The top-ranked Colorado State football recruits of all-time and how they fared as Rams

Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell speaks to the team after the green and gold spring game on April 22 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins. Colorado State football coach Jay Norvell and staff recently landed one of the top prospects in program history. Who are the others near the top of that list? How did they fare at CSU? Here, we look at CSU’s top 25 recruits in the modern era. Recruiting rankings really began in the early 2000s, so this isn’t a true all-time list. Recruiting has changed drastically, and some of CSU’s all-time great recruits came before the era of rankings. Still, it can be instructive and interesting to look back over recent times and see how the top-ranked recruits fared for the Rams. The list is compiled via the 247Sports database of recruits back to the beginning in 2001. It is current as of commits through July 6, 2023. Transfers are not included in the rankings. A quick explainer on the composite scores listed below: Scores are on a scale of 0 to 1.10, so a score of 0.96 is an elite-level player. Those are usually four-star recruits and the top 10% of the class. A select few have a score in the 1.0 to 1.10 range, and those are five stars and the very best of the best. Three-stars are broken into tiers of high-three, mid-three and low-three. Almost all the players on this list are high-three. 1. Justin Holland, quarterback Signing class: 2001 Star ranking: 4 Composite score: 0.9631 Notable: Holland is an outlier in CSU’s list, far outranking anyone else and from the first class 247Sports has data for. His composite score would make him among the top 65 in the 2024 rankings. There might be a bit of a case of smaller sampler size from the earliest period of tracking recruiting, but he comes in at the top and had a strong career at CSU. Holland was sixth all-time in passing yards (5,668) and touchdown passes (36) when his time at CSU ended. 2. Jordan Ross, receiver Signing class: 2024 Star ranking: 4 Composite score: 0.9083 Notable: CSU’s newest commit in the 2024 class is one of the best ever at CSU. He can’t sign until December, but if he does it will be a huge moment for CSU. Ross chose the Rams over a number of Power 5 programs, including heavy pursuit by Michigan State. 3. Damian Henderson, running back Signing class: 2023 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8884 Notable: Henderson is an incoming freshman at CSU for the 2023 season after compiling eye-catching stats in high school and chose the Rams over many Power 5 offers. Henderson ran for 1,744 yards and 23 touchdowns as a high school senior. 4. Mekhi Fox, receiver Signing class: 2022 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8880 Notable: Fox was little used in his freshman season at CSU, playing in six games but making just one catch in the 2022 season. He was behind fellow freshmen Justus Ross-Simmons and Louis Brown but still has plenty of time to fulfill his high ranking. Fox had more than 2,300 receiving yards in high school. 5. Tyler Smith, receiver Signing class: 2017 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8839 Notable: Smith’s ranking really has an asterisk. He originally committed to North Carolina and had several huge offers early on (Alabama, Auburn and Georgia among them), but significant injuries kept him off the field for most of his final two seasons of high school and he never played for the Rams. 6. Nikko Hall, receiver Signing class: 2018 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8809 Notable: Hall was a highly ranked, two-way player who chose the Rams over several Power 5 schools. He played early, catching eight passes and a touchdown as a freshman in 2018 but left after his sophomore season. He hasn’t played FBS football again. 7. Pete Thomas, quarterback Signing class: 2010 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8800 Notable: Once hoped to be the QB of the future and savior for the Steve Fairchild era. Thomas has an interesting statistical history with the Rams. He’s CSU’s career completion percentage holder (.635 and not counting still-in-school Clay Millen’s current number) but never hit the heights most hoped before being replaced by Garrett Grayson and transferring when Jim McElwain took over. 8. Tony Drake, running back Signing class: 2010 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8789 Notable: The speedster was a highly ranked recruit and showed flashes of explosiveness in the return game as a freshman but struggled to stay eligible and didn’t play past the 2010 season. 9. Isiah Norton, defensive line Signing class: 2011 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8768 Notable: Norton never played for the Rams. 10. Brandon Crossley, cornerback Signing class: 2019 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8711 Notable: Crossley played in every game in 2019 as a true freshman at CSU, recording four passes defended. He transferred to Southern Methodist after CSU’s hiring of Steve Addazio before the 2020 season and has played 68 games and recorded five interceptions at SMU. 11. Joe Caprioglio, offensive line Signing class: 2008 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8689 Notable: Caprioglio played in 28 career games and started 22 at CSU, securing the left tackle spot on the later end of his time as a Ram. 12. John Froland, defensive line Signing class: 2010 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8689 Notable: Froland was on the CSU football team from 2010 to 2012 and recorded 3.5 sacks as a freshman before being limited by injury as a sophomore. 13. Kennedy McDowell, defensive line Signing class: 2023 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8681 Notable: McDowell chose CSU over multiple Power 5 offers. He enrolled early and excelled in spring 2023, frequently earning praise from coach Jay Norvell. He’s a candidate to see the field as a true freshman in 2023. 14. Tristan Walker, running back Signing class: 2002 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8667 Notable: Walker saw action at CSU from 2002 to 2006, rushing for just more than 100 career yards and a touchdown. 15. Kavesz Sherard, offensive line Signing class: 2018 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8655 Notable: Sherard redshirted in 2018 and did not appear in any games in 2019 before leaving the program. 16. Justin Marshall, running back Signing class: 2023 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8647 Notable: Marshall will be a true freshman for the 2023 season. He ran for nearly 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns, plus caught passes for 684 yards and another six touchdowns as a high school senior. 17. Ty McCullouch, receiver Signing class: 2019 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8639 Notable: One of the last signings of the Mike Bobo era, McCullouch played in 19 games over four seasons for three different head coaches at CSU. He caught 51 passes for 596 yards and a touchdown as a Ram. He transferred to Montana State for his final season of eligibility. 18. Dorian Brown, running back Signing class: 2011 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8636 Notable: Brown suffered a significant knee injury as a high school senior at Loveland’s Thompson Valley before signing for the Rams. He left the program before seeing any game action. 19. Jonathan Gaye, running back Signing class: 2008 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8633 Notable: Gaye redshirted as a true freshman and didn’t appear in any games in 2009 before transferring. 20. Darius Curry, quarterback Signing class: 2024 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8617 Notable: Curry can’t sign until December but verbally committed to CSU over offers from several Power 5 schools. He threw for 3,000 yards and 38 touchdowns as a junior. 2024 class:See all the commits in Colorado State football's 2024 class 21. Lavon Brown, receiver Signing class: 2023 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8606 Notable: Brown will be a true freshman for CSU’s 2023 season and chose the Rams over several Power 5 offers. He had just shy of 500 yards and seven touchdowns receiving as a high school senior. 22. DeAndre Gill, defensive line Signing class: 2022 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8600 Notable: Gill redshirted in 2022 as a true freshman at CSU. 23. Donte Ferrell, receiver Signing class: 2024 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8600 Notable: Ferrell can’t sign until December. As a high school junior, he caught 92 passes for 1,744 yards and 12 touchdowns. 24. Jackson Stratton, quarterback Signing class: 2022 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8596 Notable: Stratton appeared in four games as a true freshman in 2022, making one start. He threw for 78 yards and a touchdown. 25. Jalen Dupree, running back Signing class: 2024 Star ranking: 3 Composite score: 0.8589 Notable: Dupree is another highlight of the growing 2024 class, which can’t sign until December. He ran for nearly 3,000 yards as a junior in high school to win Player of the Year honors in Arkansas.