CSU has built a top Mountain West recruiting class in Jay Norvell's first year. Here's how

The Colorado State football program is recruiting a caliber of high school prospect not seen at the school in a long time.

Recruiting is a slow burn, and the value of a class often isn’t known for years. But all signs right now point in a positive direction for CSU, even before new head coach Jay Norvell has coached his first game in Fort Collins.

NCAA rules prohibit coaches from discussing specific recruits until they sign a national letter of intent. The Class of 2023 can’t do that until December at the earliest, but CSU recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach Chad Savage broke down the philosophy Norvell and staff use with the Coloradoan.

Those broad strokes are highlighted in the current commit list for the ’23 group, which is one of the best-ranked classes among NCAA football's Group of 5 programs.

Here’s a look at CSU’s plan and how it is playing out.

How CSU football builds its 'big board'

There are roughly 1 million athletes playing high school football in a given year. A college football team will sign about 20-25 per season. How do you pare down the huge number of eligible athletes to a small group to pursue?

It’s all about using contacts through the game to make the “big board” of prospects CSU is recruiting.

“Coach Norvell has a philosophy on what he wants to recruit and we do our due diligence as a staff on what we’re looking for and every position has different intangibles of what we’re looking for,” Savage said.

“We rank our players, it comes down to a grade 1 through 100% where we break down their athletic ability, their character, academics and then if they have any injury history. We rank all that stuff, then it comes down to a cumulative score and we’ll rank our board. We don’t want to leave any rock unturned.”

Rams coaches focus on key traits, versatility

What type of player is CSU trying to find? Norvell broke a lot of it down early in his tenure. Quarterbacks will be tall and strong-armed. Receivers will be tall and athletic. CSU wants big offensive linemen, fast linebackers and defensive backs who are used to having the ball in their hand.

Another common trend? Multisport athletes.

“At the end of the day, we want guys that aren’t just slotted into one position," Savage said. "Defensive guys, we want guys that play on offense. Offense, I want a guy that plays two ways. At the receiver position, I want a multisport athlete."

“Basketball is going to show hand-eye ability, it’s going to show change of direction, it’s going to show that one-cut ability, it’s going to show losing a man in space. Baseball, hand-eye coordination. Track and field is going to show speed. That’s what we’re looking for. We want multisport athletes.”

How it’s been put in play: CSU’s current class of ’23 commits is filled with multisport athletes. Big O-lineman Chris Maxey is a basketball player. Defensive end Whitefield Powell is a sprint star. Linebacker Buom Jock is a double-digit scorer in basketball. Defensive lineman Kennedy McDowell is a star in the hurdles. Kenyon Agurs is just now starting his high school football career after focusing on basketball and track so far.

The list goes on. Most of CSU’s commits not only play multiple sports, but also both sides of the ball in high school football.

Recruiting never ends

Recruiting never sleeps, but it’s the lifeblood of a program. Recruiting for the 2023 class will go until signing day (the first one is in December), but as the calendar moves to September, the class of 2024 is “live” and the Rams will be building the big board for that class.

Inside the '23 class: Meet the commitsInside the '23 class: Meet the commits in CSU's 2023 recruiting class

On Fridays, once recruiting in-person is live again, staff will travel far and wide to watch games and visit recruits. Savage says any time not spent coaching has to be used with early morning, late night and lunchtime work on recruiting. Connecting with coaches, players or families is nonstop.

It’s also a group effort. Each coach has an a region to focus on, but all must work together. Director of player personnel Lucas Gauthier, who was recently ranked as one of the rising stars in the recruiting world, and his team work closely with the coaching staff to keep messaging the same across the board.

“It’s all about communication. I can’t stress that enough. We’ve all got to be on the same page because, for example, if Lucas tells somebody something I want to be able to relay the same thing,” Savage said. “We don’t want to be on two different pages. It’s all about communication. Lucas and his staff do a great job, all the coaches do a great job, but really it’s because Coach Norvell stresses recruiting so much.”

Recruiting to signing day

Yes, CSU has more than 20 commits right now. Those are just verbal commitments. They don’t bind the athlete to CSU or vice versa. Either side can have a change of heart.

The staff gets weekly updates on each player and how they and their high school team fared that week. They text the players “good luck” graphics before games and soon will watch many in person. There’s a lot of effort to turn a commitment into a signing.

Where CSU recruiting ranks

So far, so good. Norvell said in his introductory press conference that he and his staff would be able to recruit a high-level athlete to CSU and right now it’s looking true.

The 2023 class is on track to be one of the best for the Rams in the “modern” era of recruiting (early 2000s on) and is ranked tops in the Mountain West right now by 247Sports, On3 Sports and Rivals.

Five players recruited by Norvell are in the top 20 all-time commits to the Rams based on 247’s historical rankings.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: CSU built a top recruiting class in Jay Norvell's first year. Here's how