The top football recruits at Mullen High School weren’t laughing when Colorado State athletic director Paul Kowalczyk cracked a joke on a radio talk show at the expense of their coach.
If coaching/media multi-tasker Dave Logan, a legend in the state for more than three decades, were to land in Fort Collins, his most coveted Mustangs might follow.
“We’d love to see Coach Logan go to Fort Collins,” said Mullen offensive lineman Bryce Givens, a highly ranked prospect in this state. “Halfway through the season when Nebraska started to tank and we thought maybe coach (Sonny) Lubick was retiring and Coach Logan got the job, maybe we’d all decommit from everywhere and all go to Fort Collins.”
The 6-foot-6, 257-pound offensive lineman earned four-star status from , which ranked him the second-best recruit in the state.
He gave an early commitment to Nebraska and is now talking to Colorado, Missouri, Florida and Texas.
Speaking for himself, Texas-bound defensive back Nolan Brewster and San Diego State-bound linemen Alec Johnson and Jimmy Miller, (the latter two recruited by CSU), Givens said, “We’re totally dead serious. If coach Logan gets the job, we’d give it a thought, at least.”
Another Mustang, running back Jonathan Gaye, committed to CSU last week before the coaching shakeup, according to Logan and the player’s father, Joseph Gaye.
“Sonny Lubick was a huge part of the reasons and (running backs coach) Mick Delaney,” Joseph Gaye said. “They offered to build the offense around him.”
Gaye, the 100-meter sprint champ as a sophomore, played with ankle and knee injuries the past two seasons, but still rushed for more than 200 yards againts state finalist Grandview.
Kowalczyk has said CSU would honor all commitments made to Lubick’s staff, but the players aren’t bound to a school until signing day in February.
The talk show in question was on KKFN 950 AM after Tuesday’s news conference announcing Lubick’s departure. Co-host Jim Armstrong, a Denver Post columnist, tossed out Logan’s name to Kowalczyk. The athletic director replied, “I didn’t know you were comedians in addition to talk show hosts,” explaining he didn’t know Logan other than as a receiver in Cleveland, where Kowalczyk was raised, and a current high school coach.
Logan, a former Wheat Ridge/CU/NFL star who is also the radio play-by-play announcer for the Broncos, had no comment on the matter.
A CSU spokesman told Armstrong that Kowalczyk called to apologize to Logan.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
