2014 Colorado State football recruiting: Rams land 3-star QB Coleman Key

The Colorado St. Rams have added their first quarterback of the 2014 class, and fourth verbal overall, when Coleman Key (Broken Arrow, Okla.) verbally committed to Colorado State. Key is a big time recruit for Colorado State, he is a pocket passer quarterback which will be a great fit for Jim McElwain's offense, plus he is a three-star recruit and the 13th best player out of Oklahoma.

Key made the decision to commit to Colorado State before even stepping on campus. He was to visit Fort Collins in late June, but the 6" 4', 255-pound signal caller made the decision early:

"I just think with coach (Jim McElwain) being there, he's going to prepare me to the best quarterback I can be," Coleman told The Coloradoan. "They have a lot of positives that can help me in the long run with a great coaching staff. Plus, I hear Fort Collins is a great town."

Instead of visiting Colorado State next week he will postpone his trip until July, and he has also canceled his upcoming visit to Colorado. Key seems fully committed to Colorado State, and he said that it would take an offer that would "blow [him] out of the water" to flip to another school. He plans to go to over camps during the summer, but just with his younger brother to give him some exposure.

Key also decided on committing early since so many other quarterbacks were also making their choices known during the summer. Plus, he did not want to miss out on playing for his school of choice. Key is also very confident and thinks he has the skill set to see the field early, and at Colorado State that is very possible.

Key recently gained a bump in coverage where he performed well at an Elite 11 Camp in Columbus, Ohio where he stood out to SB Nation's recruiting analyst Bud Elliot, and felt that Key was better than his offer list. After that Elite 11 campe -- which was back in the first week in June -- Key did not have a favorite, so Colorado State and McElwain must have made a huge impression over the phone for him to verbally commit before even seeing the campus.

His stats are not eye-popping during his junior year, his first as a starter. Key passed for 1,308 yards and 14 touchdowns while also completing 52.8 percent of his passes with just five interceptions.

Key had plenty of interest from BCS level teams across the country, but most of his offers came from mid-level teams which included Illinois, North Texas, Houston, Arkansas State, Toledo and Western Michigan.

Here are highlights of Key during his junior season: