Woelk: Tucker's Recruiting Class Built With Buffs Championship In Mind

BOULDER — Want to know what was on Colorado coach Mel Tucker's mind Wednesday when he announced the signing of his second Buffaloes recruiting class?

Figure this: In his 30-minute press conference, Tucker mentioned "championship" or "champion" at least 17 times.

That's more than once every two minutes.

That's no accident.

"We're building our football team to win a championship," Tucker said, "and we're building it through recruiting. In order to win a championship here we know who we have to be. I have experience with those types of teams, and we're building our team to be like those teams."

Tucker firmly believes his 2020 class will be another solid step in that direction. The Buffs went toe-to-toe with some of the top programs in the nation and won some of those battles. Nearly every member of the class had at least one other offer from at least one Power Five team, with many having multiple offers.

In the end, those that believed in Tucker's vision and commitment cast their lot with the Buffs.

"Every young man that we signed, we wanted," Tucker said. "We targeted them and we signed them. We were very intentional about the guys we went after. All of these guys are relentless, they are accountable, and they love the game of football. These guys understand what we're building here."

That's not something that has been commonplace in recent years in Boulder, and it's why this year's class is generally seen as a top-30 group.

"I don't believe in self-imposed limitations," Tucker said when asked about battling for top recruits. "We're looking for the best players. We're going to identify them, we're going to give them a grade and we're going to rank them. I don't ask, 'Who else is recruiting them?' We wanted them and we signed them."

The Buffs announced the signing of 21 high school, junior college and transfer players (with more possibly still to come), and it was a balanced class: 10 on offense, 10 on defense and one special teams player. There is size, speed and championship experience.

But maybe most importantly, Tucker noted, every member of the class fits a profile for his position. Tucker and his staff know what it takes to succeed at every position, and the Buffs seldom deviate from that profile.

"We don't make a lot of exceptions," Tucker said. "If you make exceptions, you'll have a team of exceptions. As you go down that road and you're marching toward championships, games get bigger and bigger and the opponents get tougher and tougher. At some point, you have to be able to match up player for player, and you don't ever want to end up in a situation where we're playing for a championship and we can't match up. So we have to build our team to match up against anyone in the country."

Some particulars about the group:

— Brendon Lewis becomes Tucker's first recruited quarterback at Colorado. Last year, Tucker didn't sign a quarterback, as the Buffs had four scholarship QBs on the roster already. But this year, he added highly regarded Brendon Lewis, a four-star player out of Melissa, Texas, who will add competition to the equation in a hurry.

Lewis is listed as a dual-threat player, as he threw for nearly 9,000 yards and 112 touchdowns in his high school career, along with rushing for another 3,240 more (along with 39 touchdowns). He will enroll at Colorado in the spring semester, which will give him every chance to compete with CU's two remaining scholarship QBs, Tyler Lytle and Blake Stenstrom. It will make for what will no doubt be one of the most closely watched position battles over the spring and summer.

"It's going to be fair, it's going to be intense and and it's going to be a lot of fun," Tucker said. "Competition brings out the best in everyone. And in order for us to get where we need to get to as a football team, we have to create more competition on our roster."

— Pass rush is a priority. While the Buffs recruited at virtually every position group, they did hit some areas with particular gusto, beginning with the pass rush.

CU last year finished with just 26 sacks, a number Tucker wants to increase significantly. While the rush did improve down the stretch, the Buffs got there by bringing pressure from a variety of spots. That's a strategy Tucker would like to employ less often — and get more rush from his front four on a regular basis.

To get there, the Buffs added three outside linebackers on Monday — high schoolers Alvin Williams and Devin Grant and JC transfer Guy Thomas — along with defensive linemen Jordan Berry, Justin Jackson and Antonio Alfano.

"In order to have a great defense, I believe you have to get pressure with four guys," Tucker said. "If you can get pressure with four guys, a straight rush, you're going to have a heck of a defense. We recruited to that and these guys that we have in this class have shown pass rush production throughout their entire careers."

— The Buffs continue to place a premium on size. Four members of the latest class are listed at at least 300 pounds, with another two at 270 or better. That includes offensive linemen Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan (6-foot-9, 325), Jake Wray (6-5, 300) and Carson Lee (6-3, 310), and D-lineman Berry (6-2, 330).

— Early enrollees are a priority. The Buffs will have at least nine members of the class available for spring ball, something that can't be overestimated in importance when it comes to player development. Those who arrive early can take part in a nine-week strength and conditioning session, then the month-long spring ball session before heading into the summer workouts and fall camp.

It's a big advantage, and it gives those players a legitimate chance of earning some significant playing time in the fall.

This year's group of early enrollees will include four prep signees (Lee, Wray, Lewis and linebacker Alvin Williams), three junior college signees (Guy, cornerback Jaylen Striker and defensive lineman Justin Jackson) as well as transfers Antonio Alfano (defensive line) and punter Josh Watts.

— The vast majority of the signees played on championship teams. "Winning is not by accident," Tucker said. "There's lots of things you have to do in order to get in position to win. These guys come from winning backgrounds, winning cultures, hard work, dedication, accountability, sense of urgency, attention to detail, mental, physical toughness, teamwork. All of the guys that are on this board that we sign are those types of guys."

SPRING DATES: The Buffs are tentatively set to open spring drills on Monday, March 16, with three practices set for that week. The Buffs will then take a week off for spring break, then practice again on April 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20 and 22. The annual spring game will be played April 25 at 1 p.m.

As for fall camp, the Buffs are tentatively set to report on Aug. 6, with the first practice the next day.

BUFFS BITS: The class includes players from nine states — Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Mississippi and New Jersey — as well as another Tasmania … It includes 16 high school players, three JC transfers and two other transfers … The six players from Texas are the third-most from the Lone Star State in the last 18 classes … Caleb Fauria becomes the first player from Massachusetts since OL Pat Ryan in 1983 … In its history, Colorado has had a player from 48 of 50 states, with Rhode Island and Vermont the only two not to have produced a Buff.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu