CU head coach Mike MacIntyre watches his players during the morning practice on March 14, 2014. (Cliff Grassmick, Daily Camera)
Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre has concentrated on, in no particular order, Colorado, California and Texas as the Buffs’ primary recruiting territories.
But MacIntyre does have ties to Nashville, Tenn. (having played two seasons for his father at Vanderbilt) and that may have contributed to CU landing an oral commitment this week from linebacker Jay Hockaday of Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, according to BuffStampede.com on the Rivals.com network.
This fall, Hockaday (6-foot-3 and 215 pounds) helped Christ Presbyterian go 15-0 and claim the Tennessee Class 3A state championship. He recorded 95 tackles and four sacks, according to BuffStampede.com, and also rushed for almost 900 yards.
Hockaday is another example of the “diamonds in the rough” that MacIntyre and his staff are trying to uncover. Hockaday is rated only a 2-star prospect by Rivals.com. And his next-best offer came from Navy. But he has the size and evidently the speed and potential to succeed in the eyes of Buffs recruiters who have a good track record of finding late bloomers.
Hockaday is the second linebacker on CU’s commitment list for this recruiting cycle, joining N.J. Falo from Sacramento. Colorado also will welcome Rick Gamboa from Sylmar, Calif., a 2014 signee who redshirted this fall, and Grant Watanabe of San Antonio, who has delayed his enrollment until next month as a “grayshirt.”
