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FB: UW Recruiting Roundup 2011

RECRUITING ROUNDUP HOMEPAGE

Check back soon for video coverage and the official release from the University of Wyoming.

February 2, 2011

Wyoming's 2011 Football Recruiting Class Includes Some of the Highest Rated Individuals and Position Groups in School History

Laramie, Wyo. - University of Wyoming head football coach Dave Christensen announced his third recruiting class at Wyoming on Wednesday. The 2011 Wyoming football recruiting class is Christensen's best and one of the best in school history, including eight three-star ranked recruits and four position groups that rank either No. 1 or No. 2 in the Mountain West Conference according to Rivals.com. The 2011 class also includes two of the highest rated individuals in school history as rated by Rivals.com.

The top ranked position groups include: Wyoming's linebacker group that is ranked No. 1 in the MWC and No. 27 nationally by Rivals.com; the No. 2 ranked quarterback class in the MWC by Rivals, behind only TCU, and ranked No. 23 nationally by Rivals; the No. 2 ranked wide receiver group in the MWC, behind only TCU, and ranked No. 39 nationally by Rivals; and a place-kicking group that is tied for No. 1 in the MWC and tied for No. 10 nationally.

Wyoming's top rated individuals include quarterback Adam Pittser from Richmond, Ill., who is ranked as the No. 19 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com and rated as the No. 25 overall quarterback in the nation by Scout.com. Wyoming recruit Eddie Yarbrough of Aurora, Colo., is ranked No. 31 in the nation at outside linebacker by Rivals, and is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 6 ranked overall recruit at all positions in the state of Colorado. Yarbrough is slated to play defensive end for Wyoming. Quarterback Brett Smith of Salem, Ore., was the 2010 Oregon Gatorade Football Player of the Year, and was named the First Team All-State Class 6A quarterback by The Oregonian -- 6A is the largest classification in Oregon.

"This class is one, in terms of the level of athlete who we were able to attract, that really excites me," said Christensen. "There were certain needs that we knew we needed to fill. Quarterback was one of those. Place-kicker was another. We feel like we've been able to attract young men who can step in right away and compete for starting spots at those positions.

"We're also excited about the balance, between offense and defense, that we were able to put together in this class.

"Offensively, we feel that we signed two extremely talented players at the quarterback position. Running back was an area where we wanted to sign one guy. Kody (Sutton) is a very high level player at running back. Had he been an inch or two taller, he probably would have been playing in the Big 12. We wanted to get some depth at wide receiver, and were able to sign five kids -- four of them out of the state of Texas and Dominic Rufran out of the state of Colorado. Offensive line was another area we wanted to add depth, and from a physical standpoint I feel very good about all four of the young men we've added there.

"On the defensive side of the ball, we didn't lose any defensive lineman from last year, but we were able to sign two defensive ends that will help make that position one of the deepest on our team. At linebacker, we've added three players there, one high school player, one junior college transfer and a young man from Germany who is a freshman but is 20 years old, so we have a good blend of experience in that group. And in the secondary, we made some great additions with a junior college player, another German player who is very mature and three high school players who will have a chance to come in and compete early in their careers."

Wyoming's 2011 class is a very balanced one, with 12 recruits on offense, 10 on defense and two special teams performers. The Cowboys signed players from eight different states and added two individuals from Germany. Freshmen Alex Borgs, a linebacker, and Mark Nzeocha, a safety, join senior linebacker and fellow German Oliver Schober on the Cowboy roster.

The state with the most recruits was Texas, with nine individuals. Five Coloradoans committed to the Cowboys. Wyoming added two student-athletes from the states of Illinois and Washington and one player each from the states of Arizona, Florida, Mississippi and Oregon.

The class of 24 individuals included 20 high school recruits and four junior college players.

Six members of the class are already enrolled at the University of Wyoming for the 2011 spring semester. The six are: freshman quarterback Smith, who graduated early from high school; Germans Borgs and Nzeocha; and three of the four junior college signees. Those three are: safety Luke Anderson, linebacker Korey Jones and defensive end Miraldo Michel. The fourth junior college signee, offensive lineman Zach Rushing, will join the Cowboys in the summer of 2011.

The national letter-of-intent signing period for football began on Wednesday, Feb. 2 and will conclude on Friday, April 1.

The individuals that make up this year's Wyoming recruiting class come to Wyoming with a number of impressive credentials including:

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Hometown (Last School)
Zack Berg	LB	6-2	210	Fr.	Edmonds, Wash. (Woodway)
Alex Borgs*	LB	6-2	215	Fr.	Raesfeld, Germany (Dusseldorf)
Blair Burns	CB	5-10	170	Fr.	Plano, Texas (Plano)
Josh Doctson	WR	6-4	185	Fr.	Mansfield, Texas (Legacy)
Zach Ewan	LS	5-9	216	Fr.	Phoenix, Ariz. (North Canyon)
DeAndre Jones	CB	6-0	180	Fr.	Killeen, Texas (Harker Heights)
Jake Jones	OL	6-3	295	Fr.	Lakewood, Colo. (Lakewood)
Rafe Kiely	OL	6-3	298	Fr.	Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton North)
London Muse	WR	5-11	185	Fr.	Sugar Land, Texas (Dulles)
Trey Norman	WR	6-1	170	Fr.	Texarkana, Texas (Liberty-Eylau)
Mark Nzeocha*	S	6-3	220	Fr.	Neusitz, Germany (FOS Ansbach)
Adam Pittser	QB	6-2	206	Fr.	Richmond, Ill. (Richmond-Burton)
Chad Reese	S	5-11	180	Fr.	Tyler, Texas (Tyler Lee)
Kevin Robertson	WR	6-4	210	Fr.	Houston, Texas (Northland Christian)
Dominic Rufran	WR	6-0	185	Fr.	Colorado Springs, Colo. (Palmer)
Brett Smith	QB	6-3	195	Fr.	Salem, Ore. (West Salem)
Daniel Sullivan	K	5-10	185	Fr.	Snohomish, Wash. (Jackson)
Kody Sutton	RB	5-8	190	Fr.	Texarkana, Texas (Texas)
Austin Traphagan	OL	6-5	285	Fr.	Yuma, Colo. (Yuma)
Eddie Yarbrough	DE	6-3	265	Fr.	Aurora, Colo. (Grandview)

Junior-College Signees (4)

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Hometown (Last School)
Luke Anderson#	S	5-10	195	Jr.	Southlake, Texas (Blinn CC, Calif.)
Korey Jones#	LB	6-2	225	Jr.	Fort Collins, Colo. (Garden City CC, Kan.)
Miraldo Michel#	DE	6-3	286	Jr.	Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Ellsworth CC, Iowa)
Zach Rushing	OL	6-3	295	Jr.	Woolmarket, Miss. (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC, Miss.)

*High School signees who enrolled at UW for the 2011 spring semester
#Junior College signees who enrolled at UW for the 2011 spring semester

Recruiting Roundup Programming

Catch our coverage of the Recruiting Roundup on The Mtn. premiering this Thursday, February 3.