Official visits end on Sunday, January 31st, with a Dead Period of no visits on campus or at recruits homes on February 1st and 2nd.
Buffs are expected to sign around 15 players, which could adjust upward based on several factors:
1. Grayshirts who will count against the 2016 limit of 25 initial scholarships but won't actually enroll at CU until January 2017... thereby not counting against the 85 scholarship limit for the 2016 season. For especially positions like OL where there is about zero chance a guy would play as a true frosh anyway, this is an option we'll see used this year. Main targets to watch here are Hunter Vaughn, a CO prospect at OT who has already confirmed he will be a GS, Colby Pursell, a CA prospect at OG who has said that he is considering a grayshirt, and Terriek Roberts, a CO prospect at both OT and DE who had a knee injury in 2015 and may need time to recover and develop though nothing has been publicly said about a grayshirt. All 3 are already committed to CU.
2. Missions where the signee spends 1 or 2 years on a church mission before enrolling could also be utilized as it was with DE Sam Bennion, who enrolled this January. Since they can end up enrolling within 2 years of when they signed a LOI, their initial scholarship can count back to the class they were recruited in and not affect the initial 25 count the year they enroll. It is something that could and should be taken advantage of in a recruiting year like 2016 with so few scholarship openings within the 85 and an initial class that can't get close to the 25 limit. Main target to watch here is Fua Pututau, a DE/OLB from Utah who visited CU unofficially over the summer and is scheduled to make an official visit the final weekend of 1/29.
3. JUCO stashes. Something that we haven't seen much from CU since the pre-Hawkins days and programs like KSU and Miss State have lived off. In these cases, CU recruits the heck out of a guy who is known to be a non-qualifier but has the type of talent that would have gotten him a ton of offers. Main target to watch here is Coye Fairman, a WR who unofficially visited over the summer and was an official visitor to CU the weekend of 1/15. Another possibility is Pookie Maka, an OLB from Utah who is teammates with Pututau, visited unofficially at the same time, and is also coming to CU on an OV the final 1/29 weekend. Maka may end up at JUCO or he may be a late qualifier from a strong spring classroom performance as he seems to have gotten the test scores he needed if he can get the qualifying coursework completed at a high enough GPA.
In addition to the above, there are a lot of potential signees whose decisions should become clear in the next week.
1. Tayler Hawkins - CA 3* ATH who OV'd on 12/11 and has yet to decide. Projects as a S. Visited Wazzu last weekend and is visiting SDSU this weekend. Neinas had been his original recruiter and Clark has taken that over.
2. JoJo Domann - CO 3* OLB who has been a verbal to Nebraska since June but OV'd to CU on 12/11. Domann has been deciding whether to flip and stay home as a Buff.
3. Jarrius Wallace - LA 2* DB who OV'd to CU on 1/15 and is visiting Arizona this weekend. Decision could come as soon as today (Sunday, 1/24).
4. Ronnie "Moss" Turner - CA unrated WR who OV'd to CU on 1/15 and seems to favor the Buffs. But he's on an OV to Cincinnati this weekend and has an OV to Miss State on 1/29. This one could go to the end.
5. Dejon Harris - LA 3* ILB who has been committed to Arkansas since May. OV'd to CU on 1/15, is at Arkansas this weekend, and may be visiting Alabama on 1/29. Decision could go until signing day.
6. Ethan Davidson - TX unrated ATH who showed a ton of speed and ability at a Texas Tech summer camp but only has Ivy League offers at this point. OV'd to CU on 1/15 and will visit TTU on 1/29. Could be a DB or Slot WR in college. Unclear whether he's a scholarship or invited walk-on candidate.
7. Lorenzo Burns - CA 3* ATH who OV'd to Arizona on 12/11 and recently OV'd to CU on 1/15. Also considering Cal in his final 3 and plans to announce on signing day.
8. Jordyn Brooks - TX 3* LB who OV'd to CU on 1/15 but has been a verbal commitment to TTU since June. He will OV to TTU on 1/29 and a final announcement should happen on or just before signing day.
9. Juwann Winfree - KS 4* juco WR is taking an OV to CU on 1/22 after giving a verbal to Pitt, which he had visited on 12/11. Winfree signed with Maryland out of high school and Pitt had been in the running for his signature at that time. Buffs hoping to flip.
10. Keanu Saleapaga - CA 3* DE is taking an OV to CU on 1/22. Former verbal to USC who opened his recruiting up. Plays for Moschetti at La Mirada. Keanu is expected to take a final OV to BYU on 1/29 and then decide.
11. Drew Lewis - KS unrated juco LB is taking an OV to CU on 1/22. Former signee with Washington who visited Utah State 1/15 and is scheduled to visit Memphis on 1/29. Seems to be a strong lean toward returning to the Pac-12, so Buffs are hoping for a commitment and cancellation of the Memphis trip.
12. Eric Mitchell - FL 3* DE/OLB decommitted from Florida and has visited Louisville on 1/15, is visiting UCF this weekend (1/22) and is scheduled to visit Toledo on 1/29. Mitchell gave an interview on 1/21 with local media announcing a final 3 of Louisville, UCF and Colorado... so speculation is that he might change his 1/29 OV to come to CU instead of Toledo.
13. Rakeem Boyd - TX 4* RB who committed to Texas A&M in August. Speculation that his commitment is wavering and chatter that he is taking an OV to CU. Nothing official, but one to watch.
14. Devron Davis - CA 3* juco CB has nothing scheduled with CU as far as I can tell, but this has been a crazy recruitment that makes it impossible to trust anything that gets said or reported. Once a CSU commit, he opened up his recruiting. Rivals reports OVs to Cincinnati on 1/22 and Nebraska on 1/29. His coach tweeted out on 1/21 that there will also be OVs to Oregon State, UCLA and Colorado. Mid-week visits? One-day visits on weekends? Who knows, but it's worth keeping an eye on this one.
Beyond that there are always potential surprises of either losing or gaining commitments from the unexpected. Unfortunately, I won't be on top of this stuff as much as I'd normally be or like to be as I'm out of town from 1/26-1/29 and then again from 2/1-2/3 (LOI Day). Ahead of that, I wanted to give everyone a summary of my notes.
Go Buffs!
Buffs are expected to sign around 15 players, which could adjust upward based on several factors:
1. Grayshirts who will count against the 2016 limit of 25 initial scholarships but won't actually enroll at CU until January 2017... thereby not counting against the 85 scholarship limit for the 2016 season. For especially positions like OL where there is about zero chance a guy would play as a true frosh anyway, this is an option we'll see used this year. Main targets to watch here are Hunter Vaughn, a CO prospect at OT who has already confirmed he will be a GS, Colby Pursell, a CA prospect at OG who has said that he is considering a grayshirt, and Terriek Roberts, a CO prospect at both OT and DE who had a knee injury in 2015 and may need time to recover and develop though nothing has been publicly said about a grayshirt. All 3 are already committed to CU.
2. Missions where the signee spends 1 or 2 years on a church mission before enrolling could also be utilized as it was with DE Sam Bennion, who enrolled this January. Since they can end up enrolling within 2 years of when they signed a LOI, their initial scholarship can count back to the class they were recruited in and not affect the initial 25 count the year they enroll. It is something that could and should be taken advantage of in a recruiting year like 2016 with so few scholarship openings within the 85 and an initial class that can't get close to the 25 limit. Main target to watch here is Fua Pututau, a DE/OLB from Utah who visited CU unofficially over the summer and is scheduled to make an official visit the final weekend of 1/29.
3. JUCO stashes. Something that we haven't seen much from CU since the pre-Hawkins days and programs like KSU and Miss State have lived off. In these cases, CU recruits the heck out of a guy who is known to be a non-qualifier but has the type of talent that would have gotten him a ton of offers. Main target to watch here is Coye Fairman, a WR who unofficially visited over the summer and was an official visitor to CU the weekend of 1/15. Another possibility is Pookie Maka, an OLB from Utah who is teammates with Pututau, visited unofficially at the same time, and is also coming to CU on an OV the final 1/29 weekend. Maka may end up at JUCO or he may be a late qualifier from a strong spring classroom performance as he seems to have gotten the test scores he needed if he can get the qualifying coursework completed at a high enough GPA.
In addition to the above, there are a lot of potential signees whose decisions should become clear in the next week.
1. Tayler Hawkins - CA 3* ATH who OV'd on 12/11 and has yet to decide. Projects as a S. Visited Wazzu last weekend and is visiting SDSU this weekend. Neinas had been his original recruiter and Clark has taken that over.
2. JoJo Domann - CO 3* OLB who has been a verbal to Nebraska since June but OV'd to CU on 12/11. Domann has been deciding whether to flip and stay home as a Buff.
3. Jarrius Wallace - LA 2* DB who OV'd to CU on 1/15 and is visiting Arizona this weekend. Decision could come as soon as today (Sunday, 1/24).
4. Ronnie "Moss" Turner - CA unrated WR who OV'd to CU on 1/15 and seems to favor the Buffs. But he's on an OV to Cincinnati this weekend and has an OV to Miss State on 1/29. This one could go to the end.
5. Dejon Harris - LA 3* ILB who has been committed to Arkansas since May. OV'd to CU on 1/15, is at Arkansas this weekend, and may be visiting Alabama on 1/29. Decision could go until signing day.
6. Ethan Davidson - TX unrated ATH who showed a ton of speed and ability at a Texas Tech summer camp but only has Ivy League offers at this point. OV'd to CU on 1/15 and will visit TTU on 1/29. Could be a DB or Slot WR in college. Unclear whether he's a scholarship or invited walk-on candidate.
7. Lorenzo Burns - CA 3* ATH who OV'd to Arizona on 12/11 and recently OV'd to CU on 1/15. Also considering Cal in his final 3 and plans to announce on signing day.
8. Jordyn Brooks - TX 3* LB who OV'd to CU on 1/15 but has been a verbal commitment to TTU since June. He will OV to TTU on 1/29 and a final announcement should happen on or just before signing day.
9. Juwann Winfree - KS 4* juco WR is taking an OV to CU on 1/22 after giving a verbal to Pitt, which he had visited on 12/11. Winfree signed with Maryland out of high school and Pitt had been in the running for his signature at that time. Buffs hoping to flip.
10. Keanu Saleapaga - CA 3* DE is taking an OV to CU on 1/22. Former verbal to USC who opened his recruiting up. Plays for Moschetti at La Mirada. Keanu is expected to take a final OV to BYU on 1/29 and then decide.
11. Drew Lewis - KS unrated juco LB is taking an OV to CU on 1/22. Former signee with Washington who visited Utah State 1/15 and is scheduled to visit Memphis on 1/29. Seems to be a strong lean toward returning to the Pac-12, so Buffs are hoping for a commitment and cancellation of the Memphis trip.
12. Eric Mitchell - FL 3* DE/OLB decommitted from Florida and has visited Louisville on 1/15, is visiting UCF this weekend (1/22) and is scheduled to visit Toledo on 1/29. Mitchell gave an interview on 1/21 with local media announcing a final 3 of Louisville, UCF and Colorado... so speculation is that he might change his 1/29 OV to come to CU instead of Toledo.
13. Rakeem Boyd - TX 4* RB who committed to Texas A&M in August. Speculation that his commitment is wavering and chatter that he is taking an OV to CU. Nothing official, but one to watch.
14. Devron Davis - CA 3* juco CB has nothing scheduled with CU as far as I can tell, but this has been a crazy recruitment that makes it impossible to trust anything that gets said or reported. Once a CSU commit, he opened up his recruiting. Rivals reports OVs to Cincinnati on 1/22 and Nebraska on 1/29. His coach tweeted out on 1/21 that there will also be OVs to Oregon State, UCLA and Colorado. Mid-week visits? One-day visits on weekends? Who knows, but it's worth keeping an eye on this one.
Beyond that there are always potential surprises of either losing or gaining commitments from the unexpected. Unfortunately, I won't be on top of this stuff as much as I'd normally be or like to be as I'm out of town from 1/26-1/29 and then again from 2/1-2/3 (LOI Day). Ahead of that, I wanted to give everyone a summary of my notes.
Go Buffs!
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