Another big recruiting weekend for the Colorado Buffaloes has resulted in several new transfers.
On Saturday night, former Baylor receiver Jaylen Ellis announced his commitment to the Buffaloes. On Sunday, three more joined the herd, as safety Rodrick Ward (Southern Utah), defensive tackle Bishop Thomas (Florida State) and offensive lineman Reggie Young (Liberty) announced their pledges to CU.
Ellis was originally committed to West Virginia, but announced his de-commitment about an hour before posting about coming to CU. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
“Letap do it,” Ellis wrote on Twitter, while posting a photo of himself in a CU uniform.
In four seasons at Baylor, Ellis battled some injures and played in 16 games, one as a starter. He caught six passes for 198 yards and a touchdown during his time with the Bears. Last season, Ellis caught three passes for 154 yards. His receptions went for 50, 47 and 57 yards.
Coming out of Cedar Ridge (Texas) High School in 2019, Ellis was a 4-star recruit, per the 247Sports rankings. He had 25 scholarship offers, including from Colorado and 18 other Power 5 teams. As a high school senior, he had 36 catches for 881 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Ward, listed by SUU at 5-11, 180 pounds, recorded 52 tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass breakups last season for the Thunderbirds, earning second-team All-WAC honors. Ward began his career at Mt. San Jacinto College in 2018 before transferring to SUU in 2019. He had 22 tackles in 2019. In 2020, SUU didn’t play because of COVID-19 and Ward redshirted in 2021.
Thomas was a four-star recruit coming out of Bishop Moore Catholic (Fla.) High School a year ago and ranked as a top-30 defensive tackle prospect. As a true freshman last season, Thomas played in two games for the Seminoles, which allowed him to redshirt. He was named as Florida State’s defensive scout team player of the year. He is listed at 6-foot-2, 290 pounds and has four years of eligibility remaining.
Young, listed at 6-4, 270 pounds, played in nine games last season, all as a reserve at Liberty. He played 132 snaps on offense, according to Pro Football Focus. Young, who signed with Northwestern State out of high school in 2018, was a NJCAA second-team All-American at Iowa Central Community College in 2021. He has one year of eligibility.
CU now has 71 players projected to be on scholarship for next season.
Ellis is one of 12 scholarship receivers on the Buffs’ roster, all of them newcomers. The addition of Ward gives CU six safeties, with four of them being transfers. The Buffs have six defensive tackles slated for scholarship, all of them transfers, and 13 offensive linemen, with nine of them being transfers.
