National signing day is….today????? The earlier date caused it to sneak up on college football fans (and the CU coaching staff?), largely because most of the recruiting class was wrapped up before the season began. If you’re like most CU fans and haven’t paid much attention to recruiting the last few months, the good news is that you haven’t missed much.
Disappointingly, CU is signing only 11 players today and the class is ranked 100th nationally. If you want to understand our thoughts on CU’s roster construction issues, click on any of the last 4 or 5 posts that we’ve written about CU football. Despite our issues with the small class, there are some nice players here that can help CU. I will break down CU’s class position by position, who the recruits are, any new updates with them, and some additional notes for signing day.
Quarterback
None.
CU’s quarterback situation for the 2026 season appears to be Juju Lewis or bust. With Kaidon Salter out of eligibility, the only scholarship backup will be Ryan Staub (assuming he doesn’t transfer). CU needs to add at least one QB in the transfer portal for depth purposes.
CU offered 24 high school QBs this cycle and failed to secure a commit. To be fair, highly rated young QBs don’t want to commit to a program when the presumptive starter has 4 years of eligibility. Still, it would have been nice to have added at least one arm even if it’s not a blue chip recruit. Someone like Cherry Creek QB Brady Vodicka (committed to Louisiana Tech) would be the type of player that might have been worth a flyer on.
Running Back
None.
Absent transfer portal voodoo, CU will return its top running backs in junior-to-be Micah Welch, senior-to-be Dallan Hayden, RS senior-to-be Simeon Price, and RS senior-to-be DeKalon Taylor.
Is there a gamebreaker in that group? Probably not, but there’s decent depth and talent. This is a position without a giant need.
Wide Receiver
IMG Academy athlete Alexander Ward could play WR or DB for Colorado. A 6’1” 175-pound athlete originally from Georgia, Ward is a former Alabama commit that reclassified from the 2027 class to the 2026 class to join his older brother Christian in Boulder.
His first offer was from Alabama, which offered him after seeing him play in their summer camp (always a very good sign). Alexander Ward then shot up the recruiting boards and was a consensus 4-star talent, ranked as high as the #218 player overall in the 2027 class, before reclassifying. After reclassifying, he was ranked the #570 player in the 2026 class.
After decommitting from Alabama, Alexander Ward committed to CU over offers from Auburn and Florida State, among others. Ward’s commitment strengthens CU’s IMG Academy pipeline, as CU has brought in multiple IMG products over the last several years (Jordan Seaton, Alexander McPherson, and London Merritt). Adding Ward to this class via reclassification is a boon to CU’s 2026 class. His film reminds me a lot of Quanell “X” Farrakhan Jr.
Christian Ward is the other half of the Ward Brothers package. While probably not as explosive as his younger brother, Christian Ward is bigger and has a larger catch radius. Listed at 6’3” 195-pounds, his offer list included offers from Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Texas A&M. Cynics might say that some of those offers were because schools viewed he and his younger brother as a package deal and Christian Ward is “only” ranked the #106 WR nationally. However, Christian Ward’s highlights show a big bodied WR that runs precise routes. I think it’s fair to expect a Will Sheppard-like player once Christian Ward is an upperclassman.
One noteworthy connection: Christian grew up as close friends with JuJu Lewis. Though they attended different high schools in Georgia before the Wards transferred to IMG, the hope here is that Christian and JuJu have some pre-existing chemistry.
Offensive Line
All 3 of CU’s offensive line commits are what I would describe as developmental prospects. That’s not a bad thing – Deion Sanders is going to continue to recruit the transfer portal for immediate offensive line help which should afford some developmental time for the younger linemen where they can continue to develop in Andreu Swasey’s weight program.
Xavier Payne, a 6’7″ 320 pound offensive lineman, was a Florida State commit that decommitted from FSU late summer after an official visit to Boulder. [There are whispers that FSU asked him to look around and that his decommitment was “mutual” FWIW.]
While Payne is a middling 3-star according to most recruiting rankings (the #104 offensive tackle nationally), his offer list is indicative of a player much, much more highly regarded (and an offer list is typically a better indicator of collegiate success than a player’s star ranking). Payne had 34 total offers, including offers from Florida State, Florida, Miami, Penn State, the Corndogs, Tennessee, Ole Miss, etc. I know Adam Munsterteiger from 247 is very high on Payne, and he thinks he’ll challenge for playing time quickly.
Josiah Manu has already received the Hello! post treatment. For the deep dive, see:
TL/DR: Manu is a low-to-mid 3-star prospect that is making a huge step up in competition and physicality by moving from Thompson Valley High School to CU. I would pencil him in for a redshirt next year as he needs to work to continue to reshape his body a bit. Manu was originally committed to San Jose State before receiving his CU offer. The 6’5” 295-pounder is ranked the #18 player from the State of Colorado and the #1310 player nationally. Manu is a project in every sense of the word.
Ben Gula is a 6’5” 285 pound interior offensive lineman from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more on Gula, check out:
TL/DR: On paper, Ben Gula is a low-to-mid three-star offensive lineman. However, Gula is a run blocking machine. It’s fun to watch him drive block on film. He makes more pancakes than Krusteaz. He’s a high ceiling player who, by adding a bit more quickness, could materially outperform his recruiting rankings.
CU currently projects Gula as a center. CU’s projection of Gula as a center speaks to the staff’s faith in his football IQ — centers need to be vocal leaders, quick-decision makers with a high football IQ. Gula plays with a low pad level and strong base, which is ideal for handling (and moving) big nose tackles.
If Colorado wants to revive its run game, a road-grader like Gula in the middle will be needed. He reminds me of Tim Lynott Jr.
Tight End
None. CU struck out at tight end, which is becoming increasingly problematic. The #1 ranked player in the State of Colorado, Cherry Creek TE Ty Goettsche, signed with BYU over CU. The #7 ranked player in the State of Colorado, Mullen TE Mason Bonner, signed with Michigan over CU, and the #8 ranked player in the State of Colorado, Heritage TE Camden Jensen, signed with UCLA over CU.
Oof.
Three more quick things — first, check out the defensive recruiting roundup at:
Second, CU plays CSU on Saturday afternoon in men’s hoops. Either get yourself to Fort Collins for the game (tipoff is at 3 pm) or tune in to the CBS Sports Network to watch. The team is 8-0 and deserves your attention. Third, if you want to read more about how Deion Sanders can “right the ship” at CU (and you know you do!), check out this post that has been drawing a lot of attention:
Thanks for the summary, John. Reading that list makes the number 11 feel so small. Fingers crossed for some portal magic in January. At least we have basketball. Sko Buffs!
Thanks Dave. The single portal session is going to be wild.
This is great, love the player comps.
We need more high school commits.
Looking forward to seeing how Josiah Manu does. Already mean, over-looked, local, and a bruddar, all the makings of a great story.
We really need some quality TEs that can block and catch though.
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Brutal numbers!!! Arrogant attitude with a lazy work effort!! Back to the dark ages