The arrival of National Signing Day in Colorado came with a familiar theme on Wednesday: Exodus.
As in, a whole lot of Colorado high school football players will be playing for college programs outside the Centennial State next fall.
Only one of the top 10 recruits in the 247Sports composite rankings signed on the dotted line with an in-state FBS program during the first day of the early signing period: Loveland’s Zayne DeSouza, the No. 3 prospect in the state. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound tight end caught the eye of Coach Prime at a CU camp in June and made his pledge to the program official as soon as he could.
Outside of that?
Cherry Creek offensive tackle Soren Shinofield, the top Class of 2025 recruit, signed with Utah on Wednesday morning, while Heritage wide receiver Tanner Terch, the No. 2 Class of 2025 recruit, put pen to paper to play for Nebraska. Fossil Ridge wide receiver Marcus Mozer, the fourth-rated recruit in the state, signed with former CU offensive coordinator Sean Lewis at San Diego State.
And Washington State continued its regular pilfering of Box State prep talent, luring three-star safety Aiden Knapke of Cherry Creek and three-star offensive lineman Aidan Martin of Northfield — both top-10 prospects. Combined with the 2023 and 2024 classes, that brings the Cougars’ total of Colorado commitments to six over the last three years.
Just north of the border, Wyoming received official commitments from three Colorado prospects, including Legend running back Jaden Lawrence, who will face Cherry Creek in Saturday’s Class 5A title game at Canvas Stadium.
Noticeably absent from the list of early commitments? Colorado State, which had zero in-state players sign on Wednesday. The Rams haven’t had a single class absent at least one Colorado commitment in the last 10 years. But the Rams still have time to change that. The early signing period doesn’t end until Friday, and the second signing period begins on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Northern Colorado, which had 17 Colorado players in last year’s recruiting class, has yet to reveal its signing day commitments.
Here’s a list of Colorado preps who signed letters of intent or are verbally committed to play for FBS or FCS programs as of Wednesday, as well as those who have announced commitments to the Air Force Academy and Navy:
| Player | School | Pos. | Stars* | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elvin Ampofo | Eaglecrest | S | *** | Wyoming |
| Rhett Armstrong | Palmer Ridge | K | ** | Baylor |
| Mikhail Benner | Broomfield | CB | *** | Air Force^ |
| Cade Brook | Cherokee Trail | EDGE | ** | Wyoming |
| Zayne DeSouza | Loveland | TE | *** | Colorado |
| Carson Hageman | Erie | LB | *** | Air Force^ |
| Jack Heath | Mountain Vista | OL | *** | Navy^ |
| Jeremiah Hoffman | Cherry Creek | WR | *** | Charlotte+ |
| Aiden Knapke | Cherry Creek | S | *** | Washington State |
| Jaden Lawrence | Legend | RB | *** | Wyoming |
| Aidan Martin | Northfield | OL | *** | Washington State |
| Austyn Modrzewski | Mountain Vista | QB | *** | South Dakota |
| Marcus Mozer | Fossil Ridge | WR | *** | San Diego State |
| Keegan Perea | Cherry Creek | EDGE | *** | Nevada |
| Cole Powell | Erie | OL | *** | Eastern Michigan |
| Nick Seng | ThunderRidge | WR | ** | Drake |
| Soren Shinofield | Cherry Creek | OL | *** | Utah |
| Tanner Terch | Heritage | ATH | *** | Nebraska |
| Court Towns | Palmer Ridge | OL | *** | Air Force^ |
| Ned Zilinskas | Cherry Creek | OL | *** | Princeton+ |
| * 247sports.com rankings | ^ Service academy commits do not sign letters of intent | + Verbal commitment | ||||
(Click here to view chart in mobile.)
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.
Originally Published:
