(Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Chatfield High School’s Dalton Keene poses for his All-Colorado portrait in December. Keene is headed to play at Virginia Tech. 
Getting your player ready...
The Denver Post’s top-10 state of Colorado high school football recruits for the Class of 2017:
- Dylan McCaffrey, Valor Christian, QB, Michigan, 6-foot-5, 210 pounds: The son of Broncos great Ed and brother to former college stars Max and Christian, McCaffrey led the Eagles to three straight 5A title games, including back-to-back championship victories over Pomona.
- Jake Moretti, Pomona, OL, Colorado, 6-5, 285: Originally an Ohio State commit, Moretti flipped to the Buffs in November. He had to sit out his senior season due to a knee injury, but he’s one of the most highly-touted linemen to ever come out of this state.
- Jonathan Van Diest, Cherry Creek, DL/LB, Colorado, 6-2, 235: A four-year starter for the Bruins, Van Diest set numerous defensive records at Cherry Creek and was a big reason why the Bruins have been in contention for the state title each of the last three seasons.
- Noah Elliss, Valor Christian, DL, Mississippi State, 6-5, 320: Elliss clogged up the middle of the field, making it nearly impossible for teams to consistently run on Valor Christian — not to mention the effect he had on collapsing the pocket.
- Dalton Keene, Chatfield, RB/LB, Virginia Tech, 6-5, 223: The emotional leader of a Chatfield team that made a 4A semifinal appearance, Keene is as fast as he is physical and excels at catching the ball out of the backfield too.
- Corte Tapia, Windsor, LB, Colorado State, 6-2, 222: Tapia led the Wizards to a 4A state championship in 2015 and a semifinal showing last season, all the while padding his career sack record and making an impact from the wing back position on offense.
- Elijah Brockman, Eaglecrest, OL/DL, Air Force, 6-3, 255: Brockman set the tone of physicality for an Eaglecrest team normally known for its speed and skill, as Air Force is getting a well-rounded player who can line up on either side of the ball.
- Marcus McElroy Jr., Mullen, RB, Colorado State, 6-0, 210: McElroy possesses a dangerous combination of speed and power for a back who ran for 2,605 yards and 38 scores over the past two seasons as he helped reaffirm Mullen’s place among the 5A elite.
- Will Rodgers, Valor Christian, DE, Washington State, 6-5, 230: Slowly but surely, the transfer from Arthur Hill in Saginaw, Mich., made a name for himself last fall as an elite pass rusher, amassing 11 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss as one of the lynchpins of the Eagles’ defensive line.
- Mikey Griebel, Columbine, QB/RB/S/KR, North Dakota, 5-9, 180: Griebel did it all in his one season at Heritage, which was followed by three years as a varsity starter at Columbine. He amassed career totals of more than 6,100 total yards, 226 career tackles and 82 total touchdowns.
