CSU: National Signing Day A list of players expected to sign with Colorado State on Wednesday, as well as the four who signed in December who are on campus and will participate in spring drills: Verbal Commitments Ellison Hubbard, DT, 6-2, 260, Grayson HS (Loganville, Ga,) Warren Jackson, WR, 6-5, 208, Alemany HS (Mission Hills Calif.) Livingston Paogofie, DT, 6-2, 250, Bowie HS (Arlington, Texas) Marquese Taylor, Ath., 5-11, 169, Lovejoy HS (Lovejoy, Ga.) Justice McCoy, QB, 6-1, 180, St. Augustine HS (New Orleans) Jadon Walker, DB, 6-1, 185, Chapel Hill HS (Douglasville, Ga.) Christian Cumber, DB, 5-11, 175, Mullen Christian Howard, DL, 6-3, 265, Independence CC (Kans.) John Blasco, OL, 6-6, 312, Stadium HS (Tacoma, Wash.) Marcus McElroy, RB, 6-1, 200, Mullen Zoauntarrious Brunt, S, 6-4, 200, Orange Coast CC (Calif.) Louis Lebron, OL, 6-5, 355, Sandalwood HS (Jacksonville, Fla.) Demarre Kitt, WR, 6-1, 180, Highland CC (Kans.) E.J. Scott, DB, 6-2, 189, McEachern HS (Powder Springs, Ga.) Patrick Moody, LB, 6-2, 227, Vero Beach HS (Vero Beach Fla.) Kieran Firment, OL, 6-4, 285, West Allegheny HS (Imperial, Pa.) Cameron Butler, TE, 6-3, 220, Ridge View HS (Columbia, SC) Corte Tapia, DL, 6-2, 225, Windsor Scott Brooks, OL, 6-4, 275, Moorpark HS (Moorpark, Calif.) Sincere David, OL, 6-3, 315, Sandalwood HS (Jacksonville, Fla.) Already signed Tyler Bjorklund, OL, 6-5, 300, College of the Canyons (Calif.) Ben Knox, OL, 6-6, 295, Independence CC (Kans.) Griffin Hammer, TE, 6-5, 215, St. Charles North HS (Saint Charles, Ill.) Preston Williams, WR, 6-4, 209, Tennessee

FORT COLLINS — There were not strong feelings about staying at home. Like most players seeking an opportunity to play college football, it was more about the fit. If they found it elsewhere, so be it.

When it became clear to Marcus McElroy that fit was just a few hours north, the feeling started to hit him.

“I’m excited to stay home. It’s being able to have my family at all my games is probably one of the best things,” said the running back out of Mullen who said he will sign with Colorado State on Wednesday. “Having them a few hours away and be able to come and be part of my best feelings, and to have that support is great.”

McElroy, ranked as the top back in the state and a three-star recruit by Scout.com, is one of three in-state players who said they will sign with CSU on national signing day, joined by high school teammate Christian Cumber and Windsor defensive end Corte Tapia.

The state of Colorado is not littered with college football prospects, at least not on the level of what recruiters will find down south, in California and certainly Texas. By Scout.com‘s measure, the state only had a trio of four-star recruits, eight more listed as three-stars. Of that group, Colorado State landed two — the Mullen duo are both ranked three-stars — and Tapia is a two-star the Rams hope is a hidden gem in the mold of former Wizards Greg Myers and Nate Kvamme.

Yep, he knows the names and the tales.

“I’ve heard a few things before, but after I committed, it’s been brought up more,” Tapia said. “It’s a little bit to live up to, but yeah …”

Director of player personnel Geoff Martzen and head coach Mike Bobo have both stated they want to land the best the state has to offer, and they feel they are making strides in that direction.

In the 2016 recruiting class, Bobo’s first full-year venture for the Rams, they signed two from Colorado. Three-star tight end Isiah Pannunzio redshirted, while Fort Morgan product Toby McBride became a mainstay on the defensive line, leading that group with 32 tackles, seven for loss and a team-leading four sacks.

The past two years, Bobo and his staff have made a pitch to the top players in the state, but landing them is another story, even for other state programs. Colorado landed four of the top 11 in state, Northern Colorado one. Four others are headed to other Power 5 conferences, with one still undecided.

Even if Bobo and his staff were to land the top 10 players in Colorado, they still would be forced to look outside the borders to fill Wednesday’s signing class, which could reach up to 25 players. No matter where they are from, the type of player the Rams now seek are the same.

“I really feel we’re recruiting how we want to now,” Bobo said. “It’s not necessarily getting your type of player, it’s getting the type of player that fits into what you’re trying to build. I think every program across the country is dealing with the fact of finding the guy that wants to be different. Loves football. You hear a lot of coaches say that, and it’s a tricky thing in recruiting for everybody. Finding the guys that really love football and not just the fact they’re getting recruited, on ESPN or getting attention.”

Much of Bobo’s staff came from the South, where they had already built relationships in recruiting, and they are taking advantage of those ties. But Marty English was a holdover, and more importantly, a well-respected recruiter in the state of Colorado.

Relationships count, and that’s why Tapia is headed to Fort Collins.

English and Tapia’s father played together at Northern Colorado, and his mom was an athletic trainer there. He’s known English since his youth, so when it came to getting the pitch, Tapia knew what he could trust.

“That was the thing. Through the whole process, he was very real with me,” Tapia said. “It helped with the trust process. I knew he wasn’t just up there saying stuff. I knew everything he was saying was real. That really helped me out, finding the real stuff within everything else.”

McElroy said CSU was on his trail beginning with his freshman season. As he developed into the highest-ranked back in the state and others started to catch on, he was already comfortable with those in Fort Collins.

Now that he’s committed, the next steps are starting to come into view. Naturally, his intention is to become an even better back in college, and the thought of doing that at home is intriguing.

In two seasons under Bobo, the Rams have used a committee approach in the backfield. In the past, Bobo has had featured backs, and McElroy would love to follow in that mold.

“In all honesty, that would be a great feeling. You see being a feature back, being that back, always feels great,” he said. “Being that for the past four years has been a great feeling. To do it on a bigger scale at the next level, being able to do it in my home state would be an amazing feeling.”

He’s also excited to have a pair of Mullen teammates heading north, as linebacker Tanner Clem has accepted a preferred walk-on invitation. They’ll join a group who have stayed close to home, as the Rams currently have 30 players on roster who are natives, 13 of who played a major role in the Rams’ 7-6 season in 2016.

Bobo expects this year’s class to be better than last year’s, and of that group, 14 newcomers played, nine of them true freshmen. He also expects his 2018 class to exceed this group, because that’s the way it has to work to accomplish the goals he has set for the Rams, namely winning the Mountain West title.

Winning fuels programs and keeps coaches employed, and they’ll go anywhere needed to find that type of talent.

To win at home, to help a local program exceed, is intriguing McElroy and Tapia. Then again, it’s winning part that drives Tapia most.

“I would say yes, but I’ve always had a very strong feeling toward winning,” he said. “I don’t take losing very well. It will mean more, even to a lot of the community, to see me help them win. It would be more for me to help them have that feeling, but I’m pretty high on winning anyway.”

Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/mbrohard