National Signing Day is Wednesday, meaning it is the first day high school football, field hockey, soccer and track athletes can ink national letters of intent with their chosen colleges.
Wednesday marks a celebration on campuses across Colorado. Most high schools recognize each of their college-bound athletes, even those players who signed during the early period in November.
“At first it was a tough decision of whether I should play with my dad or if I shouldn’t,” MacIntyre told BoCoPreps.com this morning. “I just decided my heart’s with the Buffs and I love the Colorado family they have going there.”
Update: Falcon is closed today, and the school has pushed its signing day ceremony to Thursday at 3:30 p.m., according to athletic director Randy Hinson. So that means Ballage’s decision won’t come until tomorrow.
The winter weather has caused the cancellation of some schools, meaning their signing ceremonies are affected, as well. Other schools are running on delays, pushing those ceremonies.
A number of Colorado high school athletes signed national letters of intent with colleges on Wednesday. Others signed in November, but were honored Wednesday.
Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey. (Mark Adams)
HIGHLANDS RANCH — When looking at the hotbed states for Division I football recruits, Colorado is not the first state that comes to mind. States like California and Texas often take the spotlight and are highlighted as the areas that are deepest in talent.
But in 2014, those Friday night lights are shining a little brighter than usual in the Rocky Mountains. On National Signing Day 46 high school seniors from Colorado committed to play for Division I schools (FBS and FCS). This is the highest total for the state since 2008 when 38 kids signed with D-I schools.
It’s hard to point to a single factor as to the reason for the increase in signees this year as opposed to a year ago. The logical explanation seems relatively simple, that this class is simply more talented than those before it.
“It’s incredible. I’ve been saying for the longest time now that I don’t think Colorado gets enough respect at the high school level,” Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey said. “It’s just so exciting to look back and see how far Colorado football has come and now we’re right there with everyone else in competition.”
But the reality of it just being an exceptional class may not be that clear cut. In recent years, there have been many factors that have led to the rise of talent in Colorado high school football. Specifically in the Denver region, the high school growth has become obvious in the last decade. Schools such as Valor Christian and ThunderRidge that have become dominant in the last several years have also regularly produced college-level talent on an annual basis.
“As (the state’s) population increases, yes I think Colorado is going to produce more and more college-bound football players,” Cherokee Trail head coach Monte Thelen said. “It’s the work of the young men, whether it be at a high school or a workout facility or wherever that work happens, it puts them in a position to earn Division I scholarships.”
Matt McChesney, right, pictured during the broadcast of the 5A football title game in December. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Specialized training regimens have also found their place when it comes to college recruits. On top of training current NFL players, Niwot High School alum and former CU Buff and Denver Bronco Matt McChesney also trains and looks for opportunities for Colorado high school football players.
McChesney’s connections through his time at CU and in the NFL has made him a lifeline for players to turn to when it comes to seeking out opportunities to continue playing at the next level. As a Colorado kid himself, he is perhaps one of the biggest advocates for the players in his home state.
“I personally think every class is underrated because people look at Colorado high school football — from a national perspective — and they think it’s about five to 10 years behind from what I’ve heard from Division I head coaches that I have talked to,” McChesney said. “But the development of players in this state has gotten better through my facility and a couple of others out there with guys who know what it takes to play at that level.”
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Colorado’s college signees is the diversity that this deep class provides on the field. Offensive line is by far the deepest position this season with 15 players signed to Division I schools, but the rest class is spread out pretty evenly as it amounts to positions.
Christian McCaffrey speaks at Valor’s signing day ceremony on Wednesday. (Dan Mohrmann)
Players like McCaffrey and Evan White out of Cherokee Trail might put spotlights on running backs and defensive backs respectively, but the overall field contains balance. That includes several designated athletes throughout the class such as Kalen Ballage (Falcon) and John Freismuth (Loveland).
Simply put, this class is not just deep in the number of commitments, but outside of the offensive line it’s deep in talent across the board. Many factors have led to the impressive numbers for this class, but it all has to start with an opportunity to be seen.
“There are so many kids that can play that (in the past) get overlooked because of opportunity,” McChesney said. “Maybe a coach didn’t go to that high school or maybe their high school coach didn’t think they were a D-I kid when he really is.”
For the players themselves, they’re happy to get the opportunity to continue their football careers, but are aware of just how special this class is.
“There are a lot of good players from not around the metro area,” White said. “There are some great athletes from Colorado Springs and a lot of other great players throughout the state.”
Time will tell whether or not there is something special about this class or the state of Colorado as a whole is trending upwards in terms of Division I talent. The commits this year are spread out among several successful college programs ranging from Navy to Alabama. The in-state schools are doing a great job at keep talent within Colorado as well. It’s becoming a foundation that both high schools and colleges can build on and benefit from, should the upward trend continue.
“I think (the trend will continue), I really do,” McCaffrey said. “I think our class has done a great job at setting the tone of hard work ethic. I know at Valor, our senior class takes pride in really developing our younger guys into becoming possible Division I players and that is just attributed to how hard they work and that aspect of the game.”
Cherokee Trail’s Evan White (3). (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Dalton Risner is set to sign with Kansas State on Wednesday. (Courtesy of the Risner family)
When Dalton Risner picks up his pen Wednesday morning to sign his national letter of intent, it will represent much more than a simple signature.
So it’s only fitting that the Wiggins High School senior is performing that act in a place befitting the magnitude of the situation.
Risner and a number of other prep football players who are in Arlington, Texas for the week to prepare for the 2014 International Bowl will celebrate National Signing Day at AT&T Stadium – home of the Dallas Cowboys. Risner will sign with Kansas State University to play football for the Wildcats, and in doing so will be “living the dream.”
“It’s just going to simply be a dream come true. I always believed in myself,” Risner said by phone from Arlington. “There’s going to be a lot of emotions running through my head. It’s going to be like I finally made it.”
While signing the letter of intent may finalize things, the decision to go to Kansas State was made nearly a year ago. Risner, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound offensive lineman, was drawn to the Wildcats early on. From the small-town feel that Manhattan, Kan. offered, to an immediate bond with the coaching staff, Risner was hooked. His grandfather, Vince Risner, also attended KSU.
Risner, left, during the Offense-Defense Senior Bowl in Florida on Jan. 3. (Courtesy of the Risner family)
“He felt like it was where he was supposed to go,” said Risner’s father, Mitch, who coached him at Wiggins. “There’s a culture of a fan base there in Manhattan. Here in Wiggins, our sports are near and dear to the community’s hearts. Everyone is kind of all in, if you will.
“He felt like he got that same thing in Manhattan.”
Mitch Risner said when he watches Dalton sign his letter of intent Wednesday, he’ll also be flooded with emotions.
“I’d say that it’s humbling as a father and gratifying as his head coach,” he said. “Those are probably the two different feelings of where I’m at.”
Dalton Risner endured a challenging senior season after breaking his foot early in the 2013 campaign. The injury ended his football season and prevented him from playing basketball, though he expects to compete in track and field this spring.
While Risner admitted he had his fair share of ups and downs after the injury, he did his best to remain positive and credited the community of Wiggins for helping him get through the tough times.
He returned to the field Jan. 3 in the Offense-Defense Senior Bowl in Orlando, Fla., where he had an impressive showing. He’ll compete in the International Bowl for Team USA vs. Team Canada on Friday.
“Getting back on the field, I was nervous. Going to a bowl game like that I didn’t know really what to expect,” he said of playing in Orlando. “Coming from 1A football and going against 5A and 6A guys from Texas, I was really nervous, but I’ve always been confident in myself.
“I worked hard and it just went really well.”
The expectations are already high for Risner headed into Kansas State, where USAToday.com selected him as the gem of the program’s recruiting class. For now though, he just wants to enjoy the rest of his time in high school before beginning the next chapter of his life.
“I don’t want to rush it. I’m going to finish out with track and field and see if maybe I can break a few school records,” he said. “I’ll finish out hard and enjoy it with my friends, but once I graduate it’s all business.”
Mitch Risner said going from a small town to competing for a Big 12 program like K-State shows future players that they can accomplish anything. He’s even more proud of what Dalton has done off the field. Risner has a 3.95 GPA and is active in the community.
“You’ve got to make sure you positively impact the people around you,” Mitch said. “To be able to have that success in all aspects of life is more important to us than what he does on the field.”
A complete database for college commitments from high school athletes in Colorado’s class of 2014. Send additions, along with position, height and weight (when applicable), to rcasey@chsaa.org.
As Signing Day draws increasingly near, seniors continue to make their college decisions.
A host of Colorado kids made their decisions over the weekend, including Overland linebacker Tre Thomas, who committed to Colorado State, and Windsor lineman Trenton Noller, who committed to the Naval Academy.
Thomas is the fifth in-state senior to pick CSU this cycle, following Loveland athlete John Freismuth, Douglas County running back Trey Smith, Pomona lineman Zach Stefo and Valor Christian defensive back Marcus Wilson. He chose the Rams over offers from New Mexico, San Jose State, UTEP, Wyoming and Northern Colorado, according to his Rivals.com profile.
Thomas, 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, had 219 total tackles last season, a figure that led the state across all classifications. He also had four sacks and 16 hurries, along with two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and two blocked kicks.
“It’s a great school, a great community,” Thomas told GreenandGoldNews.com. “The players are good. I like the players, I like the coaches, and it’s in my home state, not too far from my family. So it seemed like the perfect fit for me.”
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Noller also had offers from Arizona, Army, Georgia Tech, New Mexico State, Wyoming and Northern Colorado, according to Rivals.com. He announced his commitment over Twitter on Sunday morning:
“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders,” Noller told the Fort Collins Coloradoan. “I love it here. They told me straight up that it will be hard, but I can get through it, and it will be more rewarding than if I go anywhere else.”
Additionally, Fairview lineman Connor Spencer announced his commitment to San Diego, an FCS program.
I've committed to play football at University of San Diego. Thanks to everyone that helped make this happen. Couldn't be happier #GoToreros
With the three new commits, Colorado now has 35 players committed to Division I football programs — 25 to FBS schools and 10 to FCS. The 35 total is the most since the class of 2008, according to a search of the Rivals.com database. That year, the state produced 38 Division I recruits.
The 25 FBS commits are also the most since 2008, when the state had 33.
A few locals also declared their intention to head to Division II programs.
Included are Legend wide receiver/defensive back Elijah Cherrington (CSU-Pueblo), Smoky Hill quarterback Trent Clay (Black Hills State), ThunderRidge wide receiver Mark Hopper (Colorado School of Mines), Poudre quarterback Cody Limmer (Colorado School of Mines), Clear Creek wide receiver/defensive back Tevin Lucas (Sioux Falls), Lakewood quarterback Casey Nicholls (Sioux Falls), Dakota Ridge lineman Brant Seeley (Adams State), and Regis Jesuit linebacker Quinn Vandekoppel (CSU-Pueblo).
Elsehwere, Monarch’s Parker Sitton committed to Arkansas State for track, and Legend’s Peyton Remy committed to New Mexico for baseball. Remy’s commitment means Colorado now has 29 Division I baseball recruits this class.
A on-going list of college wrestling commitments from boys high school athletes in Colorado’s class of 2014. Send additions, along with position and weight, to rcasey@chsaa.org.
By all accounts, Keaton Komatz did his due diligence before committing to Notre Dame to play lacrosse.
The Heritage sophomore, who started playing the game in third grade, visited at least 12 college campuses this summer, hoping to shape his recruitment and get an idea where he’d like to land. He was traveling, anyway — Komatz would head East to lacrosse tournaments nearly every week during the summer and into the fall — so he and his parents used it as an opportunity to visit campuses.
“It was a bunch of lacrosse over the summer and the fall, but, obviously, it all paid off,” Komatz said on Friday.
“We saw a lot of colleges,” said Komatz’s mother, Nancy.
Komatz led Heritage in points last season. (Courtesy of Joe R. Wilkins III)
And a lot of colleges saw him. Komatz. an attackman, became a highly sought-after recruit because of his performances at those tournaments while playing for 3d Select, his club team.
“He’s kind of the best kid you’ve never heard of in Colorado,” said Jon Cohen, who is about to begin his first season as Heritage’s lacrosse coach. “I mean, Georgetown, Maryland, Notre Dame, Harvard, Princeton, Brown all extended offers to him.”
The onslaught of attention was “overwhelming at times,” Komatz said. Especially because he’s only a sophomore.
“I still kind of have that shocked feeling in me that I’m already (planning for college),” Komatz said. “Having that first (recruiting) call with Maryland and Georgetown was the scariest thing of my life.”
But all the travel and preparation helped him figure out what he liked in a school. In late November, Komatz visited Notre Dame’s campus. He committed the day after he returned.
“All the other schools were kind of all the same to me. They all had the same feel towards their daily living, lacrosse, their academics,” Komatz said. “When I went to visit Notre Dame, it felt completely different from all the other schools. It was the same in terms of great academics and lacrosse, but I guess being a good football school and a college down — South Bend definitely has a good college-town feel — it has a bunch of spirit.”
Komatz will follow former Wheat Ridge standout Nick Ossello at Norte Dame. (Courtesy of Tony Cruz)
Komatz will follow former Wheat Ridge standout Nick Ossello with the Fighting Irish. Now a junior at Notre Dame, Ossello was an all-state lacrosse and football player for the Farmers.
Komatz also joins a prestigious list of recent Colorado lacrosse recruits heading to big-time programs, which includes Ossello, Rock Canyon’s Wilkins Dismuke (Johns Hopkins), and the recent slew of locals staying home at the University of Denver.
“When I moved out here, there were one or two (big-program) guys. Ossello was kind of one of the first big guys, and then Wilkins,” said Cohen, who is also an assistant coach with the MLL’s Denver Outlaws. “Now, a Division I recruit is not — it used to be a huge deal, where everybody kind of talked about it. Now, I think it’s more of a credit to the youth coaches and the youth club programs that are giving these guys coaching.
“On any summer day at a tournament here, you’ll see 40 college coaches lined up. The rest of the nation is noticing how well Colorado is doing and how well the kids are playing.”
Komatz was Heritage’s top producer last season, notching 37 points on 24 goals and 13 assists. The Eagles are coming off a 7-8 season, but, Cohen said, having a player of Komatz’s talent and stature “bodes well for the program.”
“I think more people are starting to notice him and are game-planning for him, so he might get doubled,” Cohen said. “One thing about Keaton is he’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached, so if he is getting double-teamed, more guys will step up and score points and he’ll find a way for the team to win regardless of how many points he scores. To be honest, I don’t think he really cares about how many points he scores.”
Added Komatz: “I’m really excited for the whole new coaching staff with Jon being there. I’m definitely excited for what he’s going to bring to the table; he’s really experienced. I feel like we’ll step it up from last year. We have, I think, 19 seniors, so that will be strong right there. We’re hoping for the best.”
Following four more verbals over the weekend, Colorado high school football now has 29 players committed to Division I programs. That number is the most since 2010, when the state produced 33 Division I players, according to a search of the Rivals.com database.
Fairview wide receiver Sam Martin (Miami of Ohio), Heritage defensive end Conner Cain (Wyoming), Valor Christian lineman Ryan Cummings (Wyoming) and Ralston Valley quarterback Jacob Knipp (Northern Colorado) all announced commitments over the weekend.
Martin, who broke a number of state receiving records, announced his decision over Twitter on Sunday evening:
Officially committed to Miami of Ohio! HUGE thanks to everyone that has helped and supported me along the way through this journey! #Blessed
Martin also had offers from Eastern Washington, Illinois State, Lafayette, Montana State, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado and Rutgers, according to Rivals.com.
Cummings also announced his decision on Twitter on Sunday:
Cain had originally been committed to Eastern Washington. WyoSports.net has more on both Cummings and Cain’s commitments.
Christian James, publisher of ColoradoPrepReport.com, tweeted the news about Knipp’s commitment to Northern Colorado. Knipp set the state’s completion percentage record this season (70.2 percent).
Among Colorado’s other Division I verbals — encompassing both FBS and FCS schools — are Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), Cherry Creek running back Nate Starks (UCLA), Falcon athlete Kalen Ballage (Arizona State) and Mullen kicker/punter JK Scott (Alabama).
Ten players are staying home:
Loveland athlete John Freismuth, Douglas County running back Trey Smith, Pomona lineman Zach Stefo and Valor Christian defensive back Marcus Wilson will head to Colorado State.
Regis Jesuit lineback Terran Hasselbach, Silver Creek lineman Isaac Miller and Cherokee Trail defensive back Evan while will play at Colorado.
Knipp, Monarch lineman Kody Mommaerts and Pomona lineman Kendall Ryan will play at Northern Colorado.
In 2013, 21 players headed to Division I schools. There were 19 D-I products from Colorado in both 2011 and 2012.
National Signing Day is Feb. 5. All commitments are non-binding until recruits sign letters of intent on that day.
A on-going list of college baseball commitments from high school athletes in Colorado’s class of 2015. Send additions, along with position and height, to rcasey@chsaa.org.
