Nick Neuenfeldt

When Michigan State transfer Bradlee Van Pelt made his move to Colorado State and created a legacy for himself as one of the most gifted, athletic quarterbacks to ever play at the university, he forced the Ram coaching staff to re-think its love affair with pure drop-back passing quarterbacks. Last year, the Rams signed mobile quarterback Grant Stucker, and this year have added two more, including freshly committed Nick Neuenfeldt who gave a verbal this week.

Neuenfeldt, a 6-3, 235 lb speedy athlete from Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chaparral High School), joins Arvada West standout Sean McDougal as the two signal-callers expected to sign a letter of intent on February 1 -- the first day spring graduates are allowed to sign. The Rams also previously offered a scholarship and received a commitment from Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) High School quarterback C.J. Sedoris but have since decided to go a different direction--namely going after Neuenfeldt. Sedoris is now looking at Eastern Washington as a fall-back option in case a scholarship offer never comes from San Diego State or Oregon State.

Neuenfeldt meanwhile was weighing his options earlier this week, as he was being recruited by UTEP and Nevada, and also recently took a recruiting visit to Brown. But, he felt like he had to commit to CSU soon or risk losing his offer.

“It’s a big weight off my shoulders,” Neuenfeldt said of his commitment. “The coaches told me they were holding off offering a couple other guys, waiting to see if I would commit, and I knew I had to make a decision.”

Neuenfeldt contacted defensive backs James Ward, who is responsible for recruiting Arizona, with the news of his commitment this week.

“He said it made his day,” Neuenfeldt said.

Neuenfeldt is a big, athletically gifted quarterback, and with his size and speed some schools projected him as a linebacker or tight end. CSU, however, will give him a shot at quarterback. He represents the athletic type of quarterback that CSU coaches want to build the offense around, similar to when Van Pelt was running the show, and what is expected out of junior-to-be Caleb Hanie next season.

Neuenfeldt threw for 1,866 yards (on 113-of-171 passing) and 16 touchdowns his senior season. He added 302 rushing yards and six touchdowns. ArizonaVarsity.com listed Neuenfeldt as a first-team 4A All-State selection.

Neuenfeldt ran a 4.52 forty-yard dash last year at a Nike combine held at Stanford University in May. His time was among the fastest of all quarterbacks who participated in Nike combines nationwide. Neuenfeldt owes some of his athletic prowess to working with a personal trainer and former San Diego State tight end, Alex Semenik, who has trained a number of highly recruited prep football players from Arizona high schools.

“I took some time off after the season,” Neuenfeldt said, “but now I am getting back to running, and some lifting.”

Neuenfeldt is a three-star prospect according to Rivals.com and was listed as a preseason Top 20 athlete in the state of Arizona. Scout.com rates him a two-star prospect. Neuenfeldt made his official visit to CSU in early December and liked what he saw. He also likes what CSU can do for him football-wise in the future.

“I felt like the national TV exposure would be better compared to Brown,” he said. “It would give me a better chance to possibly go play in the NFL.”

Neuenfeldt understands that he will probably redshirt as Hanie is the front runner for the starting quarterback position this fall. Neuenfeldt will thus likely have a chance to improve and gain valuable experience working on the scout team.

“There is always room for improvement,” he said. “I want to work on my arm strength and accuracy.”

Neuenfeldt becomes the 23rd known commitment and the class is now just about full. Four players are visiting campus this weekend, and potentially one or two could receive offers. RamNation.com will continue to keep you up to date with any additions and we’ll monitor the status of the known commitments to keep you abreast of any changes.