RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - DONNELL ALEXANDER

5'11"  |  220 lbs.  |  RB/DB  |  Blue Springs South High School, Missouri

This speedster from Missouri bounced around from school to school finally landing on the Blue Springs South squad, impressing the coaching staff with his 4.4 forty time and his no fear attitude. Bright spots include his intelligents of the game, his shifty moves, work ethic and his ability to over come adversity. In this first clip, a news team in Kansas City highlights Alexander's player of the week award and gives us a little taste of what's to come to Fort Collins.


This next clip is him rushing for a touchdown, I'm guessing his junior year, with a pulled hamstring.


The only thing that worries me about this kid is, with all the talent we have in the backfield, what is Steve going to do with ANOTHER running back? I guess use him as a DB.

Go Rams!

INTRODUCING THE BIGHORN BATTALION

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - TANNER GIBAS

6'2"  |  205 lbs.  |  Long Snapper  |  Charter Oak High School, California

I was watching Tanner's highlight reel on YouTube and suddenly wondered aloud, “This guy is pretty good at snapping the ball.” And then I wondered, “Who the hell is watching long snapping highlight reels?” the answer is you, me and Steve Fairchild apparently. Regardless, Tanner has a website, tannergibas.com, with a lot of good info. He was ranked 3rd in the class of 2011 by Rubio Long Snapping. And I'm sure Rubio knows more about long snapping than I do. It's pretty sweet to see high school kids specializing early on and punching their ticket to college. I like that CSU's coaching staff is paying attention to details.



At this point the video has only 24 views and no comments. Let's show Tanner some love people. Enjoy.

Fun Fact:2010 National Kicking and Snapping Spring Event Winner (defeated 79 other long snappers from 40 states for the win.) And according to the internet (which is always right), Ryan Pontbriand of the Cleveland Browns is the highest-paid long snapper in the NFL, with a 2011 salary of $825,000. So get your kid started early.

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - CONNER SMITH

6'4"  |  213 lbs.  |  QB  |  William B. Travis High School, Texas

Smith is a strong armed quarterback with size to match. He works well in the pocket and in shotgun situations which makes him a true NFL style quarterback. He's very accurate and he can make some nice touch passes as shown in this video above. In November, Smith finished at the top of the Elite 11 West Regional in Las Vegas over more well known quarterback recruits. Makes you wonder why he hasn't been highly recruited. He may not have been as athletic as some other QB's in that particular competition but he does have the size and mechanics to be an excellent addition for the Rams.

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - CHARLES LOVETT

5'7"  |  168 lbs.  |  WR/ATH  |  Hillsborough High School, Florida

This crafty receiver out of Tampa has dazzled fans with his acrobatic catches and his shifty moves. Lovett has excellent hands and has unmatched awareness of where he is on the field. A starter on Hillsborough's varsity squad as a freshman, he became one of the nation's top receivers as a senior with 1,108 yards and 8 dudges. May not sound all that impressive but Hillsborough had a quaterback carousel this past year making it hard to put up consistent numbers. Lovett said. "They (CSU) don't have too many big-play receivers and if I go there, I feel like I have a chance to play and contribute right away." (quoted from an article by Bill Ward) One negative is his size but we've seen some impressive receivers come out of CSU with limited size. We'll have to see if he can make an impact.

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - TOMMEY MORRIS

6'0"  |  200 lbs.  |  4.6 sec 40  |  TE/WR  |  Permian High School, Texas

Morris comes to the Rams as a multi-purpose player. Big enough to be a tight end but agile and quick enough to play in the receiver position. He's got great hands and seems to know exactly what to do after catching the ball, that is, run over who's ever in front of him. Add on a good 15 to 20 pounds and he will make an ideal tight end. One negative thing about Morris is that him and a teammate were arrested for burglary during his last season playing for Permian, resulting in game suspensions. If he can tame his off field antics, which I don't think the CSU coaching staff will put up with in the first place, he will make an excellent addition to the Ram offense and a big target for Pete Thomas.

Go Rams!

CALEB HANIE - ALMOST A HERO

Photo: Reuters/John Gress

Question: What’s the easiest job in the NFL? Answer: Backup Punter. What’s the toughest job in the NFL? 3rd string QB behind a gutless Jay Cutler and an armless Todd Collins.

Another frigid day in Chicago for a third string quarterback. An easy paycheck for a man who sits on the sidelines daydreaming "I could be at home right now playing Call of Duty on my PS3 with my buddies crushing a bag of Doritos but instead I have to be out here in this cold a$$ stadium freezing my hands off. Where’s Urlacher? I gotta great joke to tell… dang it! He’s on the field. I’ll tell him when he comes off."

Yes, it could have been another boring day for this man but for Caleb Hanie, the dream of earning six figures by not do anything would not be so easy on this day. Two quarters of dangling his feet, combing his mustache and cracking jokes about the face painter in the stands to teammates, it started to become very evident that Caleb would have to go to work. After Jay Cutler's phantom knee injury and Todd Collins's awful play, coach Lovie Smith called him over at the beginning of the third. Totally interrupting a wet willie attempt on kicker Robbie Gould, "Hanie! Get your ass in there!" This was his big chance for the state trooper mustached man to shine. The former CSU Ram did his best, stepping onto the field in the NFC championship game down two touchdowns and rallying his Bears teammates. Hanie was in this situation before when he started as a freshman after Justin Holland went down with a broken leg. Caleb played tough on this cold Sunday. He cut the deficit TWICE to seven points with TD passes after receiving little to no reps throughout the entire season. After his promising first drive, Caleb’s dreams of becoming a hero this day were smashed after throwing a pick 6 to B.J. Raji, a 350 lb. dancing machine and then throwing another with 45 seconds to play to seal a victory for the Packers.

It’s time to celebrate a great showing for a former Ram. Hanie showed some moxie and there are plenty of NFL teams in need of a good QB, so we’ll see if Caleb piqued anyone’s interest. Way to show up an uninterested, cowardly Jay Cutler.

Good job Caleb Hanie. You almost got Da Bears to the Super Bowl.

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - KEVIN PIERRE-LOUIS

6'2"  |  190 lbs.  | Safety  |  Del Rio High School, Texas

Originally from Haiti, Kevin help his Rams from Del Rio go 8-3 in a tough Texas 5A conference. Looking at his film, Kevin looks like a hard hitter who can punish you if your not looking. A great open field tackler who keeps his feet and is not easily juked. He's also got some hops to defend from the pass. A weaknesses is his speed. Right now, Kevin is listed running a 4.55 40 but that should improve in time over the summer as he gets ready for the fall. He's got a decent frame but could add some pounds. A 205 safety would be a great addition to the Ram's improving defense.

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - DARIUS JOHNSON

6'5"  |  257 lbs.  |  OT  | Dr. Phillips High School, Florida

Just looking at the very first highlight, Johnson looks so aggressive. He stands his opponents up and pancakes them with ease. A superb run blocker.
At 257, Johnson is very mobile and keeps moving his feet during game play. He could also be an excellent defensive end for the Rams, a position in need of an over haul. From the Orlando based power house Dr. Phillips High school which is Pat Meyer's oasis for recruiting, Darius Johnson will make an excellent fit for CSU and help our team tremendously. Try him out on defensive end.

Go Rams!

WHERE'S THE WIDE RECEIVERS?

So we are reviewing the list of commitments that Steve and staff have assembled. It’s not too bad. We have a guy named Bryan Bosworth and another named Lee Clubb. Very cool. The third Kawulok brother is ready to sign and he’s 6-6. Donnell Alexander is the son of the late Derrick Thomas, so you’ve got to like those bloodlines, and if you don’t know about the man love that this blog has expressed for Kapri Bibbs then you probably don’t read this blog that much.

It’s not all man love today my friends. Notice the lack of WRs in this group. We’ve got one so far and his name is Charles Lovett. Apparently he runs like the wind but he stands only 5-8. Sounds exactly like Tony Drake, whom this staff converted from RB to WR. We also have Lou Greenwood who works out of the backfield and in the slot. What we need is for Byron Steele to make a play. We need Marquise Law to do anything. Isn’t he Anquan Boldin’s 3rd cousin on his mother’s side? Oh wait, Boldin sucked this year while 47 year old Derrick Mason dominated him.

Pete Thomas is a great QB, one of the best freshman QBs in the country, and they still can’t entice a WR to come and play with him. Why? Pete and Fairchild are both from San Diego, so you would think they would have some pull in that region.

Secondly, there is little competition at the WR position. The “bright” spots were Tyson Liggett who graduated, and Greenwood. So the staff is either recruiting WRs that aren’t interested or they aren’t recruiting WRs. Do they really have that much confidence in Law, Steele, Matt Yemm, T.J Borcky? Care to comment?

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - JUSTIN HANSEN

6'4"  |  287 lbs.  |  OG  |  Longmont High School, Colorado

Another in state recruit, Hansen over powers his opponents with his size and mobility crowning him as the best offensive lineman in the state of Colorado. With great balance and leverage, Hansen has the ability to protect against a pass rush or to help with a power running game. Hansen also recorded three sacks in his junior year playing as a defensive tackle. As a junior, Hansen helped Longmont reach the 2009 state championship and the 2010 state quarterfinals. As a Ram, he should bring some much needed size and awareness to an already improved offensive line and possibly contributing to a much needed pass rush on the other side of the ball. I can't wait to see him pancake fools.

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - DORIAN BROWN

6'1" 220  |  4.49 sec 40 time  |  RB  | Thompson Valley High School


This power house of a back is just another example of CSU's dedication to have a top notch backfield. Being the only recruit committed to the Rams from Colorado so far, this Thompson Valley High School freight train put up some impressive numbers as a junior only to become one of nation's elite running backs. In one game versus Fossil Ridge, Dorian put up the state's 6th best rushing performance of 439 yards and 5 touchdowns in history. Dorian's strength is his strength maxing over 400 pounds on bench. He is not a cut'em up, flashy running like his now counter part Tony Drake, but he is a crush'em up, mow'em down running back demonstrated in the video above. Having missed his senior year due to a knee injury, Dorian Brown will sure to make an impact on this Fall's roster after not playing for a year. You know he's itching to get back out there and stomp on people's faces.

Go Rams!

CURE BOREDOM WITH THE HELMET PROJECT

Bored at home the other night, I stumbled upon this cool historical football historical website and before I knew it, the bag of Cheetos I was snacking on was crushed, the wife went to bed hours ago, the dog was sleeping on the ground, snoring behind my chair and the forty of Olde E was polished. Ha! Just kidding. The dog was never behind me snoring, suckers. Anyway, this site is awesome!

It’s got helmet designs of all the NCAA teams (FBS, FCS, DII, DIII and so on. Not to mention obscure leagues like CFL, XFL etc.) from the time of the team’s inception.

I spent hours checking out different team helmets and reading their history. Very interesting if you’re into that kind of stuff. So, when you’re done earning that last achievement point on Halo or you need something to kill some time, go check out the Helmet Project. You won’t be disappointed.

THE HELMET PROJECT - click it.

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - DREW REILLY

6'3 175  |  LB/WR  |  Valley Center HS


Its been 3 years since Drew Reilly originally committed to CSU, now he's completed his LDS mission and is ready to compete for playing time with the Rams. Recruited as an athlete, its unclear if he will continue to play the LB/WR combo he did as a high school senior in 2008. We need help everywhere so it really doesn't matter. Lets hope they make a decision soon and don't Borcky/Drake/Greenwood him up.
Check out the  the video posted below; Reilly looks fast and aggressive on both sides of the ball. He seems happy to tackle and showed some jukes as a receiver. My vote is to start him at one position or the other and stick to it.

Go Rams!

For more information on Drew Reilly, click here.

HOKE LEAVES? ANNOYING PATTERN FOR MWC

Is this good for the MWC that the Coach of the Year has taken a historic job or bad that he has left the conference all together? Or do you think this was a desperation pick by the Wolverines? One thing I do know is that it's pretty crappy that an awesome coach yet again leaves a Mountain West school for big money. I feel like the Mountain West is some kind of farm system for coaches. Who would want to leave sunny San Diego for a dismal Ann Arbor? Although I have heard nice things about Ann Arbor. In any case, does this mean a decline in recruits? Are athletes going to follow in Brady Hoke's exit and switch commitments to Michigan? Does CSU have an opportunity to pick up some of the left over recruits that decommit to SDSU? To me, it sounds more like a money and ego trip. Michigan can give Hoke more money, better facilities, better recruits, a bigger fan base and the respect that he's looking for, obviously.

Finally, do you think Hoke can turn around Michigan like he did with Ball State and SDSU? The correct answer is: Who cares. It really doesn’t benefit CSU or the MWC, but that being said; college football is always better when Michigan is playing well.

Go Rams!

RECRUIT PROFILE 2011 - COLTON PAULHUS

Now that the College Football season has finally ended, after about a two month delay for a national championship which by the way did I mention is retarded, and after being on vacation for a little bit, we can get down to some recruit talk. I decided to do a player break down for you, at least ones that have signed and committed.

6'2", 255 lbs. in coming Sophmore from American River College in California. Colton is listed running a 4.65 40 time but looks to be a little faster in these high lights below. Granted it is JUCO.

He looks very quick coming off the ball in this video above. He also looks very physical. In the 2010 season, Paulhus was week three's player of the week. At one time he committed to Idaho State but they wanted him to play an interior d-line position. He said neds to that. Great pick up for the Rams considering how much help they need on the defensive side of the ball.

Go Rams!

TWO MORE FEATURES FOR 2011

In case you haven't noticed. We've added two new features to the already expanded Ramifications. The features are located in the upper right column.

First, we added an Alumni Events page. It's a list of up and coming events for CSU Alum in 2011.

Here is the Alumni Page

Next we added a new forum page called the Ram Rod Forum. Much like other forums, you can talk about any subject you want related to the Ram's of course. No user name login required but it makes it easier when you're adding your signature.

Check them out and enjoy!

Go Rams!

FAIRWELL MOUNTAIN WEST. HELLO BIG EAST.

Let me start out by stating last night's Fiesta Bowl was a complete joke. Uconn? Come on... give me a break. Kind of a game up until halftime, waste of my life watching the rest of that crappy game. Thank god Oklahoma waxed the "Big East Champs", uh, I mean chumps to expose how weak and awful the Big East really is. Especially when they're think of moving up Villanova's football program next year? What? People argue with me and say "Well, they're pretty good. They won the FCS championship last year." Who cares! Northern Colorado won it two years in a row under Coach Glenn and look how great they are now. Another excellent team in the Big East is Pitt. Way to hire a coach who went to jail, then, firing that same coach who was released from jail. Good luck in the prestigious and historic Compass Bowl. Hasn't the Big East won that bowl every year of it's four years of existence? They should rename it the "Automatic Win for the Big East sponsored by Tampax Tampons Bowl". So stupid. No wonder why TCU excepted an invitation over to the Big East because their gonna dominate. A guaranteed BCS bid every year. Speaking of TCU, congratulations on an awesome win. Remember, you were still in the Mountain West when you won that bowl so thanks for making our conference look good. No thanks to the Utes who got smoked by Boise State. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out... or how ever that saying goes. Remember to take your little sister Brigham Young with you.

As you can see, I'm not a fan of this bowl system. Yeah, I'm preaching to the choir but I can't see it changing anytime soon. I have no idea why they don't consider the Mountain West when their bowl record every year is in the top 3 of all conferences. I have to listen to some jackass on ESPN talk about how TCU is making a huge leap from a mediocre to a stellar conference like the Big East. If anything it's a lateral move and the biggest thing TCU is bringing other than their football team is their hot cheerleaders. With the addition of Boise State and future addictions of Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii, it may be a retarded move. Say what you want about the Mountain West, they're turning things around and a lot of the teams will be thumping skulls soon enough.

Go Rams!

Highly recommend Death to the BCS. It's a book. Look it up.

NEW FEATURES FOR 2011

Happy New Year Ram fans! A new year comes new features for Ramifications. Here is a run down of what we got rock'n now.

First, we added ESPN's Bottomline at the bottom of the page. Keep up with the latest scores and news by scrolling down to the bottom of the page. I'm sure you've seen it on other websites.

Next, we've added a Submit a Guest Post button where you can submit a post of your own. You got something to say? Submit it and we might post it, if it's good enough. It's located on the right side bar.

Finally, we've added two new chat rooms.

Ram Rant is a straight up live Ram chat room. KEEP IT CLEAN LADIES! (My high school coach Jim Smith always called us ladies.)

Van Pelt's Room is a chat room with video. You can embed video and chat with your buds about how much you hate CU while watching Scotty McKnight get crushed.

Both rooms you can pop out of your browser and set it to the side.

I have not tested these rooms with IE7 or older browsers.


Ram Rant Example

Van Pelt's Room Example

Enjoy the new features! More to come very soon!

Go Rams!