Signing Day notes and musings

Signing Day came and went last Wednesday with very little drama and 19 new players brought into Buff nation (plus three previously enrolled for a 22-man class).  Geographically, they signed 12 total kids from California, four from Colorado (plus greyshirt Lisella), two each from Texas and Utah, with one from Hawaii and Mississipppi (however, not a single prospect from Arizona).The only minor surprise was that Coach Mike's son Jay committed to play DB/WR/KR/NOTqb with the Buffs (he followed his signing up that evening by brutally butchering the National Anthem before the Monarch girls basketball game against Centaurus); both MacIntyres have made it clear there is no intention of playing the younger at QB (if you had seen him throw you'd know too) but he was rated a three-star athlete on at least one site.  The only suspense really, as the last fax was in from Hawaii a little after 10 A.M., was if Kalen Ballage would sign with CU as Falcon High School was closed, but he ended up sticking with ASU.  While most people still rank the class last in the Pac-12, the Buffs got some players who fit what they are looking for and some that will contribute right away. Coach MacIntyre said he instructs his coaches to walk away from a recruit at the first red flag and almost everyone signed is a great student and citizen.  A coach recently reminded me again that this year's Super Bowl, and most before it, featured more "two-star" players than 3-4-5 combined.  Time will only tell if this class will be the foundation for Colorado's return to prominence, but for now we can dream.  Here's what we've got.

Offense: Every recruiting class usually has one QB, who is often the "future of the program" no matter who is on campus currently, and Cade Aspay is that guy this year.  Although not heavily sought after by big schools, he appears to be a solid option.  The team hopes he can redshirt, but he will likely become the 3rd string QB as soon as he lands in Boulder.
Shay Fields is the obvious gem of this class, a speedy four-star who coaches expect to step right in and play a huge role.  They also signed Donovan Lee who get a look at DB as well (likewise J-Mac who will likely be a DB but get a look here), plus Lee Walker, January enrollee.
The Buffs grabbed two big TEs-Dylan Keeney and Hayden Jones at a position of major need and at least one, if not both will play in 2014.  Jones is the more polished player now, but Keeney is much faster and has the bigger upside having only played one year at TE.
Every class will usually also have 3-6 offensive lineman, most of whom will redshirt, and that is also the case with this group of four (including a greyshirt).  The only guy who might challenge for a spot is JC transfer Sully Wiefels who flipped from csu when a CU commit from Houston got an offer from Texas.  John Kaiser and Longmont's Isaac Miller will likely spend a year putting on weight, as will John Lisella who has already done that with Matt McChesney in his greyshirt year.
Having lost Dotson to Washington and Ballage to ASU, the Buffs ended the cycle without a new RB (unless Donovan Lee gets a shot here-he played everywhere in high school).  This is not a huge concern though as they return all three main contributors from last year (Powell, Adkins and Jones), plus some eager frosh and sophs, and maybe even Josh Ford, who is petitioning for another year.

Defense: The Buffs stocked up at all three groupings on this side of the ball.  They signed six total at a pretty weak defensive line position.  Although there might a be a little shifting of current players to fortify the inside, they are especially thin at DT; but massive Eddy Lopez will help clog the middle of the line immediately. One or two of the next four should also help out right away: bloggers and such seem to be very high on Michael Mathewes, who is a rush DE/LB hybrid; Terran Hasselbach, son of former Bronco Harold, is finally healthy after a bunch of non-football injuries and could be the sleeper of the group; Coach Jeffcoat is very excited about Christian Shaver, who is an end now, but could still grow into a tackle; Jase Franke is a versatile guy who can play inside and out and just might this season.  We will have to wait two years to see what Sam Bennion can do after his mission, but he will come to Boulder a mature man, especially if he is able to lift and work out in Chile.
The team ended up with two true linebackers, Rick Gamboa and Grant Watanabe, both leading tacklers while captaining their high school defenses.  This position is actually pretty well set for next year (Gillam, Greer, Daigh plus Rippy, Norgard, Severson, Olugbode) so at least one if not both should redshirt, with Gamboa being the most likely to be ready.
The secondary needs more size and speed and probably got it in the form of Cherokee Trial's Evan White, a big hitting safety who will compete for playing right away, as will JC transfer S Akhelo Witherspoon.  Jaisen Sanchez and MacIntyre could help out on special teams, but likely won't see immediate snaps on defense.

Special Teams: JC transfer Wyatt Smith is the long snapper.  A lot of guys, including all three receivers, MacIntyre and maybe the other DBs could factor into the return game.  Either LB and all the DBs, especially White and Witherspoon could contribute from day one on punt and kick coverage.

A few more moves before signing day

• The Buffs have 22 total recruits (including greyshirts and JC) still after losing one and immediately filling the spot (see next note).  I wonder how many big names they are actually still holding scholarships for and waiting on, besides Falcon RB Kallen Ballage, who is considered a "soft" commit for ASU and recently visited Boulder.  It is possible they also still have one for CB Courtland Sutton who they have been recruiting hard for a long time.  If those two go elsewhere, which is not only possible but probable, I believe they have someone waiting in the wings for each who will take the CU slot if offered at last minute.  Coach's son Jay MacIntyre could be one of those kids and they probably have another RB in mind if they don't end up with Ballage or Dotson (who they are still working on after he flipped to Washington).
• Houston OT Elijah Rodriguez had committed and stayed true to the Buffs when schools like LSU and Florida St came calling; however, when dream school Texas offered a chance to hook 'em he jumped.  Not to worry though as the Buffs had csu commit 305-pound OL Sully Wiefels (Eagle, Idaho and American River CC), who was actually rated higher (but watch Rodriguez's stock suddenly rise now), ready to jump ship and come to the real program in the state.  He could conceivably contribute right away but has three years to play two.
• WR Shay Fields committed shortly after my last post and is the biggest Buff recruit since Paul Richardson and will get his chance to play right away.  This is a huge get for the Buffs as the kid has talent, speed and moxie, so I am excited to see him play this Fall.
• Brian Lindgren did add one more QB to his roster to toss passes in the spring, keep the reps high for everyone, but not so high for Sefo and Gehrke.  Trent Sessions was an equipment manager last season but played QB from Pop Warner through high school and approached coaches for chance to walk-on and throw. I still wouldn't be surprised to see one more arm besides recruit Cade Aspay to join team in the fall.
• Signing Day is Wednesday.  I hope there is at least one more fun surprise.  Check out CUBuffs.com and CUattheGame.com throughout the day for updates and/or follow me on twitter @unicodavidsmith as I will retweet the LOIs as they are faxed in.  I will recap the class over the weekend.