For Scott Downing it was so little time, so many players to recruit. But the new Northern Colorado coach came up with 19 players he was pretty proud of on national signing day.
Tops among them are Andy Muns, who rushed for 2,857 yards and 36 touchdowns in leading Douglas County to its first Class 5A state championship last fall; former Montbello standout Nasseer Ghafur from Compton (Calif.) Community College; and quarterback Dominic Breazeale, a 6-foot-6 1/2, 250-pounder from Mt. San Antonio College. Muns is among 12 Colorado prepsters who signed with UNC, along with offensive linemen Tim McGraw and Joel Fassler, two of his Douglas County teammates.
“What I really like about (Muns) is his physical presence,” Downing said. “He’s a strong kid who’s obviously spent a lot of time in the weight room, which is why he’s probably ahead of most kids his age.
“Ghafur’s a guy who was recruited by every team in the Big 12 when he was at Montbello, ended up going to Compton and now he wants to come home.”
Asked about Breazeale, Downing called him “a Daunte Culpepper-type guy that’s big and physical and can throw the football a mile.”
Downing said he still is looking to sign more players, if possible.
“Fortunately, we were able to hit the ground running, do some research, figure out where the priorities were and basically have 2 1/2 weeks to be able to assemble this class,” he said. “We brought in a bunch of kids and it was like they all infected each other with their enthusiasm for UNC.”
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
