GREELEY, Colo. – Another recruiting class is in the books for head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and the Northern Colorado Bears. UNC’s class for 2016 stands at 16 commits breaking down evenly on offense and defense with eight apiece.
Though it wasn’t the biggest class of Collins’ tenure it filled definite needs at quarterback, defensive back, wide receiver and the offensive line.
“You never can really tell what you have until they get here, but we do know we have good football players in this class,” Collins said of his most recent class. “Honestly, if someone comes in here ready to play, we’ll play them, but you would hope that you’re starting to get to that point in your program where you don’t have to play the young ones, but by all means if they come in ready to go, we’ll put them out there and let them play.”
The Bears recruited heavily out in California throughout the season and it showed, pulling in five kids from the Golden State.
“I think this class met our needs in terms of holes that we needed to fill on the roster not just this year, but the year after as well and there is a lot of talent in this class,” Collins added. “We’re excited to get them here and get them rolling in our program and seeing what they can do.”
UNC also hit the home front hard, reeling in six signees from Colorado with three of those playing the o-line position.
“We have a very veteran core of offensive lineman, which is great, but that group is going to taper off here in the next couple of seasons,” Collins said, “I thought Coach Wikre and Coach Boyer did an excellent job of identifying these local kids and bringing them in.”
Spring practice the team is set to begin March 22nd. The team will practice every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The annual Blue vs. Gold Spring Game is scheduled for April 23 at Noon.
| Time | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (Last School) | Highlight Reel |
| Mid-Year Transfer | Stone Kane | Safety | 5-11 | 200-lbs | Fairbank, IA (Iowa Western CC) |
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| Mid-Year Transfer | Frank Stephens | Wide Receiver | 5-11 | 175-lbs | Oakland, CA (Contra Costa CC) |
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| 7:00 a.m. | Marquise Davis | ATH | 5-10 | 170-lbs | Greenwood Village, CO. (Cherry Creek HS) |
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| 7:00 a.m. | Chuk-Davis Ezeli | Defensive End | 6-1 | 248-lbs | New Hampton, N.H. (New Hampton HS) |
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| 7:53 a.m. | Evan Coon | Running Back | 6-0 | 191-lbs | SSheridan, WY. (Sheridan HS) |
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| 7:53 a.m. | Xavier Dreiling | Linebacker | 6-2 | 210-lbs | Wheat Ridge, CO. (Wheat Ridge HS) |
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| 8:24 a.m. | Lane Scott | Defensive Tackle | 6-2 | 292-lbs | Garland, TX. (Garland HS) |
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| 8:32 a.m. | Tim Pless | Wide Receiver | 6-2 | 175-lbs | Littleton, CO. (Heritage HS) |
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| 9:07 a.m. | Noah Sol | Wide Receiver | 6-2 | 205-lbs | Danville, CA. (Monte Vista HS) |
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| 9:09 a.m. | Logan Richards | Offensive Lineman | 6-5 | 304-lbs | Fort Collins, CO. (Rocky Mountain HS) |
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| 10:15 a.m. | Jarrin Pierce | Wide Reciever | 5-11 | 175-lbs | Mission Hills, CA. (Alemany HS) |
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| 10:24 a.m. | Matt Steele | Offensive Lineman | 6-5 | 270-lbs | Colorado Springs, CO. (Dohery HS) |
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| 11:11 a.m. | Ryan Dorian | Defensive End | 6-1 | 210-lbs | Kansas City, MO. (Stayley HS) |
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| 12:10 p.m. | Spencer Gatlin | Offensive Lineman | 6-3 | 260-lbs | Dove Creek, CO. (Dove Creek HS) |
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| 2:11 p.m. | Denario Critton | Defensive Back | 5-11 | 160-lbs | Pomona, CA. (Pomona HS) |
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| 4:02 p.m. | Vincent Heard | Defensive Back | 6-0 | 175-lbs | Harbor City, CA. (Narbonne HS) |
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| 4:04 p.m. | Keaton Torre | Quarterback | 6-4 | 182-lbs | South Jordan, UT. (Bingham HS) |
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Bears Breakdown by Position
Quarterback – 1, Running Back – 1, Safety – 1, Athlete – 1, Linebacker – 1, Offensive Line – 3, Defensive Back – 2, Defensive Line – 3, Receiver – 4,
Bears Breakdown by Home State
Colorado – 6, California – 5, Iowa – 1, Missouri – 1, New Hampshire – 1, Texas – 1, Wyoming – 1
Press release courtesy of Kobee Stalder – Northern Colorado Athletics. All Rights Reserved.
