Western 100: Colorado on the rise in high school football recruiting, college transfer rankings

Similar to many recent Pac-12 football recruiting cycles, two of the conference’s West Coast schools — USC and Oregon — rank among the top programs in high school and transfer portal additions.

The Ducks topped the Pac-12 in overall recruiting rankings in 2021, the Trojans led the conference in 2022, following the arrival of coach Lincoln Riley, and USC currently holds the top spot again this year, per 247Sports.com rankings, with Oregon right behind.

Perhaps the most intriguing story of the conference heading into National Signing Day on Wednesday?

What Colorado — which finished the 2022 season in the Pac-12 basement, and posted a 1-11 record — has been able to accomplish since early December.

The Buffaloes started their season with five losses, finally broken up by an overtime win over a Cal team that also had trouble stringing together wins throughout the fall.

Then they ended their schedule on another six-game losing streak, including four consecutive defeats against nationally ranked programs in Oregon, USC, Washington and eventual conference champion Utah to round out November.

Seven days after the Utes handed the Buffaloes a lopsided, 63-21 loss in their final game, Colorado announced Deion Sanders as the program’s new coach.

What has happened in the two months since?

Between high school recruits and transfer additions, Colorado has put together one of the highest-rated signing classes in the country in 2023.

The Buffaloes currently rank third in the Pac-12 in combined high school and transfer portal recruiting rankings in 2023, and 21st nationally, per 247Sports.

“I think it’s the (Coach) Prime effect,” said Brandon Huffman, the National Recruiting Editor at 247Sports.com.

Sanders has proven success at every level. He was a two-time All-American cornerback at Florida State during his playing career, a first-round draft pick, a two-time Super Bowl champion during his 14-year NFL career and also played nine MLB seasons.

Coaching college football, he compiled a 27-5 record in three seasons leading FCS program Jackson State. He was a two-time Southwestern Athletic Conference coach of the year after leading the Tigers back-to-back undefeated SWAC titles the past two seasons. Prior to Jackson State, he was a prep football coach in Texas from 2012-20.

“He’s been very visible,” Huffman said. “He was an Under Armour (All-America) Game coach for a number of years. … He was visible in high school coaching.”

Less than two weeks ago, Colorado added a commitment from a five-star high school recruit for the first time since 2008, flipping five-star Lakeland (Fla.) cornerback Cormani McClain, who initially committed to Miami back in October.

McClain is the consensus top corner in the nation, and is ranked as high as the No. 14 recruit overall in 2023 by both 247Sports and ESPN.

Only two former five-star high school recruits who joined the Buffaloes — former Colorado running backs Darrell Scott (2008 class) and Marcus Houston (2000) — have been rated higher in the program’s modern history.

McClain, who holds 26 offers from Division I programs and was an Under Armour All-America Game selection, is the headliner of a Buffaloes high school class that also includes three four-star recruits who signed with Colorado during the early period in Derby (Kansas) running back Dylan Edwards, Thomas County Central (Georgia) wide receiver Adam Hopkins and North Caddo (Louisiana) wide receiver Omarion Miller.

Colorado has 15 more three-star signees, who are part of a Buffaloes high school class that currently ranks fifth in the Pac-12 and 29th in the nation.

The program leads the Pac-12 in the transfer portal rankings, and is fourth in the nation behind only LSU, Florida State and Alabama, with 23 transfers headed to Boulder.

That includes former five-star cornerback Travis Hunter — the top player in the nation in the 2022 high school recruiting class — who Sanders signed as the highest-ranked recruit in Jackson State has had in the modern era last winter.

Hunter announced his transfer to Colorado in late December, and is part of a transfer class that also includes 10 players arriving from other Power Five schools.

Suddenly, Colorado seems in position to compete next fall, as Sanders and his staff continue to work to turn around a program that hasn’t posted a winning season (in a full 12-game regular season schedule) since 2016.

“The transfer portal tells you that you don’t have to do three or four year rebuilds,” Huffman said. “You can have an immediate turnaround.”

Entering National Signing Day, the Buffaloes have 46 players either signed or committed in their high school and transfer classes. Only Arizona State, with 46, has more incoming among FBS programs.

Sanders wrapped up his introductory press conference back in December by foreshadowing plans for a bright football future in Boulder.

“We’ve only just begun,” he said.

WHO WON THE PAC-12 RECRUITING RACE?

USC enters the week with the conference’s top overall class — including high school recruits and transfers — with 32 total commits, and ranks eighth nationally.

Bishop Gorman (Nev.) five-star wide receiver Zachariah Branch headlines the high school class, which also includes Los Alamitos (Calif.) five-star passer Malachi Nelson and nine more four-star high school recruits from the West.

Oregon ranks second overall in the Pac-12 and eighth nationally with 32 commits.

Menlo-Atherton (Calif.) five-star wide receiver Jurrion Dickey is the top recruit in the high school class, which also includes nine four-star recruits from the West from Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada and Washington.

Colorado (No. 3 in Pac-12, No. 21 nationally), UCLA (No. 4 in Pac-12, No. 24 nationally) and Utah (No. 5 in Pac-12, No. 25 nationally) round out the top five in the overall rankings.

The Ducks are currently the top-ranked program in the conference in the high school rankings, followed by USC, Utah, Washington and Colorado.

Colorado leads the transfer rankings, followed by USC, UCLA, Oregon and Arizona State.

EXTRA POINTS

▪ The top-ranked player in six Western states, per 247Sports.com Composite, is staying in the Pac-12 footprint next fall.

Three of them — Skyline (Idaho) four-star athlete Kenyon Sadiq, Cherry Creek (Colo.) four-star edge rusher Blake Purchase and Farrington (Hawaii) four-star offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu — signed with the Ducks in the early period. Sadiq and Laloulu have already enrolled in Eugene.

Branch signed with USC in December.

Timpview (Utah) offensive tackle Spencer Fano and Rainier Beach (Wash.) four-star cornerback Caleb Presley signed in-state with the Utes and Huskies.

▪ The top-ranked quarterback in each West Coast state is heading East.

Warren (Calif.) five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, also considered the No. 3 recruit in the nation by composite rankings, has enrolled at Tennessee.

Gabarri Johnson, a four-star passer from Lincoln (Wash.), is departing Tacoma for the SEC after signing with Missouri in December.

West Linn (Ore.) four-star passer Sam Leavitt, who was initially committed to Washington State, is headed to the Big Ten after signing with Michigan State during the early period.