Both CU and CSU closed out the final football National Signing Day of the ’23-24 recruiting cycle with a projected linebacker each on Wednesday, capping off a pair of classes whose makeups were completely different.
Thanks to a wave of transfers and the top offensive tackle recruit in the country, the Buffs went into Wednesday evening with the top-ranked class in the Big 12, according to 247Sports.com’s composite, and the No. 22 class nationally.
The Rams, by contrast, concentrated on the high school ranks, with 247Sports rating it the fourth-best haul in the Mountain West, as of late Wednesday, and the No. 86 class overall.
On Wednesday, CU added linebacker Kyeran Garcia, a three-star linebacker out of Fort Myers, Fla., per the 247Sports database, to its incoming class. Garcia reportedly fielded offers from Air Force, Army, FIU, Kent State, Navy, Temple and several Ivy League programs.
Garcia was just the seventh Buffs player inked from the high school ranks. CU football coach Deion Sanders’ haul focused on quality over quantity on the prep side, led by IMG Academy offensive lineman Jordan Seaton, 247Sports’ No. 1 prep tackle prospect. The majority of the Buffs’ additions to date, as with a year ago, came via the transfer portal.
Sanders had said his recruiting model at CU, while unusual at the Power 5 level, would follow the one he used at Jackson State: a 40-40-20 ratio. The formula would feature a class of 40% undergraduate transfers, 40% grad transfers and 20% from the prep pool.
As of midday Wednesday, the Buffs had only slightly exceeded that mark on the prep end, with the seven incoming preps (22%) accounting for what 247sports counted as a 31-person class to date.
CSU topped off its recruiting haul Wednesday with three-star athlete Owen Long out of Whittier, Calif., who is projected as a linebacker going forward. The 6-foot-2 Long reportedly also received offers from Air Force, Army, Nevada, Idaho and Washington State.
Long was the 25th member of the Rams’ class, the majority of whom are high school recruits.
Both rivals begin their respective spring practice sessions late next month. CU’s and CSU’s rosters are expected to churn once again when the football spring portal window is open, a period that runs April 15-30.
The Rams’ spring game is scheduled for April 20. The Buffs’ spring game is slated for April 27.
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