FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Steve Fairchild made Texas a priority as a recruiting area for Colorado State.
The fourth-year coach was rewarded when he announced Wednesday that 10 Texans had were part of the Rams’ 27-member recruiting class of 2011.
Texas was represented from Del Rio along the border with Mexico to Iowa Park in the north.
“Texas has been a prime state for us because of the proximity to Colorado ,” Fairchild said. “We covered every inch of the state of Texas and got players from right on the border to just outside of Wichita Falls in the north.”
The group includes Connor Smith, one of three quarterbacks in the class. Smith threw for 1,039 yards and six touchdowns as a senior at Travis High School in Richmond, Texas.
Garrett Grayson of Vancouver Wash., and 21-year-old freshman Beau Reilly of Valley Center, Calif, are the other two quarterbacks. They will compete with Smith and M.J. McPeek to be Pete Thomas’ backup in the fall.
Offensive lineman Trey Cassidy from Angleton, Texas was listed among the top 100 players in Texas.
The class includes five players from Colorado: running back Dorian Brown, offensive linemen Sam Carlson and Justin Hansen, defensive lineman Joe Kawulok and fullback George Maumau.
“We feel this is our best effort in the state of Colorado since I’ve been back,” Fairchild said. “It’s what we would like to do every year in the state and will try our hardest to do it.”
Kawulok has three brothers who have played college football. Chris is a former Colorado State tight end, Michael will be a senior linebacker next year for the Rams while Matt was a tight end at San Diego State.
“Joe is probably the biggest of the Kawulok boys,” Fairchild said. “He played linebacker as well in high school, but he will play tight end for us.”
Brown tore his ACL before his senior season and didn’t play.
“There’s no gamble there. He’s doing very well in terms of rehab,” Fairchild said. “He will be involved in spring ball.”
The Rams got an early commitment from running back Kapri Bibbs and held it. Bibbs ran for 61 touchdowns and 4,210 yards combined his last two years at Plainfield High School in suburban Chicago.
“He set all sorts of records, had 520 yards in a game and has Marshall Faulk-type suddenness in his cuts,” Fairchild said. “When you’ve done the kind of things that he did, you will attract some attention.”
Fairchild expects Brown and Bibbs to be part of the mix at running back.
“It’s not over yet because there are still some grayshirt possibilities,” Fairchild said. “But when you analyze the class from a position standpoint, I think we helped ourselves across the board.”
Colorado State is coming off a 3-9 season.
