The week leading up to National Signing Day (NSD for those on Twitter) has to be one of the most stressful weeks for coaches. For some top prospects a decision on where to attend may not be made much sooner then the first Tuesday in February (NSD is always the first Wednesday of February). Also, some recruits who may have made a verbal commitment decide to take a last minute trip to some other school. Maybe they are second guessing themselves, but sometimes they may just want a free trip and meals.

This weekend will be a fairly quiet one for CSU coaches, however, not all is set with this years class. Largo, Florida defensive tackle Adarius Rayner committed to Colorado State when he took his visit to Fort Collins back in October. He said he was solid to CSU, but this weekend he is taking a trip to Indiana. The NCAA allows prospects to take five paid “official” visits to programs. They can take as many as they want on their own dime. Schools can only pay for up to 56 prospects to take official visits in a given recruiting class.

Rayner taking another visit in itself may not be cause for fire alarms to go off, however the defensive tackle spot in this recruiting class seems to be a bit precarious for the Rams. 4-start stud Isiah Norton of Dallas Kimball High School committed to CSU after his visit two weeks ago. However, Norton is anything but a sure thing to be at CSU in the fall. Rumor has it he will sign with Navarro Junior College just in case his grades and class list is not up to par with NCAA standards.

Not really a surprise, but Orlando Dr. Phillips lineman Darius Johnson will sign with someone other then CSU. Johnson who visited Washington State early in the season has switched his one time commitment from the Rams to Middle Tennessee State.

Aaron Davis may very be this years recruit most likely to send a opponents helmet flying ala Michael Orakpo. Davis is a bit of a tweener between linebacker and safety, but there is no denying how hard he can hit.

Special teams are not getting lost in the shuffle when it comes to recruiting. Kicker Keenan Adams is expected to sign with CSU after becoming one of the first commitments in the class of 2011. Adams missed most of his senior season after having a bone chip removed from his knee after being roughed on a punt. It looked much worse then it turned out to be and Adams should be kicking in the spring. Also CSU received a commitment last weekend from one of the top long snappers in the country. Tanner Gibas of Charter Oak HS in Covina, CA was rated as the third best long snapper prospect by long snapping coach Chris Rubio.


If you have a tip to share about prospective CSU recruits, feel free to shoot me an email at: ramnationrecruiting@yahoo.com