With Wednesday's signing of Arvada West's
Sean McDougal (6-1.5, 200 lb) and Scottsdale, Ariz.'s
Nick Neuenfeldt (6-4, 240 lb), Colorado State will have five scholarship quarterbacks on its roster for the first time in several years. Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Dan Hammerschmidt said the Rams have been playing with fire by only carrying three the past few years, but thanks to the latest signees, they now have depth and a lot of healthy competition.
The Rams had intended to take just one quarterback in the class, and after getting a commitment from their top quarterback target McDougal in December, were assumed to use their final few scholarships in other areas. But, Neuenfeldt's athleticism was too good to ignore. He threw for 1,866 yards (on 113-of-171 passing) and 16 touchdowns his senior season, and added 302 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.52.
"They were too good of football players to pass up," Hammerschmidt said. "And when it comes down to it, you just have to take the best players. Obviously, you can't take eight quarterbacks. But one thing about us, we went with three (scholarship) quarterbacks for three to four years. You've got to have a minimum of four guys on scholarship. I bet if you checked a lot of the people, they've got four to five and some people with six."
McDougal, who threw for a Class 5A-leading 2,888 yards and 37 touchdowns vs. 6 interceptions during his All-Colorado senior season, committed during his official visit in December -- the same weekend that Neuenfeldt was on campus for his visit. The two were standing next to each other in a food line when McDougal proclaimed he was committing to CSU.
The fact that the Rams had received a commitment from one quarterback already didn't deter Neuenfeldt from remaining interested in CSU. According to Hammerschmidt, Neuenfeldt wasn't put off by the competition, but simply wanted to know that regardless of how many quarterbacks the Rams had on their roster, that he would get a legitimate shot to play the position.
That was one of the reasons more big-name schools weren't showing up as finalists on his list of college choices. And the lack of other schools' interest is baffling to Hammerschmidt.
"I do not know," Hammerschmidt said when asked why other schools passed on Neuenfeldt. "That's the big question -- I have no idea. He's a great student -- had Ivy League schools after him. I think it was because he wanted to get a shot a quarterback. And, UTEP said he could and a couple other people said he could. Arizona State and three or four other schools -- I don't know who they all were -- but a lot of people were saying H-back, running back, linebacker. That kid was being recruited by some big schools at other positions. He wanted a shot at quarterback. He didn't want anybody to promise him that he is going to be the quarterback or play quarterback forever, but he wants to go give a shot at playing QB and see whether he can do it or not. We might as well give him a chance."
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As for the new guys, McDougal and Neuenfeldt will redshirt in 2006, barring a flurry of injuries ahead of them, and both will work out at quarterback through next year's spring ball. The player that shows the most improvement and the most promise for the future will remain at quarterback. The other player will then likely switch positions. For McDougal, that switch would probably be to safety. For Neuenfeldt, head coach Sonny Lubick said he could play any number of positions, including tight end, running back, linebacker, or safety.
It's easy to see that with Lubick's defensive background, he wouldn't mind seeing both players on the defensive side of the ball someday, but that both could contribute and excel in various areas -- including quarterback.
"We liked (Neuenfeldt) as an athlete," Lubick said. "He can run the football. He's a good student. He's 6-foot-3 and about 240 lb, and they timed him at some camps at 4.5 (forty-yard dash), which is pretty darn good. Let's say he (runs a) 4.6, there's a good safety, there's a good linebacker, there's a running back. Plus, there's the fact he did play quarterback a lot for his high school team. We'll give both guys a good look and see how it goes and see how it develops. This will work itself out kindly for all of us because they're both excellent athletes."
Lubick also talked about how the Rams' were fortunate that McDougal has family ties to CSU, otherwise, it might have been tough for the Rams to get him. Sean's dad Mike played linebacker for CSU in the 1960s, his brother Matt was a punter in the mid-90s, and brother Kevin was a star running back in the late 90s.
"I'm glad the other two young men (Matt and Kevin) had great experiences here, because that could go either way," Lubick said. "If one of the older brothers said they didn't get a fair shot or didn't have a good experience, then that's the end of that family forever. I guess it's like going into get a beer, you have one bad beer, you don't go back again or something like that.
"I think what happens is that Sean, as we all know, is one of the better quarterbacks in this state. Usually the youngest brother ends up being the best of all, although Matt and Kevin were should good contributors and great players for Colorado State. I do believe a lot of people were talking to him early on, and I don't think he got an honest shot (with other schools recruiting him) probably because everyone assumed he was going to go to Colorado State."
Now that both McDougal and Neuenfeldt are coming to CSU, the Rams have a total of five athletic, mobile quarterbacks on the roster ready to fight for their spot. Let the battle begin.
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