Colorado State University Athletics
Addazio's Staff Sets Out to #BoxEmIn
1/16/2020 2:26:00 PM | Football
New coaches to cover home state as recruiting resets Friday
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In the course of 24 hours and the 104,185 square miles within the borders of the Centennial State, Steve Addazio has a bold mission for his Colorado State football staff.
The objective: #BoxEmIn, the idea being they need to encourage the best football players the state has to offer to remain close to home, preferably wearing green and gold.
"I think it always starts at home. The more Colorado kids you can bring in our program, they're going to bleed green and gold," new offensive coordinator Joey Lynch said. "CSU has to mean something to you, and I think when you have a good home base of Colorado talent and players, and familiar with Colorado State University, that's going to carry throughout the locker room. Naturally you're going to expand and reach different parts of the country in recruiting, but I truly believe to be a quality program it has to start at home. You have to have great pride in your state and where you come from, and that starts with Colorado kids."
In the early signing period in December, the program inked four Colorado players. The blitz – hitting 65-plus schools (nearly 25 percent of high schools which offer the sport – is aggressive and paramount to moving forward.
Defensive coordinator Chuck Heater has done it here before, in his previous stint with CSU and one which followed at Colorado. He joked as he went over his lists of visits, he recognized one of the names, meaning the guy has coached a long time.
The caravan hits the road with multiple goals. Not only to find players who may help fill out the class on Feb. 5, but also to put names and faces together for years to come. First off, establish relationships which can further be built upon, because those make the vital aspects of the process smoother as the years progress.
"You've got to win football games, and that comes with good football players, but it comes with good evaluation and good development, and our backgrounds together involve great evaluation, but it also involves development," Heater said, referring to Addazio.
"I think Colorado kids, it's like any place, if it means a little bit more to them, they'll probably come closer to reaching their ceiling, I would think. You're always going to spend the time to do the evaluation."
Once the player is signed, it becomes about development, an area where the staff has established a strong track record.
Heater noted the population base of Colorado won't carry the program on its own, adding California and Texas as the closest states where quality can be found in abundance. Stretching out to Georgia and Florida is always going to be likely for the same reason.
Still, the staff is bought in on the notion a strong dose of home-grown talent can make a difference in the locker room, and thus, performance on the field. Lynch is a strong believer it is closer to fact than theory.
"As we wrap up this class and beyond, that's something Coach Addazio is adamant about," Lynch said. "He's made that clear as a staff we're going to recruit the state of Colorado and start there. I'm looking, forward for me, the first time out here, to go meet some quality coaches tomorrow."
The objective: #BoxEmIn, the idea being they need to encourage the best football players the state has to offer to remain close to home, preferably wearing green and gold.
"I think it always starts at home. The more Colorado kids you can bring in our program, they're going to bleed green and gold," new offensive coordinator Joey Lynch said. "CSU has to mean something to you, and I think when you have a good home base of Colorado talent and players, and familiar with Colorado State University, that's going to carry throughout the locker room. Naturally you're going to expand and reach different parts of the country in recruiting, but I truly believe to be a quality program it has to start at home. You have to have great pride in your state and where you come from, and that starts with Colorado kids."
In the early signing period in December, the program inked four Colorado players. The blitz – hitting 65-plus schools (nearly 25 percent of high schools which offer the sport – is aggressive and paramount to moving forward.
Defensive coordinator Chuck Heater has done it here before, in his previous stint with CSU and one which followed at Colorado. He joked as he went over his lists of visits, he recognized one of the names, meaning the guy has coached a long time.
The caravan hits the road with multiple goals. Not only to find players who may help fill out the class on Feb. 5, but also to put names and faces together for years to come. First off, establish relationships which can further be built upon, because those make the vital aspects of the process smoother as the years progress.
"You've got to win football games, and that comes with good football players, but it comes with good evaluation and good development, and our backgrounds together involve great evaluation, but it also involves development," Heater said, referring to Addazio.
"I think Colorado kids, it's like any place, if it means a little bit more to them, they'll probably come closer to reaching their ceiling, I would think. You're always going to spend the time to do the evaluation."
Once the player is signed, it becomes about development, an area where the staff has established a strong track record.
Heater noted the population base of Colorado won't carry the program on its own, adding California and Texas as the closest states where quality can be found in abundance. Stretching out to Georgia and Florida is always going to be likely for the same reason.
Still, the staff is bought in on the notion a strong dose of home-grown talent can make a difference in the locker room, and thus, performance on the field. Lynch is a strong believer it is closer to fact than theory.
"As we wrap up this class and beyond, that's something Coach Addazio is adamant about," Lynch said. "He's made that clear as a staff we're going to recruit the state of Colorado and start there. I'm looking, forward for me, the first time out here, to go meet some quality coaches tomorrow."
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