Analyzing the Colorado State football 2015 signing class

CSU stockpiled speed in its 2014 football recruiting class. This year, the Rams focused on size.

Towering quarterbacks, defensive linemen and linebackers have made their pledges to Colorado State University and signed National Letters of Intent to play for first-year coach Mike Bobo and the Rams on Wednesday.

Twelve players in the 2015 recruiting class are expected to be on scholarship with at least another three being awarded preferred walk-on positions. Here is a player-by-player breakdown of the 2015 class.

• J.C. Robles — QB, Visalia (Calif.) El Diamante: The scholarship pool for Robles is shallow with his only offers coming from CSU and NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Sacramento State, but he has the physical tools to provide a bright future quarterbacking the Rams.

At 6-foot-5, 202 pounds, Robles completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 2,416 yards with 22 touchdowns while using his legs to scramble for 12 more scores as a senior this past fall. He's not a true dual-threat quarterback with a 40-yard dash time of 4.74 seconds, but has quick feet and never stands still in the pocket, allowing him to easily escape pressure.

He'll be the tallest quarterback on the Rams' roster.

• Max McDonald — LB, Fort Collins (Colo.) Rocky Mountain: There was only one school McDonald wanted to get a scholarship from, CSU. As soon as the Rams offered him last month, he committed, becoming the second local player to have a scholarship with the Rams.

McDonald will remind CSU fans of a young Max Morgan, but bigger. Never expected to be a major contributor, he always finds a way to get in on a play with a high football IQ. His 111 solo tackles ranked second in the state last season and No. 1 in Class 5A. He had 138 total tackles (third in 5A), six sacks an interception and two fumble recoveries as a senior.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker is expected to grayshirt next season.

• Isaiah Matthews — ATH, Redding (Calif.) Enterprise: This is the bruising running back Bobo has wanted. He's not going to be the fastest man on the field, but at 6-1, 210 pounds, his versatility is unmatched.

Matthews rushed for 3,626 yards and 54 touchdowns in two season of varsity football and on defense at outside linebacker had 88 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles. He's certainly more of a down-hill runner and only had 21 receiving yards as a senior, but will be called upon to catch more passes out of the backfield in college.

He had competing offers from Air Force, the University of Colorado, Wyoming and San Jose State and is rated a three-star recruit by 247Sports.

• Colby Meeks — C, Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips: The pipeline from Dr. Phillips High School to CSU appears to be never ending. Meeks, a 6-3, 302-pound center, signed his National Letter of Intent to CSU in December, becoming the third Dr. Phillips player to come to Fort Collins in the past two years. Alabama transfer Dee Hart, a running back, and wide receiver Deionte Gaines graduated from the same high school.

Meeks' only other offer was from Holy Cross and he's rated as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. CSU used two starting centers in 2014 — Kevin O'Brien and Jake Bennett — and both return next season.

• Salofi Gaoa — OT, Fort Collins (Colo.) Rocky Mountain: Gaoa was one of the Rams' earliest commitments from the 2015 recruiting class. He's 6-6, 260 pounds and his high school coach, Mark Brook, can't say enough good things about his potential.

Gaoa paved the way by helping the Lobos rush for 2,413 yards and 28 touchdowns in their triple-option offense this past fall. He lives in the gym, but should gain some nice strength as a freshman once he gets in a college weight program.

• Deshon Mayes — OLB, Glendale (Ariz.) C.C.: The graduate of Pomona high school in Arvada comes to CSU by way of the junior college route, where he earned a three-star rating by Rivals.com last year.

He had 34 tackles and a sack for the Glendale Gauchos as a sophomore in 2014. As a senior at Pomona in 2012, he recorded 119 tackles, three sacks, and an interception. Mayes has been spending every morning at Pomona working out with coach Jay Madden.

• Olabisi Johnson — ATH, Lakewood (Colo.) Bear Creek: "Bisi" Johnson will likely end up playing wide receiver for the Rams.

At Bear Creek last season, he was the Bears' third-leading rusher with 698 yards and nine touchdowns and was second on his team in receiving yards with 402 and three touchdowns. Scott, 6-1, 186 pounds, was a defensive threat as well with 100 tackles and two interceptions. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds and held competing offers from Army and Northern Colorado.

• Darnell Thompson — DT, Highland (Kansas) C.C.: It's a safe bet to sign a junior college defensive tackle in every class. They generally don't need a lot of coaching to translate to the Division I level and they'll play enough snaps where only having two years with them is worth it. Thompson is no different, and at 6-4, 275 pounds, he'll be a handful for offensive linemen.

He played 11 games for Highland last year and had 13 tackles, two fumble recoveries and one pass break up. Rivals.com rates him as a three-star recruit. He's originally from Raleigh, North Carolina.

One of the bigger upsides for Thompson is that he has three years of NCAA eligibility instead of two.

• Richard King — DE, Aurora (Colo.) Rangeview: CSU has high hopes for this underrated defensive lineman out of the Denver area.

Thirty three of King's 36 tackles last year were unassisted. He had two sacks, a forced fumble and deflected six passes. He brings a lot of athleticism to the defensive line, having played offense and serving as an receiving threat.

CSU and Eastern Michigan were King's only Football Bowl Subdivision offers. He also had scholarships to NCAA FCS schools South Dakota, South Dakota State, North Dakota and Missouri State.

• Justin Nunez — DT, Red Bluff (Calif.) H.S.: Nunez is by far the biggest defensive linemen in the Rams' recruiting class, weighing in at 6-5, 320 pounds. There's not a lot known about this prospect from Northern California, but one thing that stands out about him on film is his dedication to stay with a play.

Even though he lacks speed (runs the 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds), Nunez never stops chasing after a play after a running back is beyond the line of scrimmage. On the offensive line, he doesn't an excellent job of holding his block, even driving a defender down field reminiscent of Michael Oher in the movie "The Blind Side."

• O'Shea Jackson — DT, Arlington (Texas) Martin: Not to be confused with the birth name of the rapper Ice Cube, Jackson is on the smaller side for defensive tackles, as far as height is concerned

At 6-1, 271 pounds, Jackson, a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, only held an offer from CSU. He utilizes his low center of gravity to put offensive linemen on their backs, picking up 133 tackles, 7 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles in his three-year varsity career at a powerhouse high school program in the Dallas area.

• Braylin Scott — CB, Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty: Scott is the only defensive back signing with the Rams this year after they focused on the secondary in 2014.

He has great size for a cornerback at 6-3, 185 pounds and his experience at wide receiver helps him on the defensive end. Scott had 25 tackles and five pass breakups last season and was a threat in the kick- and punt-returning games, averaging 28 yards on kicks and 15.2 on punts. He made a handful of highlight-reel catches that are posted across YouTube last season and is a basketball star.

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.