Stoppin’ by for a Visit – January 20th
UPDATE (1/22): A good time was apparently had by all this weekend by the eight official visitors.
In addition to enjoying a Chamber of Commerce 65-degree day, the prospects watched some of the East/West Shrine game (in which Buff quarterback Tyler Hansen played well, thank you very much), before heading off on a Banjo Billy’s Bus to the Arizona game. The group, though, reportedly left at halftime, missing out on the great comeback win by the CU men’s basketball team.
Wide receiver commit Peyton Williams is still on crutches following his surgery, but apparently is progressing well and on schedule. Quarterback Shane Dillon remains a firm commit – and it was perfect timing for Tyler Hansen to play well with Dillon and his family in town.
Of the official visitors who are not committed to the Buffs, there was no indication that they will be committing to Colorado immediately (i.e., this weekend). Prize linebacker recruit Seth Jacobs was in town with his family, and, according to a reliable source, had a great time. Jacobs was on the fourth of his five official visits (he’s been to Arizona, Arkansas, and Oklahoma State, and will take an official visit to UCLA next weekend).
Note: The situation may change over the next few days, but it appears right now that next weekend, the last weekend in which players can take an official visit, will not be a significant weekend in terms of official visitors to Boulder. Right now, only a few official visitors have been identified (including defensive end Luke Kaumatule, a four-star prospect from Honolulu who is presently a Stanford commit). Colorado still has plenty of official visitations to offer (only about 40-45 of the allotted 60 have been taken), so the Buff Nation is left to draw one of two conclusions: 1) the Buffs have a number of “silent” commits lined up, and the Class is already nearly full; or 2) that CU has just not been able to lure enough highly rated recruits to Boulder for one last push.
Let’s hope it’s the former …
—-
The final push is on by the CU coaching staff to fill the Class of 2012. Which players give their commitments, and ultimately their signatures on February 1st, over the next two weeks will be crucial to the real – and perceived – success of the recruiting Class of 2012.
I have it from a reliable source that the number of players coming to Boulder is expected to be 11, but that number might fall or rise during the week.
Weather forecast for the weekend: Partly cloudy, highs in the 60’s. The weather should allow for the Flatirons and the beauty of Boulder to work their magic. The CU men’s basketball team host a perenniel NCAA tournament team in Arizona at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Here are the players confirmed to be on the official list for this weekend (January 20th-21st):
Update (1/19) – Darrian Dyson (bio below), has cancelled his visit to Boulder this weekend. Dyson has given a “soft verbal” (if you look at his history, he has been pretty good at that) to Florida International. Dyson visited FIU last weekend, and had an in-home visit with Colorado offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy just last night (Wednesday).
– Darrian Dyson – DE – Just the facts … Dyson is a defensive end prospect from New Orleans. Dyson is considered to be a three-star prospect by Rivals, but only a two-star prospect by Scout. Dyson is huge – 6’3″, 290-pounds, and is rated by Scout as a defensive tackle instead of a defensive end. Dyson has other offers from … several schools from all over the country. Dyson has offers from Pitt, Mississippi State, Arizona, Cincinnati, Utah. His recruitment has been all over the map as well. In September, he told Scout.com that he was interested in Pitt, Illinois, Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech, with Pitt and Mississippi State in the lead for his services. By mid-December, Dyson was telling Panther-lair.com that he was looking at Pitt and Florida International, with Colorado, Utah, and Arizona still in the picture. What about Colorado? Dyson is a former teammate of Keenan Canty, a red-shirt freshman wide receiver at CU. “I played with Keenan my first year on varsity,” Dyson told BuffStampede.com in November. “Colorado was one of the first schools that started talking to me so I am still thinking about them. I know they have one of the top schools in the country for Communications. That is big because that is what I want to major in.”
New (1/17) – Jason Gaines – TE/’WR – Just the facts … Gaines is an unrated wide receiver/tight end prospect from El Cajon, California. Gaines is 6’4″, 205-pounds. For a 10-3 Christian high team in El Cajon, California, Gaines had 47 catches for 557 yards and six touchdowns. Gaines also had eight carries for 54 yards and two touchdowns (he also had time to post 25 tackles, including four sacks, on defense). Gaines has other offers from … no one. Neither Rivals nor Scout has them in their database, and no stories mentioning Gaines have been posted by either recruiting service. Gaines’ only apparent claim to fame at this point, as far as the Buff Nation would be concerned, is that he is a teammate of CU quarteraback commit Shane Dillon, who will also be taking his official visit this weekend. Take that information for what you will, but from a purely objective standpoint, Gaines would appear to be a reach for a scholarship offer …
New (1/17) – Derek McCartney – DE – Just the facts … McCartney is an unrated defensive end prospect from Faith Christian in Valor, Colorado. McCartney is 6’4″, 215-pounds, and also played tight end. McCartney is the son of former CU defensive lineman Shannon Clavelle and the grandson of former Colorado coach Bill McCartney. McCartney has other offers from… well, no one, though Baylor and Oregon have offered him the opportunity to join their teams as a walk on. Right now, McCartney is not big enough to play the defensive end position at a BCS level school, so the Colorado coaches are asking him to grey-shirt, and become a part of the Class of 2013. McCartney told the Daily Camera he is “pretty sure but not positive” that he will accept Embree’s offer. He said he will make a final decision by the middle of February. “It is pretty cool,” McCartney said. “Ever since I like have been thinking about college, since freshman year, I wanted to earn a scholarship and I did. It just happened to be at CU, which is really cool because it’s home and I’d be close to my family still. It’s just a good fit for me I think.”
Seth Jacobs – OLB – Just the facts … Jacobs is a linebacker prospect from Arroyo Grande, California. Jacobs is considered to be a four-star prospect by both Rivals and Scout. Jacobs is 6’2″, 215-pounds, and runs a 4.55 in the 40. Rivals has Jacobs as the No. 27 outside linebacker in the nation, with Scout also pegging him for the No. 27 slot. As a senior, Jacobs had 151 tackles in leading his team to a 13-1 record. Jacobs has other offers from … most of the Pac-12, including both Oregon schools, Washington, both Arizona schools, and UCLA. Jacobs also has offers from schools like Nebraska, Arkansas, and Oklahoma State. Before taking his official visit to Boulder, Jacobs took visits to Arizona, Arkansas, and Oklahoma State. In the final weekend of visits, Jacobs will visit UCLA. Jacobs has already indicated that he will wait until Signing Day to announce his choice. Oklahoma State and Arkansas are in the top three, with Colorado competing with UCLA to have the final hat on the table. Does CU have a chance? Perhaps. I have heard nothing but great things about their program. I have really enjoyed talking with Brian Cabral, who is their linebacker coach,” Jacobs told Scout.com. “I am looking forward to my trip out there.”
Ewing Simmons – DE – Just the facts … Simmons is a defensive lineman prospect from Stockton, California. Simmons is considered to be a three-star prospect by both Rivals and Scout. Simmons is 6’3″, 225-pounds, and is rated by Scout to be the 90th-best defensive end in the nation. Simmons earned first-team all-league and all-area honors after recording 65 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries during his senior campaign. He helped St. Mary’s to nine wins and a Tri-City League title. Simmons has other offers from … at least five Pac-12 schools, including both Arizona schools, UCLA, and Washington State. Simmons only other official visit to date, though, was scheduled for Fresno State, but was cancelled after head coach Pat Hill was fired. There is no listing for an official visit for the last weekend of visits, January 27th-28th, though at one point Simmons indicated he wanted to take all five official visits. Simmons appeared to be most impressed with Arizona, and new head coach Rich Rodriguez, although the Buff Nation cannot count out competing with Washington State for Ewing’s services.
Isaiah Folasa – OL – Just the facts … Folasa is an offensive lineman prospect from Corona, California. Folasa is considered to be a two-star prospect by both Rivals and Scout. Folasa is 6’2″, 340-pounds, and is rated by Scout to be the 98th-best offensive guard prospect in the nation. Folasa has other offers from … several schools, most notably from UCLA. Folasa has been a Bruin commit since last July, but, after the firing of Rick Neuheisel, Folasa decided to take other official visits. Folasa reportedly has offers from Air Force, New Mexico State, Idaho, and Fresno State, as well as several 1-AA schools. Folasa took his official visit to UCLA last weekend, and will take an official visit to New Mexico State during the final weekend before Signing Day.
Note: Scout is still listing offensive lineman Colby Cyburt as an official visitor for this weekend. However, according to BruinBlitz.com, Cyburt committed to UCLA this past week. “I just got off the phone with Coach Jim Mora and Coach Adrian Klemm, just talking it over and how we are going to get the offseason training started and all that,” Cyburt told BruinBlitz last Thursday. “I canceled my trip up to Stanford (for this past weekend). I don’t feel the need to do anymore officials. I have Colorado (this upcoming weekend) and I still have to call and possibly cancel that too.” So it doesn’t sound like Cyburt will be in Boulder this weekend …
Included with the players who will be taking their visits to Boulder this weekend are at least three players who have given their verbal commitments to Colorado:
SHANE DILLON – QB
Just the facts … Committed May 12th … Dillon is a quarterback from El Cajon, California. Dillon is 6’5″, 185-pounds, and can run a 4.6 in the 40. Rivals bio Scout bio You Tube highlights from Dillon’s junior year ESPN bio
What others say about Dillon … Dillon is considered a three-star quarterback prospect by Scout, is listed as a member of the Scout 300 nationally, and is rated as the No. 27 pro-style quarterback prospect in the country. Last summer Rivals rated Dillon as a four-star prospect, and had Dillon listed amongst its Top 250 nationally (No. 227). Dillon has since slipped out of the Top 250, and has been dropped to a three-star candidate. Rivals had Dillon as its 8th-highest rated pro-style quarterback, and its 11th-rated quarterback overall, but now sees Dillon as the 13th-best quarterback.
In 2010, Dillon threw for 2,978 yards and 19 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. This past fall, in leading his team to an 8-3 record, Dillon posted 2,873 yards passing yards, with 22 touchdowns and ten interceptions. A Scout.com player evaluation by Scott Kennedy notes that Dillon is tall and still thin, but has a quick release and a live arm. Despite his lack of overall size, Dillon shows toughness and the ability to stand tall in the pocket. “He’s not a zone-read guy. He’s a drop-back, sling it guy,” Christian offensive coordinator and athletic director David Beezer recently told AztecSportsReport.com, which is part of the Rivals.com network. “He manages games well, he’s excellent in the two-minute drill and he’s a team leader.”
Dillon had other offers from … a good number of schools, including Arizona, Cincinnati, Florida State, Ohio State, and Vanderbilt. Dillon made the rounds this spring, including a trip to Boulder in April. “It was my first trip to Colorado and I loved it. It was cool,” Dillon told BuffStampede.com on April 22nd. “[Colorado quarterbacks] coach [Rip] Scherer told me I was definitely a guy they would offer straight up just from watching my film, but they wanted to get me out there to talk to me in person. I took the trip out there with my dad and my brother and they offered. I loved the campus at Colorado. I love that it is a compact campus right by the mountains. It is beautiful. And [Buffs head] coach [Jon] Embree is way cool. He gave us a great tour. He made us feel like we were part of the family. So that was really great.”
Dillon was asked throughout the 2011 season about his commitment to Colorado, both after the signing of Texas transfer Connor Wood and during the darker moments of the 3-10 season. Dillon has never given any indication that he has wavered in his commitment.
PEYTON WILLIAMS – WR
Just the facts … Committed July 14th … Williams is a wide receiver prospect from Southlake, Texas. Williams is 6’1″, 185-pounds, and runs a 4.4 in the 40. Rivals bio Scout bio ESPN bio
What others had to say about Williams … Williams is considered to be a three-star prospect by Rivals, but only a two–star prospect by Scout (which has him as the No. 179 wide receiver prospect in the nation). Williams earned all-district honors after catching a team-high 56 passes for 684 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. As a senior, Williams, before his injury, had 81 catches for 1,064 yards and ten touchdowns. “Colorado is just for me,” Williams said of his commitment. “I think it’s the perfect school for me and it just feels right.” In May, Williams’ 4×400 relay team captured a state championship. “I had a low 48 in my split, which wasn’t my best, but we won with a time of 3:13,” Williams said.
Williams had other offers from … a diverse collection of schools, including Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Memphis, Tulsa, Wyoming, and North Texas. Other schools reportedly showing interest were Kansas, Texas Tech, Iowa and West Virgnia. Why Colorado? Thank CU wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy. “I call Coach Kennedy every week,” Williams told BuffStampede.com back in April. “I love Coach Kennedy. He was at Texas, now he is there. Colorado seems like a really cool place. I need to go see it. I am going to visit sometime. From what I see on the internet and from what Coach Kennedy tells me, Colorado is very nice.”
In his own words … “My personality is that I’m not satisfied with anything,” Williams told Patherlair.com. “I’m trying to work on everything. I’m not happy with anything yet.” As far as his game skills, Williams told BuffStampede.com: “I am not afraid to go across the middle and make plays and I am a good blocker. I like to think I have the whole package.”
UPDATE: Williams injured his knee in the first quarter of his Texas state semi-final game. The length of his recovery from surgery may well require him to take a red-shirt season in 2012.
JOHN WALKER – DB
Just the facts … Committed January 12th … Walker is a defensive back prospect from Washington D.C. Walker is the cousin of fellow 2012 commit De’jon Wilson (see profile, below), as well as a former teammate of defensive back Sherrard Harrington, who committed to Colorado last year. Walker is 6’0″, 175-pounds. Rivals bio Scout bio YouTube highlights
What others say about Walker … Walker is unrated by either Rivals or Scout. Walker does not have a profile on Scout, and does not even show up in the ESPN database of 2012 recruits. Walker played quarterback at Carroll High School in Maryland before transferring to H.D. Woodson for his senior season. He played primarily at safety this past last fall, but is expected to play cornerback at Colorado. Walker’s move from quarterback to defensive back may at least partially account for his lack of coverage by the recruiting services …
Walker had other offers from … Indiana, Kansas, and Northwestern – so somebody has heard of him. Walker is scheduled to take an official visit to Boulder next weekend, committing to CU sight unseen. Walker had an official visit to Kansas scheduled for this weekend, but decided to cancel the visit and become a Buff instead.
14 Replies to “Stoppin’ by for a Visit – 1/20”
Since Chip Kelly flirted with the TB Bucs, I wonder if team owner, Phil Knight, will “kick up” Chip’s salary.
Amen Tatonka. Once got a tour of the coaches offices. Got to the war room and saw the depth chart. Hawk and crew had JUCO 4-star Patrick Gates at running back the fall after he didn’t get in to CU on the first try and was at Mesa JC. I thought he was going to get in on try #2. Of course her never did play a down at CU, so Hawk and crew counted on his sketchy grades twice and went 0-2.
Hey Stuart…great website!
You think the possibility of Rip Scherer going to the Broncos will affect Shane Dillion’s commitment?
Hideaway,
Scherer’s name has been mentioned, and there are postings that the Broncos have asked for permission to talk with Scherer.
I wouldn’t think that Dillon’s commitment would be affected. He has been one of the most solid commits of the Class, and it would be tough for him to shift gears with less than two weeks before Signing Day. Plus, Embree and OC Bieniemy would still be in place, so the overall offensive philosophy would be the same.
That being said, watching the turmoil over the recruiting Class at Cal after the two assistant defections there is enough to give anyone pause.
Nothing is certain until February 1st!!
Stuart:
I did not know if you had seen this yet regarding Yuri Wright from Don Bosco Prep: http://www.nj.com/hssports/blog/football/index.ssf/2012/01/don_boscos_yuri_wright_expelled_for_graphic_tweets.html
He was expelled from his high school this week due to the content of the things he posted/twitted/tweeted (whatever the heck the word is) on his Twitter account.
One thing that fans seem to forget (or maybe don’t understand in the first place) is how much of a role academics plays in who ends up at CU. We never know about the ones we could have had, who bolted for another school when it looked like qualifying might become an issue. I would rather have the solid 3-Star kid who will stay eligible and can be counted on to contribute for 4 or 5 years vs. the 4-Star who has to transfer or drop out after 1 year, and was basically a waste of scholarship. Plus a negative impact to the school’s Scholastic rating.
I hope Shane Dillon wanted a teamate (Jason Gaines) from high school to accompany him on the visit. CU is in deep trouble if Gaines is offered a scholarship – hope it is a preferred walk on.
Just an update: John Walker is now a 3* prospect after committing to CU.
that’s great! Where did you find that info?
I noticed that Gaines is from El Cajon-is he a teammate of Shane Dillon who might be offered as a preferred walk-on?
Gaines is a teammate of Shane Dillon as you already know. Reach time for sure.
Any thoughts of Coah Embry bring in Brock B??? Looks like he is available??? http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/17/report-kansas-qb-found-out-of-his-dismissal-via-twitter/.
Berglund seems pretty toxic to me.
He was going to enroll early at Kansas; then he wasn’t.
He was going to come home to Colorado; then he wasn’t.
He can’t seem to stay out of the headlines – and for the wrong reasons.
I think the one – and perhaps only – position the CU coaches are content with right now is quarterback. Between Wood and Dillon, the Buffs may be set for the next several years.
You may be right, but competition in spring practice could help all of the QB’s. I also don’t think he is toxic, he has just got caught up in his own hype. Maybe after this experience he is ready to turn his life around. I don’t think taking a look at him would hurt the team.