Mountain West Football Weekly Recruiting Roundup: CSU and Wyoming host visitors for spring games

From the rocky Colorado mountains to the sunny California beaches, recruiting never stops for MWC teams. You’re reading the MWC Weekly Recruiting Roundup, in which I try to catch you up on last week’s recruiting news from the Mountain West. In case you missed last week’s inaugural edition, you can read it here.

Colorado State

It was a busy weekend in Fort Collins, as not only did the Rams play their annual spring game, but hosted multiple recruits that they are targeting. Here’s a brief overview of some of the visitors that head coach Mike Bobo and his staff are targeting:

Jace Waters, a 6'2," 201-pound senior outside linebacker out of Allen, Texas picked up an offer from CSU on March 7, and as he tweeted, his enjoyed his visit with his father on Saturday. According to his 247Sports profile, he is not being targeted by any other Mountain West schools but has been offered by Bowling Green, Texas State, Central Arkansas, and McNeese State. It appears likely that in-state Texas State and the Rams are leading the way in Waters’ recruitment.

Micah Butte, a senior quarterback for Legend HS in Parker, Colorado (an hour and a half drive from Fort Collins) also attended the spring game. According to his Twitter account, he had not received any offers or taken any official or unofficial visits before his taking in CSU’s spring game on Saturday.

Based on my evaluation of two key recruiting factors, location and loyalty, I’d say the Rams are pretty high on Butte’s list of schools.

In addition to hosting many recruits, the Rams also offered one over the weekend. Coach Bobo's staff gave the good news to Bishop Lynch HS (Dallas, Texas) three-star (247Sports) senior receiver Jarek Broussard. The speedy 5'9," 171-pound Broussard has offers from in-state powerhouse recruiters TCU and Houston, as well as Texas State, Tulane, Arkansas State, and CSU recruiting rival Colorado.

Colorado State should not be considered the favorites by any means to land Broussard’s commitment, as multiple 247Sports crystal ball experts have him pledging to either Houston or TCU, but at least they’re throwing their hat in the ring.

Wyoming

The Cowboys also brought in several prospects in which they are targeting to their spring game on Saturday, who hailed from everywhere from California to Nebraska:

Alex Padilla, an unranked Modestoa, California athlete who primarily plays receiver for Central Catholic HS noted that he had a “Great visit to Wyoming for the Spring Game.”

The Pokes also hosted Nebraska offensive lineman Collin Shefke, a bruising 6’5,” 280-pound blocker who could be a valuable pickup for offensive line coach Scott Fuchs if offered.

In-state junior defensive tackle Chris Yockey attended Wyoming’s spring game as well. The junior from Mountain Vista HS (Highlands Ranch, Colorado) collected 33 tackles, good for 4.7 tackles per game and recovered one fumble in his junior campaign.

Air Force

It was almost hard to keep up with the number of recruits Air Force extended offers to recently. So, here are the highlights of Troy Calhoun and his staff’s Oprah-esque handout of scholarship offers this week:

High-octane, speedy dual threat quarterback and situational receiver Jaylin "Jaccpot" Jackson was offered by the Falcons on Saturday. He commonly steals the show for Cambridge Christian HS (Tampa, Florida) every Friday night with his flashy rushing touchdowns that typically conclude with a dive into the end zone. In fact, his junior highlight tape includes just three passing plays. The first-team All-State QB holds offers from Colorado State and Kentucky in addition to his Air Force offer. Trust me, you will be thoroughly entertained by his three-minute long junior highlight tape:

Three-star (Scout) Salt Lake City, Utah linebacker Elijah Shelton picked up his second division one offer on Friday from the Air Force, his first coming from in-state Mountain West school Utah State in December. Going by loyalty and longevity standards, I would say that for the time being, the Aggies hold the edge in Shelton’s recruitment over the Falcons.

The following offer continues Air Force's trend of offering Florida offensive talent: Orlando, Florida wideout Davarius Bagnare picked up his 12th Division I scholarship offer on Friday, coming from the desk of Troy Calhoun. Colorado State joined the party early on Bagnare's recruitment, offering him on February 1, and they can be considered a serious candidate for his commitment, although there is still a lot of time for the senior receiver to make up his mind.

First offer alert! Air Force is the first school to offer Desert Ridge HS (Mesa, Arizona) upcoming senior cornerback and running back Donjae Logan. There will be more offers where this came from, but for now, Air Force is technically the leader in his recruitment, and therefore the Falcons’ loyalty could pay off when it comes to choosing a school for Logan. Check out his productive junior season highlights here:

Another first offer! Air Force is the first team in the door for talented class of 2018 Oakdale HS (Oakdale, California) offensive lineman Nico Sarale. But just because he hasn’t been offered before, doesn't mean he hasn’t had any involvement with other Mountain West schools. Last summer, Sarale attended a Fresno State camp and also visited San Jose State. He’s not a ‘one-offer wonder’. Expect the 6’4,” 250-pound Sarale to reel in more offers in the near future.

Fresno State

The Bulldogs are steadily progressing through their spring practices, but that doesn't mean they’re losing contact with their recruits. Over the weekend they offered one upcoming senior and hosted a fellow upcoming senior.

This two-star (Scout) linebacker recruit from Chaminade College Prep in West Hills, California has collected offers from five Ivy League schools, and his recent offer from Fresno State is his first from the group of five. James Thomas, who plays linebacker and defensive end for Chaminade has offers from Harvard, Yale, and Columbia among others. Expect more Mountain West teams to pile onto the athletic, 6’2,” 215-pounder’s recruitment in the coming future.

The Bulldogs also were visited by class of 2018 Western Nevada receiver/tight end Cameron Bertok of Fernley HS. Bertok is also being recruited by various other Mountain West schools, including Boise State and BYU. He has taken unofficial visits to both schools.

Speaking of visits, three-star (Scout) Upland (Upland, California) senior Shamar Whestone announced on Friday that he would be visiting Fresno State during their spring game on April 29.

He has been offered by them and New Mexico, and both schools are vying for his attention. However, the receiver and defensive back will have plenty more schools to choose from in due time. In the meantime, while fans wait to see him at Bulldog Stadium, check out his 2016 junior year tape:

San Jose State

The Spartans had their spring game last week, so they did not welcome any visitors, however, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t traction on the recruiting trail. This week, they picked up a commitment and offered two in-state two-star recruits:

First, on Thursday, they picked up a commitment from local two-star (Scout and 247Sports) fullback and linebacker Jackson Burrill, a member of the class of 2017. The Bellarmine HS (San Jose, California) product told me that the reason why he didn’t commit or sign on National Signing Day was because he hadn’t received any offers, but believed some would come.

San Jose State’s 2017 recruiting class, made up of 23 recruits was ranked at no. 108 in the country and no. 8 in Mountain West by 247Sports. Burrill adds a lot of value to this class, as he is the only fullback in it, and SJSU’s depth at that position is a little depleted. He went in-depth on his commitment to the Spartans, and we’ll have more coverage of his commitment in the following days.

Does he have the skills to succeed with the Spartans? See for yourself by watching his highlight tape:

Class of 2018 two-star Moreau Catholic HS (Hayward, California) safety Joshua Pullum had offers from three Mountain West schools, Hawaii, Nevada, Colorado State, and on Friday he added his fourth. He has also unofficially visited Washington. The 6-foot, 165-pound Pullum has a strong knack for tracking down interceptions, as shown on his Hudl reel:

On Wednesday, the Spartans offered another two-star (Scout) in-state recruit, middle linebacker and occasional running back Kilifi Leaaetoa of Menlo-Atherton HS in Atherton, California. Kilifi, a strong tackler with great ball awareness holds his only other offer from Hawaii but has visited Stanford and Utah.

SJSU should be considered the current favorite to land a commitment from Leaaetoa, as they are separated by only a thirty-minute drive, as he will likely be able to visit their campus multiple times and get to know their coaches very well.