Buffs Signing Day Notes And Quotes; Player-by-Player Breakdown
February 06, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado head coach Mel Tucker quickly made it clear Wednesday that he has his own set of recruiting rankings.
Asked at his signing day press conference about "under the radar" players or players who might not be as highly rated as he would have liked, Tucker emphasized that he and his staff found players they believe can compete in the Pac-12.
"I think we have to trust our process," Tucker said. "We have great coaches and great recruiters here that know how to evaluate talent. From a philosophical standpoint, I think it's important not to worry about what other people are doing in recruiting. If we look at a player and we evaluate him, we watch his tape, we do his background check and we feel like he's a player for us, it doesn't matter who else is recruiting him and it doesn't matter how many stars he has. We trust our process."
Tucker reflected back to his decade of coaching in the National Football League as an example of what good evaluation can do.
"I've coached 10 years in the NFL and the NFL is full of guys who were undrafted free agent or were 2-stars or 3-stars coming out (of high school) and now they're playing in the NFL, making a living playing football," he said. "I'm not worried about how many stars guys have. Whether they're a one-star or a five-star, when they get here, all those stars go away. It's not going to be about that. It's going to be about what can you do to help our football team – become part of our program, learn our culture, learn how to work, learn how to compete, become a team player. I don't care anything about the stars at all."
CLASS NOTES: After the Buffs did not sign a player from Texas in the December signing period, CU fans were worried. Colorado allayed those fears Wednesday by adding three players from the Lone Star state: Shenault, Murray and Oats. … The Buffs did not add a quarterback in this signing class, the first time Colorado has not signed a quarterback since 1997. CU does, however, still have four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, with just one of those — Steven Montez — a senior. The others include junior Sam Noyer, sophomore Tyler Lytle and redshirt freshman Blake Stenstrom. … The Buffs still have room to add to this signing class if they so choose. That could come in the form of a graduate transfer or another player who might still be unsigned.
RELAX? NOT A CHANCE: A reporter made the mistake of asking Tucker if he planned to relax a little after getting his first class signed.
"Relax?" he asked somewhat incredulously. "There's no way. I don't plan on relaxing at all, maybe until a year and a half from now, maybe then take a breather. There's just too much to do. It's so competitive. Relax, you're going to get passed up."
Tucker then explained that his idea of relaxing is to sit down and watch film.
"I'm very comfortable in the football world," he said. "For me to put on a tape of all opponents' first-down runs, something like that — that's relaxing to me. That's where I'm in my element. To watch a kid, his recruiting highlights. I enjoy doing that. That's kind of my deal. … I'm not sure what relaxation really is, to be honest with you."
CREDIT TO STAFF: Tucker called it a "fast and furious recruiting season," and gave credit to his staff, most of whom came on with him and hit the ground running.
"I think we have done a good job," Tucker said. "I really want to thank our coaches. They are guys that have worked really, really hard out on the road. They have done a great job identifying players and selling our program. I think that our organization and our efficiency has really paid off for us with (Director of Player Personnel) Geoff Martzen, (Director of Recruiting) Cymone George, and their staff. The way we have gone about the process of recruiting players identifying players, and evaluating players has really helped us get to where we want to go. I am really excited about these guys. These young men we have signed are great players, great people, and I am really fired up about them."
SIGNING DAY BREAKDOWN:
Here's what Tucker had to say about each of CU's Wednesday signees:
LB Jamar Montgomery, 6-2, 235, Independence CC — "This kid is a very explosive and instinctive linebacker. He can play inside and outside. He is very aggressive downhill, quick to key and diagnose, and is a sideline-to-sideline type of player. He is very good in block destruction. He meets the ball carrier with mean intentions. He is very good in coverage. I am very excited about him because he has the combination of height, weight, and speed that we are looking for at that position. He has excellent ball skills, good block protection, and everything we want out of a linebacker. We will start him on the outside. Off the ball as a stack linebacker, he can do that as well. He is a great addition to our staff and a guy I think can help us right away."
LB Quinn Perry, 6-1, 240, El Camino CC — "This kid is a special guy. He is very, very instinctive. He is very good in pass coverage. He is quick to key and diagnose. He has excellent ball skills. He is a very, very tough player. He is a gym rat. He always wants to talk football and get better. I talked to him earlier today. He says, 'Coach, I am going to enjoy it but I am still going to get my workout in because I need to get better. I can't wait to get there.' You can't go wrong with players like this. This is a position of need for us. We need to build some depth at this position. He is a guy we feel can help us right away. He will be a core special teams player for us. He is very instinctive with great ball disruption, taking the ball away. He is a guy that fits right into everything we want to do in our program here."
WR Tarik Luckett, 6-3, 190, Lynwood, Calif. — "This guy is a very versatile athlete. He can play receiver. He can play corner. We really like him as a receiver. He has very good long speed. He has excellent ball skills. He is a strong competitor. He can pretty much do everything that we need him to do as a receiver. He runs great routes. He is productive going across the middle. He is productive on the deep ball. He can pluck it. He uses his hands well. He is an excellent blocker. In my mind, he is a blue chip-type guy that is going to be able to make plays for us. He'll have the opportunity to play right away because he has the ability and he wants to do that. If he were to play corner, he would be able to help us fairly quickly as well. These guys are hard to find. He goes up, high points the ball, and snatches it. He is an outstanding athlete for us."
DL Lloyd Murray Jr., 6-2 325, Wichita Falls, Texas — "I like the way he fills up his uniform. He has good initial quickness. He already knows how to use his hands. As a pass rusher, he is a pocket push guy, which you have to have. He gives you effort sideline to sideline. He is a second and third effort guy. He has really good size, really good stoutness. He can control the 'A' gap. In the run game, he is a guy you are not going to be able to move. He is going to command a double team which is very important for inside guys. This is a kid that really wanted to be here. He wanted to be a Buff. He loved everything about place. He loved our coaches. When you start to talk football with him, he lights up. I am really excited to have him."
DB D.J. Oats, 5-10, 180, Arlington, Texas — "He is the fastest man in the country, in his class. That is what I read. This guys is extremely explosive. He will play defense for us but he can also play offense. He is a dynamic playmaker. He is a sub 4.4 40 guy all day and every day. He is elusive. He has very good long speed. He can catch the ball. He can be a wildcat guy. He can be a bubble screen guy. He can be a deep threat guy. Defensively, he can run with anybody in the country. He is another versatile athlete for us that can do a lot. It is very rare to find a guy with this type of speed. When you have a guy with this type of speed who can actually play football, I feel like you have to recruit him and you have to try to sign him. We were very fortunate that we did that. He has a great story. He is a special young man."
DB Trustin Oliver, 6-2, 200, Parker, Colo. — "Trustin is a unique athlete. He, in my opinion, can be an NFL receiver. He can also be an NFL safety. He has excellent ball skills. He is extremely physical. He is a relentless competitor on both sides of the ball. He loves to block. He loves to hit. He will return punts. He will return kickoffs. He will be on all of the core special teams. When you meet the kid, he is the nicest kid in the world. When he steps on the field, he is a totally different guy. The theme is long guys that can run, that are versatile, play both sides of the ball, will be effective on special teams. These are usually the type of kids that usually play for you early because they can do so many things for you. He has the size and speed already. He is an excellent worker. He comes from a great family here in the state. We are very fortunate to have him."
OL Nikko Pohahau, 6-5, 275, Redwood City, Calif. — "Nikko is exactly what we are looking for. He has great initial quickness. He has a flat back. He has good hat speed. He comes off the ball and he is nasty. He is a finisher. We want guys that like to get on guys, move guys, finish them to the ground. He is going to finish with one violent shove at the end every single play. He is good at the point of attack. He is good on the second level. His initial quickness is outstanding. In pass pro, he has great awareness and really good feet. This guys can range from 280 to 310 pounds. He has that type of weight flexibility. He has length. He loves to finish. That is what sticks out most about him."
WR Vontae Shenault, 6-2, 190, DeSoto, Texas — "This guy is a rare athlete. Huge competitor. … He's the type of guy that's just a football player. He loves to compete, has great size, his ball skills are incredible. This guy does it all. He wanted to play with his brother, he wanted to be here at CU, it's important to him. He's got a chance to play early. He's another versatile athlete that's big and long and physical. I love him as a competitor and as a kid. His mom has done a great job, she is to be commended. He's just a special guy that said, 'I want to come play with my brother,' and knows he's not going to be in his shadow because he's going to create a legacy of his own."
DL Jayden Simon, 6-3, 300, Tacoma, Wash. — "Another big guy. I love the guy. The guy came in and he's so excited to have the opportunity to play here because he knows that we're building something special. He knows that it's important to have strong players in our trenches on both sides of the ball and he is that. When you look at the tight copy of some of his film, you cannot see the offensive lineman across from him because he's just that big and wide. He's got great lower body structure. He's a second- and third-effort pass rusher and is stout in the trenches in the run game. He's going to command double-teams. He loves football."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Players Mentioned
