2019 CSU February Signees
Colorado State’s football program received four signed national letters of intent on Wednesday, adding to the 15 players who signed in December.
Tavian Brown, LB, 6-2, 215, Demoplis HS (Ala.) — He posted 121 tackles his senior season, including nine sacks. He intercepted a pass and recovered two fumbles.
Nouredin Nouili, OL, 6-3, 283, Norris HS (Firth, Neb.) — An German-exchange student, he’s only played three seasons of football, one in the states. Athletic, he can dunk a basketball and is also a wrestler.
Christian Hunter, RB, 5-11, 190, Kaiser HS (Fontana, Calif.) — He led the nation in rushing this year with 3,839 yards and 55 touchdowns, accounting for 4,627 career yards. Had five games of 300 yards or more, averaging 10.1 yards per carry.
Tyreese Jackson, RB, 5-11, 208, Westlake HS (New Iberia, Lou.) — Slowed his senior year by a groin injury, but totaled 1,899 yards as a prep with 17 touchdowns, rushing for more than 1,100 as a junior. He was a three-time all-district player.
Local signees
A group of local football players signed letters of intent Wednesday, or intend to before the end of the signing period.
Berthoud
Ty Beamon, Nebraska Kearney
Zak Starkey, Black Hills State
Anthony Trojahn, Dortd College
Loveland
Sean Boylan, Western State
Isaiah Meyers, Chadron State
Collin Morrison, Chadron State
Mountain View
Josiah Baptista, Bethel College
Josh Boles, Black Hills State
Dylan Naughton, Minnesota Morris
FORT COLLINS — National signing day is an event many high school athletes look forward to for years.
Nouredin Nouili, not so much.
Putting his signature on a national letter of intent — which he did for the Colorado State football program on Wednesday morning from Norris High School in Firth, Nebraska — was nowhere on his radar when the German-exchange student arrived in July from Landou, Germany. So, excuse him if he’s responding like a kid on Christmas morning.
“Right? Exactly,” he said Tuesday. “I was planning on having a good time, maybe ball out in football. I guess I did.”
Most certainly.
The 6-foot-4, 285-pound offensive guard was one of four players to sign with head coach Mike Bobo’s program on Wednesday, adding to the 15 players who signed in December.
The Rams addressed a major need in the backfield with the signings of Christian Hunter (Fontana, California) and Tyreese Jackson (New Iberia, Louisiana), along with linebacker Tavian Brown.
Combining the two signing days, Bobo felt the roster came out with balance, though he said they are still on the prowl for linebackers, and the possibility of adding players in the next week is a real prospect.
“I felt we addressed some needs up front with the offensive line, addressed some needs at receiver — we’re bringing in four receivers — then the defensive back position is an area we’ve been down in numbers the last couple of years because of some attrition, but I felt like we got some quality guys in that position.
“Overall I’m pleased with this class. There could be a couple more surprises; it probably won’t happen today, but maybe by the end of next week there could be a couple more surprises to come to add to this class that I’m excited about.”
The primary need addressed on Wednesday was at running back.
Hunter, rated a two-star by 247Sports.com, led the nation in rushing this past year. The 5-11, 190-pounder finished with 3,839 yards on the season with 55 touchdowns. In his career at Kaiser High School, he gained 4,627 yards with 75 total touchdowns.
Jackson, a three-star recruit, was slowed by a groin injury all year, one the Westlake High School back sustained at a summer camp. He gained 599 yards on the season after rushing for 1,123 as a junior. He possesses speed, and he’s not afraid of contact, and for him, that’s most important in pass protection. With just two scholarship backs on the roster, his goal is to play immediately at Colorado State.
“Pass protection is the thing I felt had me at the next level,” he said. “Their plan for me is to play as a true freshman. My plan is to play as a true freshman. I’m really excited. I’m ready to get there and get to work.”
Bobo said they would have taken three backs, but two was a hard number the Rams targeted. In both cases, he feels they gained physical backs who can run. He also said Hunter became a target off a tip from former director of player personnel, Geoff Martzen, now at Colorado.
“Christian has a lot of yards and has some big runs, but you see him run between the tackles. He played behind a guy last year that went to BYU and he played primarily defense as a junior and was very physical,” Bobo said. “He was one of their better players at outside linebacker and safety.
“Both of them show good ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, and you look at the track record here and at Georgia, we’re going to play freshmen running backs. I think that’s a position that you can play early, so I expect both of these guys to play early.”
Brown, a three-star who played inside and outside linebacker at Demopolis (Ala.), finished his final prep campaign with 121 tackles, including nine sacks. At 6-2, 212 pounds, he also registered an interception and recovered a pair of fumbles.
For all of them, Wednesday was the culmination of a long process. For Nouili, he’d only played two years of football in Germany, then one year in the states. During the course of this season, he felt everything in his present and future was taking an abrupt turn.
“After a year, I’ve changed so much, technique wise and my body has changed,” he said. “Now that I’m going to college, the only thing you basically do is that. After four years, I think I’m going to be a whole different person.”
That’s what Bobo is counting on, because he is regarded as a developmental player, albeit one who can run a sub-5-second 40-yard dash, can dunk a basketball, is light on his feet as a wrestler and has only lifted weights for one year.
CSU was tipped off by a former graduate assistant of offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Dave Johnson’s. They watched the tape, and Bobo even sent it to his dad for an assessment. In some regards, it’s a departure from the normal recruiting process, but Nouili doesn’t have a normal story. He speaks four languages and he arrived in Germany from Tunisia.
“I think offensive line is a position where a lot of it is developmental,” Bobo said. “You look across the country, there are probably 15 or 20 where you turn on the tape and you know he’s a for-real lineman who is going to play in the NFL. Other than that, a lot of it is guess on size and frame and flexibility and toughness. Offensive line I think is a developmental position, so I’m excited about him.”
Nouili said he fell in love with the game his first practice back home, when he ran over two people. At Norris, he learned more nuances of the game, which intrigued him more, but he said meeting Johnson opened his mind even further to the player he can become.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. When he first introduced himself, I did not know who he was. That’s normal for being from Germany,” Nouili said. “I didn’t know what Colorado State was, I didn’t know at all what it is.
“When he started talking about the game and being an O-lineman, he’s unbelievably smart. His football IQ is so good. He talked me into a different type of learning, how the O-line works. I’d never heard of that.”
He wouldn’t have considered college in the states without a full ride. In Germany, his advanced education would be free, and even as intriguing as Nebraska was, he said the Huskers’ preferred walk-on offer wasn’t an option.
“It was interesting, I’ve been to their games, and it’s an atmosphere you don’t get anywhere,” Nouili said. “I’ll be honest, you don’t get that at CSU either, I would say. The Huskers are something you live for. They all live for it. That was a dream through there then, to maybe get more than a preferred walk-on. But if it’s going to stay like that, I don’t want to be in debt when I’m 25. For me, it would cost $45,000 a year. I cannot do that. I don’t have that type of money.”
But a trip to Fort Collins gave him his shot. He saw Christmas lights still hanging in Old Town at night, and they let him stand in Canvas Stadium, all by himself — “That was something.”
Nouili is still a bit in shock his one-year excursion to the states will now extend for at least four more years. Actually, he’s planning on staying around much, much longer.
“No, because I didn’t think of leaving my family at some point,” he said. “As I got further through the season, more and more people told me, ‘hey, you’re good. Are you thinking about going to college?’ So I started thinking about it.
“Well, now I’m planning on staying here forever.”
Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard