Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Add 13 From Prep Ranks on Early Signing Date
12/4/2024 2:16:00 PM | Football
More activity will follow, dictated by changes in rules and the calendar
Everything has changed, and so has the nature of recruiting.
Â
No more waiting for February. No more fax machines (a good thing).
Â
"It's just a little bit different than that now," Colorado State coach Jay Norvell said Wednesday as he announced the addition of 13 high school players.
Â
The early signing date is now earlier, and it is quickly followed by the opening of the transfer portal from Dec. 9-28. Then the traditional signing date in February, though coaches have to wait until January to hit the road – visiting with players in December is no longer allowed. Then the portal opens again for a brief time in April (16-25). And if a coach leaves a program, those players get a 30-day window, so it's constantly floating around.
Â
Then there's the other part of recruiting – keeping players on your current roster.
Â
Norvell has to consider all of that when structuring his recruiting plan while also factoring in the balance of his current roster and its needs and wants. The effect is a more layered approach with the ability to add at different points – though he still desires high school players to be the base to build.
Â
"The high school recruitment as far as feeding our program is very similar to the draft in the NFL. We want to build our program through high school recruiting. We feel we have the best evaluation – character, academics – of the player from the high school ranks, and we want to build our program off of a strong recruiting base coming out of high school," Norvell said. "Obviously, the portal is the reality of where we're at in college football. We'll always be mindful of those guys, but the portal is like free agency. We don't want to build our program through the portal, but we will supplement through the portal for areas of need, where we're thin or have lack of experience."
Â
There are eight states – and Australia – represented in the class. The majority of the group is made up of multi-sport athletes, as well as players who were active on both sides of the ball during their prep careers.
Â
Those traits are craved by Norvell, going back to his time in the pro ranks.
Â
"I really think my NFL experience opened my eyes to what to look for in players. As a coach, you can coach and prepare and put them in so many situations, but when they walk out between those white lines, there are so many things that happen you don't always prepare for," he said. "A guy who has versatility – and I'm going to use a guy like Owen Long as an example – here's a kid who played running back, he played safety, and now he's a linebacker. He has so many different skills on the football field and he's so smart and has a great football sense, he just naturally gets himself in situations and finds ways to make plays. Good players do that."
Â
The wants are still the same, it's the when's and where's which have really changed.
Â
As a staff, Colorado State will look at more high school players for February. Even Colorado kids – either from the prep ranks or returning home from other programs, mentioning Gabe Kirschke as a prime example.
Â
"The other thing that's very different this year is typically we'd make a hard push in the summer, go through the summer and finish in December," Norvell said. "You can't go out on the road and recruit in December anymore, so that basically has eliminated this whole month of going out and seeing players. That's different. We might add a handful of guys this month to that number if we could go out on the road. That's pushed back to January now, and you have the portal in the middle, so depending on how you do in the portal and what type of kids you're able to sign, that will determine what you do when you go back out in January. It's very different for everybody."
Â
Norvell said they're looking to add 15-16 players in the portal, probably some tight ends, definitely searching for defensive tackles – as is the rest of the country. Running back is a need, so is receiver, cornerback and safety. A quarterback – one is traditionally added each year – will come from somewhere.
Â
Time and date to be announced.
Â
The game has definitely changed. Norvell noted the bigger conferences are pushing for a summer signing date, which he said would not be a positive move for Colorado State, so they push against it.
Â
"There's still a lot of changes," he said. "It seems like every year we deal with more and more changes."
Â
Â
No more waiting for February. No more fax machines (a good thing).
Â
"It's just a little bit different than that now," Colorado State coach Jay Norvell said Wednesday as he announced the addition of 13 high school players.
Â
The early signing date is now earlier, and it is quickly followed by the opening of the transfer portal from Dec. 9-28. Then the traditional signing date in February, though coaches have to wait until January to hit the road – visiting with players in December is no longer allowed. Then the portal opens again for a brief time in April (16-25). And if a coach leaves a program, those players get a 30-day window, so it's constantly floating around.
Â
Then there's the other part of recruiting – keeping players on your current roster.
Â
Norvell has to consider all of that when structuring his recruiting plan while also factoring in the balance of his current roster and its needs and wants. The effect is a more layered approach with the ability to add at different points – though he still desires high school players to be the base to build.
Â
"The high school recruitment as far as feeding our program is very similar to the draft in the NFL. We want to build our program through high school recruiting. We feel we have the best evaluation – character, academics – of the player from the high school ranks, and we want to build our program off of a strong recruiting base coming out of high school," Norvell said. "Obviously, the portal is the reality of where we're at in college football. We'll always be mindful of those guys, but the portal is like free agency. We don't want to build our program through the portal, but we will supplement through the portal for areas of need, where we're thin or have lack of experience."
Â
There are eight states – and Australia – represented in the class. The majority of the group is made up of multi-sport athletes, as well as players who were active on both sides of the ball during their prep careers.
Â
Those traits are craved by Norvell, going back to his time in the pro ranks.
Â
"I really think my NFL experience opened my eyes to what to look for in players. As a coach, you can coach and prepare and put them in so many situations, but when they walk out between those white lines, there are so many things that happen you don't always prepare for," he said. "A guy who has versatility – and I'm going to use a guy like Owen Long as an example – here's a kid who played running back, he played safety, and now he's a linebacker. He has so many different skills on the football field and he's so smart and has a great football sense, he just naturally gets himself in situations and finds ways to make plays. Good players do that."
Â
The wants are still the same, it's the when's and where's which have really changed.
Â
As a staff, Colorado State will look at more high school players for February. Even Colorado kids – either from the prep ranks or returning home from other programs, mentioning Gabe Kirschke as a prime example.
Â
"The other thing that's very different this year is typically we'd make a hard push in the summer, go through the summer and finish in December," Norvell said. "You can't go out on the road and recruit in December anymore, so that basically has eliminated this whole month of going out and seeing players. That's different. We might add a handful of guys this month to that number if we could go out on the road. That's pushed back to January now, and you have the portal in the middle, so depending on how you do in the portal and what type of kids you're able to sign, that will determine what you do when you go back out in January. It's very different for everybody."
Â
Norvell said they're looking to add 15-16 players in the portal, probably some tight ends, definitely searching for defensive tackles – as is the rest of the country. Running back is a need, so is receiver, cornerback and safety. A quarterback – one is traditionally added each year – will come from somewhere.
Â
Time and date to be announced.
Â
The game has definitely changed. Norvell noted the bigger conferences are pushing for a summer signing date, which he said would not be a positive move for Colorado State, so they push against it.
Â
"There's still a lot of changes," he said. "It seems like every year we deal with more and more changes."
Â
Players Mentioned
DL
/ Football
LB
/ FootballThursday, May 14
Monday, May 11
Friday, May 08
Tuesday, April 28