in the middle of June and posted a picture with tight ends coach Cody Booth after the fact. He ultimately announced his commitment a few weeks later via Twitter on July 3 though.

Here’s what you need to know about the 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end. 

Stats

In three seasons at Highlands Ranch High School, Arroyo has 64 receptions in 29 career games.

He started with a modest freshman campaign, totaling 16 receptions for 161 yards in 2018. However, over the last two years he’s really become a consistent and reliable downfield target for the Falcons offense with nine touchdown receptions and an average of 14.5 yards per catch. 

Scouting

Based on his Hudl film, Arroyo moves well in the open field, which is unsurprising considering he also has a hoops background. In a Covid-19-shortened season, Arroyo averaged 3 points, 6 rebounds in 11 basketball games. 

While he may not necessarily be statistically dominant on the hardwood, Arroyo definitely is a tough cover for high school linebackers on the gridiron.

Arroyo has strong hands and uses his size and frame to his advantage while shielding off defenders. He’s also a strong route runner, both when it comes to selling defenders and also improvising when necessary.

The Highlands Ranch staff did a nice job of moving Arroyo around. Sometimes they would line him up in the backfield or off-tackle like an old school tight end, but they’d often take advantage of his athleticism by lining him out wide. No matter where he was schemed on the field, though, Arroyo seemed to be a playmaker for his squad.

As a run blocker Arroyo is still fairly raw, at least based on the small sample size of film available. However, what’s encouraging is that he demonstrates a willingness to carry out his assignment through the whistle. As he gets more experience and coaching, the finesse will come with time. Having the right mindset is a good sign though.  

Final Thoughts

It’s obviously way too early to project any type of expectations on him at this point. But I will say there are some shades of Trey McBride with the way Arroyo can make plays for his team in so many different facets of the passing offense.

Considering his versatility, it’s definitely surprising Arroyo doesn’t have more interest from bigger programs. That said, it could be a good things for the Rams in the end. 

CSU has had tremendous success with local tight ends over the years. Keli McGregor (Lakewood), Joel Dreesen (Fort Morgan), Kory Sperry (Pueblo County) and Trey McBride (Fort Morgan) to name a few. Maybe Arroyo is next in line to shine. 

2022 Commits

LB Cooper Walton (Colorado)

WR Ky Oday Jr. (Colorado)

WR Bryce Johnson (Colorado)

TE Jade Arroyo (Colorado)

OL Nick Ciaffoni (Massachusetts)

DL Aaron Jones (Massachusetts)

QB Jake McNamara (Tennessee)

LB Joseph Sipp Jr. (Florida)

RB Malachi Medlock Jr. (Texas)

DL Travis Bates (Texas)

S Malachi Mclean (Texas)