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Quick work pleases Fairchild

By Randy Holtz, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 7, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.

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Jonathan Gaye was one of 10 Mullen football players who signed Wednesday. Gaye was the only one headed to Colorado State.

Photo by Linda McConnell / Special To The Rocky

Jonathan Gaye was one of 10 Mullen football players who signed Wednesday. Gaye was the only one headed to Colorado State.

Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild believes he and his staff have recruited a good class considering their limited time to do it.

Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild believes he and his staff have recruited a good class considering their limited time to do it.

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Steve Fairchild and his perpetual-motion staff crammed a yearlong process into four weeks.

How did they do? Check back in a few years. But Wednesday, Fairchild and his recently anointed Colorado State brain trust were bullish on their first recruiting class given the time crunch.

"It was a fire drill, but we had some pretty good firemen," said Larry Kerr, the former defensive coordinator under Sonny Lubick who came back to CSU to run Fairchild's defense. "Our staff jumped right in and did a great job. We have some veteran guys who know how to recruit, and I think that showed."

Fairchild entered his first foray into recruiting as a head coach with a blueprint that emphasized talent over need. That's probably not a bad idea considering Lubick's last two teams finished 4-8 and 3-9. The Rams need just about everything.

"This class was built more on a best-player-available basis instead of trying to address certain needs," Fairchild said. "The idea was to get them in here and we'll sort out the positions and the numbers after they get here. We wanted athletes and we wanted football players."

Fairchild also wanted quality people who could thrive academically at CSU, something Lubick consistently emphasized during his 15-year tenure.

"I think it's a high-character class, and that was one of the things Sonny always put a premium on," Fairchild said. "There's no substitute for character."

Fairchild, a former Lubick offensive aide who came to CSU from the Buffalo Bills, said several of the Rams' 2008 signees came on board late in the recruiting process after taking their official visits to the school last weekend.

Greg Peterson, Fairchild's offensive coordinator and recruiting director, said it will be interesting how things shake down when the team starts spring practice March 25 then is joined by the new recruits in the summer.

"The way we're looking at it, all the players who have been here start with a blank slate. They can write their own script," Peterson said. "Both the veteran guys and the new guys will be give every opportunity to step up and be a factor for us."

Immediate impact

CSU's four junior-college transfers are expected to compete for starting jobs immediately. And while Fairchild emphasized he wouldn't make a habit of pursuing that many JUCO players annually, he said every player in the current four-player JUCO class should have an impact on the field next season.

"We're not in the JUCO recruiting business. We're going to build this program with high school players as we go on. If we sign a JUCO player, we want him to be a guy who's on the field right away."

Sleeper

Byron Steele, who played receiver and defensive back at Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas, escaped the draw of the myriad major-college teams in his home state. He could make his way to the field before several other true freshmen. He projects as a safety at CSU but could grow into a linebacker.

"He's a very talented athlete and some people might consider him a sleeper," Fairchild said. "But we get paid to create sleepers. This isn't the NFL, where you bring guys in and they either play or you cut them. These are guys who we know we'll be working with and trying to develop for four or five years."

One who got away

Defensive back Anthony Hooks, from Phoenix, who originally committed to CSU, was not offered a scholarship by the Rams because of off-the- field and academic issues. Hooks was rumored to be headed to New Mexico, but he was not listed among the Lobos' signees.

Did you know?

Defensive lineman Ja'Rodd Watson is the brother of E.J. Watson, a 1,000-yard running back for the Rams in the mid-1990s. When Watson plays, he and E.J. will become the 14th brother duo to play for CSU since Lubick's tenure began in 1993.

Etc.

* Nineteen of CSU's signees are from Colorado or California, and Fairchild said his school's home state and the Golden State will continue to be the Rams' No. 1 and No. 2 emphasis areas. CSU's breakdown by state: 11 from Colorado, eight from California, three from Texas, two from Florida and one from Montana.

* Safety/receiver Drew Reilly will serve a two-year Mormon church mission, but Fairchild said Reilly is good enough to be worth the wait. He likely will enroll and be available for the 2010 season. "We'll hold the scholarship for him and I think we'll be really glad to have him in our program in a couple of years."

How did you do?

"I had no idea what to expect in this process when I was hired (Dec. 12). But like every Division I coach in America, I'm happy with this class. We really have to credit our staff, the athletic department and the university itself. We had to scramble around, but I think we put together a very good class given the circumstances. We have a great product to sell to kids, and our coaches worked their tails off this past month."

Fairchild

holtzr@RockyMountainNews.com

Colorado State signees

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (school)

*Scott Albritton LS 6-4 230 San Diego (Santa Barbara CC)

**Justin Becker OL 6-7 230 Highlands Ranch (ThunderRidge)

Davis Burl S 6-2 205 Aurora (Grandview)

Joe Caprioglio OL 6-5 247 Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch)

Andy Clements S 6-0 185 Littleton (Chatfield)

Michael Connor RB 5-10 195 Lubbock, Texas (Frenship)

Ben DeLine K 5-11 150 Steamboat Springs (Steamboat Springs)

Ryan Gardner WR 6-1 180 Fairfield, Calif. (Diablo Valley College)

Jonathan Gaye RB 6-0 178 Highlands Ranch (Mullen)

**Jordan Gragert OL 6-3 240 Libby, Mont. (Libby)

Chris Gipson LB 6-0 232 Dallas (Kimball)

Sevaro Johnson DT 6-3 300 Oakland, Calif. (Laney College)

Alex Kelly QB 6-2 205 Fort Collins (Rocky Mountain)

Jason Klingerman FB/TE 6-1 260 Valley Center, Calif. (Valley Center)

Jake Landers OL 6-3 300 Durango (Durango)

Marquise Law WR 6-4 195 Miami (American)

x-Drew Reilly S/WR 6-3 175 Valley Center, Calif. (Valley Center)

Byron Steele WR/DB 6-3 190 Arlington, Texas (Lamar)

Ben Tedford DE 6-6 222 Littleton (Columbine)

Gerard Thomas DB 5-9 165 Kissimmee, Fla. (Osceola)

Zach Tiedgen DE 6-5 215 Highlands Ranch (ThunderRidge)

Ja'Rodd Watson DT 6-2 260 San Diego (La Jolla)

**Matt Weems DE 6-4 227 Centennial (Arapahoe)

Adam Wilson S 6-1 200 Orcutt, Calif. (Righetti)