New Colorado St. Rams head coach Jim McElwain had little time to go out and recruit for their 2012 class due to juggling his job with the Alabama Crimson Tide and his head coaching duties. McElwain is starting big with local recruits for the 2013 class and is focusing in on Denver East running back Shahid Hoove. Hoove is a four-star recruit who has started since he was a freshman and has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the past three years, and he earned all-conference and honorable mention all-state in his junior year.
Due to recruiting rules McElwain has only been able to contact Hoove's head coach ($):
"I have gotten calls from Texas, CSU, Connecticut and CU about him so there is a lot of great interest," Denver East head coach Ron McFarland said. "CSU has really shown interest, especially with that new coach (Jim McElwain). They have been down to talk to me. They couldn't talk to him yet because he is a junior but they have come down a couple times.
Hoove is extremely fast and has been clocked at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash, however those times are not always accurate, however Hoove has said that he is going to run track his senior year. Those numbers should be more accurate than his prior 40-yard numbers.
McElwain looks to be a bit over his head in going after Hoove because the other schools on his list include the Colorado Buffaloes, Texas Longhorns, Connecticut Huskies and the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma may have the early edge as Hoove attended their camp last year and he has family in that area.
So, Colorado State does not seem to belong -- well they compare with Connecticut in my opinion -- but McElwain can always mention Trent Richardson and Mark Igram, plus flash his two BCS Championship rings to the recruit. Also in Colorado State's favor is that Hoove is from Colorado, and staying local is sometimes a big draw for recruits.
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