MITCH FRENTESCU 2012 CSU RECRUIT

Height 6'3"   |   Weight 250   |   DT

Dude. Talk about blowing up a hole, talk about Mitch Frentescu. This Los Lamas High School product gets off the line faster than anyone I've ever seen. With in seconds he's dancing with the quarterback. And by dancing I mean hurting him by driving his face into the ground. He runs right over a chop block and is grabbing the running back almost before he gets the hand off. Mitch has long monkiesk arms and he's pretty power coming off the ball when it's snapped. There's a great demonstration of all his skills at 4:30 in his highlight video where he plows up the middle of the line and blocks a field goal. Yet another one I can't wait to see wearing the green and gold.

NICK JANUSKA 2012 CSU RECRUIT

Height 6'2"   |   Weight 210   |   S/LB   |   40-time 4.45

This hard hitting safety from Ventura High School in California will bring some much needed talent to a sub-par secondary. In watching Nick's tape, a couple of things stick out. He's got a long stride and he uses it to his advantage. Great speed and when he does pick off a ball, he's tough to bring down. At 1:35 in the video he comes from all the way in the back of the defense to come up and make a tackle on the running back, who is trying to run around the end. Pretty impressive considering the running back gains barely a yard. In other highlights, he demonstrates great vision of the field and follows the quarterback with anticipation of the throw. At 2:22 he has a sweet pick where he shows off his hops. The same at 2:33 where he makes a one handed pick in the endzone.

Nick looks great on special teams as well. He gets down the field so fast the returner barely has time to make a move. And can someone say emergency punter? Can't wait to see this kid on the field as a Ram.

NOLAN PERALTA 2012 CSU RECRUIT

Height 6'3"   |   Weight 225   |   TE/MLB

I started to watch the video of Mr. Nolan Peralta and after about 5 minutes (of the 30 minutes) I think I got the gist of the highlight reel. The play starts like this.  QB gets the snap and about 3 seconds later Peralta comes in and crushes him.  Somewhere in the 3rd or 4th minute, there was a play where Nolan lines up on offense in the WR slot position.  As the play runs, he throws the crack back block and crushes someone.  So I know he's also a TE but it seems from the reel that his ability to hit and chase guys down is his biggest asset.  He's got tremendous size and would be a tough cover at the TE position but we have one bigger guy there right now.  His size, speed and instincts probably will take him further at the MLB position.  Who knows?  I'm just glad he's looking our way.

Link to highlight video
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/625851

NICK CALLENDER 2012 CSU RECRUIT

Height 6'6"   |   Weight 275   |   DT/OT

I don't know what to be more impressed about, his defensive line skills or his offensive line skills. Either way Nick bullies his way into making plays. The first thing you notice about this recruit from Berkley, California is his size. His 6'6" height makes any high schooler knock their knees. Nick looks to have great balance and his legs never stop going even after the whistle has blown. I think Nick would make a great fit as a Ram d-tackle. He applies relentless pressure on the quarterback and knows how to plug holes. At about a 1:30 in he puts this guy straight on his ass! What a highlight!

Some of his d-line highlights looks like the opposition is afraid to even block him. Glad he's gonna be a Ram!

NICK SCHUESSLER 2012 CSU RECRUIT

UPDATE

Conflicting reports do confirm that quarterback Nick Schuessler IS heading to Mississippi State while ESPN was reporting earlier that he was headed to CSU. Nice heads up Anonymous commenter. I do have to say I was looking forward to seeing this kid sling some balls with his bowl head.

Height 6'4"   |   Weight 190   |   QB


Don't let the cereal bowl haircut fool you. Nick can throw bombs. Coming from the same 15-0 Georgia state champ Grayson Ram team as teammate Fred Zerblis, Schuessler is another great pick up for J-Mac's football club. First off, the coaches over at Grayson High School do an incredible job putting together a highlight video. Kudos to the Dream Theateresk music. Nick's number's were pretty impressive. 1,753 yards with a 67% completion rating, 19 passing tds and 5 rushing tds. When you first start watching his video you think all he can throw is bombs but just when I thought he couldn't do anything else, he busts out some fancy maneuvers with his feet and bebops skats all over the field. And just when you get bored with that, he starts firing in bullets to receivers on crossing routes. He looks like he knows how to set his feet and stay in the pocket. Nick can even take a hit from time-to-time.


This is the best part of this recruit. I can't tell you how unbelievably SMART it was to pick up a quarterback along with his high school teammate who happens to be the offensive lineman who gives him the ball. So awesome. Just think of the chemistry these two already have. Great potential. Nice work on this combo J-Mac and staff.



SIDENOTE:
Don't forget signing day coverage Wednesday right here on Ramifications. Our live chat will be up and running during the McElwain press conference.

FRED ZERBLIS 2012 CSU RECRUIT

Height 6'2"   |   Weight 285   |   Center

From one Ram green and gold team in Georgia, to another in Fort Collins. Fred Zerblis from Loganville Georgia, home of the 15-0 state champions Grayson Rams, has committed to Colorado State.  This beast can open huge holes and flatten fools like a tortilla press in a Chinese wanton factory. Make sense? No. Doesn't have to because watching Fred's highlight video is all the evidence I need to see that this guy is ready to play now. Of course he's not taking Richburg's spot but what a mentor to have. Watch Zorblis' feet. Watch how he comes off the ball and drives his opponent into the ground. Listen to the heavy metal/industrial music he has playing with his highlights. IMPRESSIVE! These tapes are getting me pumped up. Fred is a stud. Need I say more?

CAN'T GET OVER THE RUSH: CSU UPSET

It's over 24 hours since the Rams upset number 12 San Diego State and I still can't get over the win! What a great feeling to have going into a new week. Let's hope the b-boys can keep this momentum going into the UNLV game. We wanted to take the time to congratulate the CSU men's basketball team in probably the biggest basketball win that I've ever seen in the school's history. Here are a couple of videos for your enjoyment.

Court side angle.


Up top angle.


Here is a link to a photo montage from the Collegian.
CLICK HERE

Check out our facebook page for the SportsCenter highlights.

Keep up the good work boys!

JACK WANTS YOU!

JOHNNY SCHUPP 2012 CSU RECRUIT

Height 6'6"   |   Weight 235   |   DE/O-Tackle

Colorado State gets a little more help on the defensive front. Johnny Schupp, a defensive end from Vacaville High School in Vacaville California, gave a verbal yesterday and plans to sign with CSU and J-Mac next Wednesday. This Monticello Empire League Lineman of the year had 8.5 sacks, 69 tackles, 4 batted balls against the pass and 4 fumble recoveries in his final year helping Vacaville go 15-1. After taking a look at his highlights, Ram fans have got to be excited about this recruit. He completely manhandles every guy, I mean boy, he's up against and he is so obvious to point out the field because he is a monster compared to the rest of the players. Even in his highlights playing tackle on offense, he's like a bulldozer.

Johnny's fast for a biggin'. At about 1:07, watch how he keeps up with his running back and still makes blocks as they reach the end zone. Very impressive. He's got great leverage as he powers his opponents to the ground. Probably due to his wrestling career. Put him on either side of the ball and I think Johnny will be a successful Ram.



SIDENOTE
Kicker Keenan Adams is another recruit we profiled last year and is now committing to CSU. Here is the profile and highlights we've posted. CLICK HERE

D'ARRIC THOMAS 2012 CSU RECRUIT

Height 5'11"   |   Weight 180   |   DB  |   4.4 40-time

This fastie from Dallas reminds me of another speedster from Dallas that was on CSU's roster for two years except this one is bigger and hopefully will attend class to remain eligible to play more. When I watch D'arric's video, it doesn't give me a really good idea of what kind of DB we would be getting but he is definitely a great return man. It does show he's got some hops and he knows how to square up on someone to drive them into the ground but I want to see how well he can cover someone; one of the biggest fails CSU's defense has had for years. Another thing it shows is his speed, of course. On Rivals he's listed as running a 4.4 40 but on his tape it says 4.34. Who knows. Either way it's faster than me or anyone who reads this. I like his size. Pretty big for a DB and when he gets into a college workout, he could add another 5 pounds of muscle. Thomas has nice height as well. In his tape, he's got some nice examples of stepping in front the receiver to make a pick by using his length. But, some of the plays look like a sorry throw from the opposing quarterback. You be the judge. Either way, a nice addition to a struggling defensive secondary.

MISTER JONES 2012 CSU RECRUIT

Height 6'2"   |   Weight 210   |   RB  |   4.5 40-time

Depth at the running back position just got a little deeper Friday and the competition for top dog just got a little more interesting. Texas A&M transfer Mister Jones, Littleton High School's and Colorado's top running back of two years ago, decided to join coach J-Mac in his quest for dominance of the Mountain West. As a senior in high school, Jones rushed for 1,317 yards, 18 touchdowns, and averaged 8.1 yards per carry. Chad Koepke, Little High School head coach, describes Mister's running style: "He’s a big physical back that has exceptional speed for his size. He’s 6-2 200, that runs an eleven flat 100 meter dash electrically timed. He’s got a unique combination of size and speed." (Quoted from A&M signing day) Sounds good to me! Now what do we do with the plethora of running backs we already have? And when can I use plethora in a sentence again? Honestly though, it's great to have a lot of depth at the running back position because the style of play J-Mac has, you're gonna need a lot of smash mouth dudes who can run over people. I guess Kapri Bibbs can keep that "full ride" to Snow College.

UPDATE
Here is a link to a Mister Jones story 7news did. It will give you an idea of his size, strength and a little bit of what he's about.
7news VIDEO

I leave you with this.

CSU HEADLINE ROUNDUP

Don "Wink" Martindale hosting Tic-Tac-Dough

SF GOING TO THE CHARGERS

Networking is important, obviously in this case. Senior offensive assistant/special assignments? I hope by special assignments, they mean getting coffee and donuts for Norv and the rest of the coaching staff. From failed head coach of a NCAA football team to an assistant on the San Diego Chargers? Whatev. GO BRONCOS!

CSU B-BOYS HITTING THEIR STRIDE

Eight game win streak headed into The Border War with the Pokes. Best start CSU men’s basketball has had in 6 seasons. Young bunch of scrappy ballers that can run the court and… look. If you haven’t been paying attention to Ram basketball, now is the time. This program has been on a steady rise and looking to dominate opponents. Let’s start showing up at Moby and get fired up for this team. What Coach Miles needs this season that signature win to put this team over the top; against a New Mexico, UNLV, or San Diego State. I hate to sound like the cheerleader, homer type but I don’t care. GO RAMS!

D-COORDINATOR “WINK” MARTINDALE

“Pro”

This would be an incredible hire. Mentored by Rex Ryan; some NFL experience and a nickname like “Wink” only spells out pure powerhouse for CSU. Even though his stent with the Broncos wasn’t very impressive, it’s still a much need upgrade at the defensive coordinator position. Besides, I think his calling is college football because that’s where he has had most of his success.

“Con”

This would be a mediocre hire. So tired of seeing coaching retreads who haven’t had real success, keep taking opportunities away from young coaches. While I love his nickname, he should change it to” Stink” because he sucks at coaching D, ruined the Broncos and he will not do it my beloved Rams.

TRANSFERRED TALENT

In addition to the loss of Pete Thomas, a few other players have left the CSU program. Safety Ezra Thompson, WR Byron Steele and DL Charles Green booted from the team prior to Coach Mac’s arrival. WR Derek Serowski left for personal reasons. Here are their combined stats. Zero. Peace out.

LB Eric Niederberger has ruled academically ineligible to return. Remember who touched that punt in the CU game? …rhymes with Schmiederberger.

These departures will open up a number of scholarships and give Coach Mac the opportunity to grab his style of players with a little amount of recruiting time left.

QB RUMOR MILL FOLLOW UP

Pete Thomas' has faded in existence. Just like in Back to the Future. If only he was playing guitar like Marty.

It’s official. Pete Thomas has withdrawn from CSU and is free to attend another school according to the Rocky Mountain Collegian. We’ve said in this blog before, that it doesn’t seem like Pete would be a bad fit for Coach Mac’s offense, so what is the reasoning behind Thomas’ departure? Let’s speculate…because it’s fun.

1. Pete did not enjoy the growth that many Ram fans expected from him in his 2nd season. Fairchild hitched his wagon to Thomas’ star and now they are both gone. His slow maturation combined with Coach Fairchild’s firing and he saw the writing on the wall.
2. We’ve heard rumors that Pete was not a great leader. To his defense, Pete is still a young player and earning respect takes time, but it appeared as though the Rams played a bit harder with Grayson under center…just sayin.
3. Afraid of competition? Pete had starting QB on lockdown from the get-go with Coach Fair. Now Fairchild is gone and everyone has a clean slate. Was Pete concerned about losing his starting gig and more college eligibility? Grayson has more wheels and a strong arm and Pete knows it.
4. Perhaps he is joining Arena Football where the field is shorter and therefore his wimpy passes will appear to go farther? Also, there is hardly any running required so that’s another plus for this snail.

Either way, when a new coaching staff takes over, there is going to be attrition. Safety Ezra Thompson transferred to Illinois State. We just didn’t write about that because no one cares. In hindsight, Fairchild’s playing Grayson may prove to be a good thing for the future of Rams football, because G-Squared is your front runner now.

RAMS ARE THE KINGS OF THE CONFERENCE

Colorado State has almost finished the spring cleaning of its coaching staff after another disappointing 3-9 season. It is amazing what bringing in a coach with a national championship under his belt can do. All of a sudden CSU faithful have visions of star recruits, MWC championships and BCS Bowl appearances. Last season is already old news, and the funk that permeated much of 2011 has been washed away with the new year like the spring breathing life back into the frosted foliage that was previously blanketed by winter. CSU’s roster looks exciting again. Facilities look top notch. Girls on campus are ten times hotter than when winter break hit last December. These coaches will do it all: coach, recruit, inspire, excite, discover big foot, cure cancer, and be the first to use anti matter in space travel. Everything is coming together for our Rams. The next level doesn’t look that far away.

All the excitement overshadows some things that aren’t that exciting. The main reason CSU needs to reach the next level in a short amount of time is that they are watching other teams in their conference move on to bigger conferences. This pilgrimage out of the conference is bringing those schools more money. CSU has been irrelevant long enough now that nobody is giving them a seat on the bus. Ramifications correctly predicted last year thatconferences were going to raid the Mountain West and even predicted that one ofthe first teams to be targeted would be San Diego St. Sure enough San Diego St. was plucked up by the Big East along with Boise St. because we all know how far east you have to go to get to these destinations. Now the MWC will be an 8 team conference consisting of newcomers Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada. They will be accompanied by stalwarts Air Force, New Mexico, UNLV, Wyoming, and your very own CSU Rams. The Mountain West is starting to look like the WAC of old. So with CSU making moves to become more prominent by upgrading their coaches, upgrading their stadium, and upgrading their talent, the big question now is what is the MWC going to do to upgrade their conference?

The most logical choice left is to merge with Conference USA, and the 9 members still left in that conference. SMU, Houston and Central Florida all accepted bids to join the Big East as well, and adding the two conferences together will create a 17 team mega conference. I know Ramifications stated last year that this wasn’t a good idea, but the alternatives that were suggested are now exhausted. First thoughts is the conference would be too big, travel would be long, and teams being added wouldn’t necessarily make the conference more competitive. Then when thinking about it from another angle, you quickly realize that a move like this would increase exposure, reach recruiting hotbeds down south, and give the conference a better shot at a BCS bid.

Here is how it would shake out

Mountain West                                  Conference USA

Air Force                                            Alabama-Birmingham

Colorado State                                   East Carolina

Fresno State                                       Marshall

Hawaii                                                 Memphis

Nevada                                               Rice

Nevada-Las Vegas                             Southern Mississippi

New Mexico                                       Texas-El Paso

Wyoming                                             Tulane

                                                             Tulsa

The winners of each conference will play each other at the end of the year for a championship game. In a big market like Dallas or San Antonio. For symmetry’s sake the MWC can add a team like Utah State or New Mexico State. Ideally, symmetry would be had in the MWC by Colorado State dominating the conference. Then with all W’s collected on the field CSU can throw up the deuces to the MWC on their way to the Big 12. CSU Ram fan is riding the wave of obtaining national championship coaches and now believe that not only can this scenario happen, but it’s going to. Susan G. Komen believes it!!! Paul Dirac believes it!!! Somewhere in the Montana wilderness Bigfoot believes it too!!!!

McELWAIN IMPRESSIVE POSSE

I’m impressed so far with Coach McElwain’s recent coaching staff hires. You can’t go wrong with young coaches with ACC, SEC, and BIG 10 experience on their resumes. If you are a Ram fan, how can you not love what’s going on?!  

As far as I can tell, there is a pattern starting to develop with these hires. When Napier was OC at Clemson, a little no name running back  C.J. Spiller was tearing up opponents from 2006-09 and Clemson scored a school record for points. Dave Baldwin, our new OC from Utah State, coached Robert Turbin, a terror who is entering the NFL draft and is currently ranked 12th amongst RBs. Turbin is the same dude who put up 115 yards and 4 touchdowns on the Rams this year in an OT thriller. Tim Skipper from Fresno State worked with San Diego Charger Ryan Mathews. Tim Duffie is a holdover from the Fairchild staff. He has been named recruiting coordinator and dominates in the living room from Colorado to Texas to Florida. Finally, McElwain himself coached a wrecking ball named Mark Ingram, Alabama’s only Heisman trophy winner as well as Trent Richardson and Julio Jones. Coming from Clemson and most recently Alabama, Billy Napier is exactly what we need! A young tested mind to parallel McElwain’s leadership and offensive expertise.

If you watched Alabama destroy LSU the other night, you saw a stifling Defense paired with an effective, not flashy, pro-style offense. I think J-Mac and company will devise an offense making Chris Nwoke and the offensive line the center piece of a ballsy looking attack. It’s gonna be smash mouth with a little over the top flare from whoever is our quarterback (a whole other topic). With the year Chris had last year he’s bound to be a top 15 running back in the nation. With his running skills, it compliments a young air attack that’s still in development but on the rise.

QB RUMOR MILL

Getty Images

Rumor? QB Pete Thomas may be transferring to Vanderbilt. So why is he considering a move? Watching AJ McCarron run ‘Bama’s offense last night, it doesn’t look like anything that Thomas can’t do. Or can he? Both QBs are tall pocket passers. McCarron looks like he has a stronger arm and better decision making than Pete. On the flip side, Alabama has better players than CSU. No, seriously. Coach Mac has a pro-style offense and doesn’t require a running QB like Garrett Grayson, so you would think Pete would be excited to be coached by a 2-time National Champion O-coordinator in Coach Mac.

If Thomas does transfer that would leave Garrett Grayson, MJ McPeek and Connor Smith on the roster. I’m fine with going forward with Grayson. By the way, Vanderbilt is dead last in the SEC every year.

More to come…

McELWAIN BUILDS HIS RESUME

First off I would like to congratulate Alabama for rolling all over LSU in the BCS championship game. That defense was stellar. I don’t think I’ve never seen a team pretend that the 50 yard line was actually the goal line. And if it was, ‘Bama still would have won 21-7. Awesome performance.

Secondly, congrats to former Alabama Crimson Tide now COLORADO STATE RAM Jim McElwain. I wouldn’t say it was a pretty performance on offense but it was definitely dominant, especially against one of the best defenses in the land. I thought McElwain was very understandably conservative in the first half. His play calling was persistent on building slow but effective momentum to propel them into the second half. You have to thank Jeremy Shelley and his titanium boot for  hitting three field goals to give ‘Bama the lead going into half time.

The second half was kind of a different story. McElwain seemed to open up his play book a little more, throwing more “deep” passes (like 20 yard outs) and still sticking to the his running game. Luckily his defense was still playing at a high level and LSU’s offense was still looking horrendous. All in all it was a nice showcase for Jim McElwain and hopefully it will catch the eyes of some top recruits to come play for him. Plus, thanks for the nice CSU J-Mac plug during the entire game ESPN. That was some nice exposure.

On another note. Should Alabama really be proud of this national championship? Some more BCS bs is what I have to say. SO you mean to tell me LSU goes undefeated in the regular season, beating Alabama at Alabama, then play an SEC championship game against a very good Georgia team, then they get to play a team they already beat in the regular season in the national championship only to lose to them? Lame. Bragging rights aside, I think I would put an asterisk by this one.  Not only did they beat ‘Bama in Tuscaloosa but they played an extra game, and won. I think I would have liked to see Ok State even though they would have gotten beat by LSU.

ALABAMA V LSU, YES WE CARE

This may be the only time we get to talk about these two teams on this blog, why? Well, the only relevance to Colorado State is Jim McElwain, and what a perfect show case for future prospects deciding where they want to continue their football careers. As a Ram fan, I seriously want to see 'Bama blow out LSU. I want to see the Tide's offense run on all cylinders, scoring in every possible way they can. Passing for a forty yard bomb; running backs stepping on people's faces as they're are high stepping into the end zone; maybe a flee flicker back to the QB, then pitching it back to a wide out standing near the sidelines, who passes it down about twenty yards to the slot man, who then as he is getting tackled, he pitches back to the running back who started the play originally and runs for a touchdown. Statue of liberty. Whatever. What it comes down to is I want to see J-Mac's skills and what what we have in store for us next year. And most importantly, I want some talent to witness such a slaughtering and then deciding to make the trip to Fort Collins next year so they can participate in similar outcomes.

Now, I know this probably isn't gonna happen, and I know LSU is not the type of team to let that go down. This game will be blood bath. I really don't think it will be the 9-6 OT Tiger win where defense was the name of the game before. I'm predicting a 24-18 win for Alabama because I think both offenses has had time to figure out ways to score on stubborn defenses.

Why Alabama?
#1 Hell yeah. You better believe I'm gonna be somewhat of a homer. I'm pulling for J-Mac just as any Ram fan should.
#2 Pay backs a bitch when it comes to this rivalry.
#3 Home field doesn't matter in this game. I know it's in New Orleans but that should phase the Crimson Tide.

We're pulling for you J-Mac! Good luck. Soon you'll be seeing a Go Rams at the end of our posts but for now, ROLL TIDE!

CSU GETTING A BALDWIN

It appears as though Coach Mac’s first coaching hire is going to be a Baldwin. Not the Baldwin who plays Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock. Not even the Baldwin who played Doyle Johnson opposite Pauly Shore in that waste of a time movie Bio Dome. Thank God! It’s Dave Baldwin who had just finished his 3rd year as O-Coordinator at Utah State and looks to be taking the same position at CSU. Since Coach Mac is a former O-coordinator himself, you have to wonder how much responsibility Baldwin will actually have. My money is on Coach Mac calling the plays and Baldwin coaching QBs etc.

Looking at his resume, it makes me shrug the shoulders and say “meh, ok”. Sure he has been a D-1 coordinator for ten years and has done a nice job at USU, but he has jumped from school to school fairly often with jobs at powerhouses such as San Jose State, Cincinnati and Baylor (like 10 years ago.) He coached at Michigan State as well and had a nice run, but everyone knows the MSU program is just now returning to prominence with their Outback Bowl win over Georgia yesterday.

In reading his profile, I was interested to learn that he worked with John Elway’s dad Jack at San Jose State and he has a degree in Gym… I mean Physical Education. I was really hoping that Coach Mac would be able to poach some coaches from 'Bama and the rest of the SEC. But once he took the CSU job, you know a lot of coaches are angling for the O-coordinator job under Nick Saban.

Let’s not get our panties in a bunch, but I would like to see some younger coaches with D-1/NFL experience get a shot on Coach Mac’s inaugural CSU staff, but you have to think that with this hire, Fort Collins is not exactly a desired destination for up and coming coaches.