New pledge Kaden Ludwick sees Colorado as a perfect fit
Colorado's Class of 2022 grew to eight Wednesday evening, as Oregon (Clackamas) outside linebacker Kaden Ludwick committed to the Buffaloes.
Ludwick, who holds offers from Washington State, Air Force, Idaho and Nevada, was recently in Boulder on an unofficial visit.
While in town, he spent the day hanging out with his future position coach Brian Michalowski and saw the sights around campus and Boulder.
Seeing Boulder in-person and putting a name to a face with Michalowski proved to be all the convincing Ludwick needed that Colorado was the place for him.
“It was beautiful," he said. "I went out to lunch with coach ‘Mike,’ we had a good time, I met his wife, and it just felt right. The place in general is very beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Back in late January, Michalowski offered him, making CU his first Division I opportunity.
Michalowski became familiar with Clackamas High School last year, when he recruited 2021 outside linebacker Patrick Hisatake, who wound up signing with California.
Last fall, Michalowski began to ramp up Colorado's early pursuit of Ludwick, sending graphics for a number of months leading up to the offer proper.
Ludwick cited Michalowski's approach to recruiting him as a major factor in why he chose CU.
“They were my first offer, so that was a very, very big deal to me," he said. "The coaching staff has been very persistent with me. Coach ‘Mike’ has talked to me since the beginning and once I actually got down there and saw everything, just as a place in general, I definitely thought (Colorado) was a place I could live for four years or even more.”
"He’s just an awesome dude. That’s one thing that definitely shined compared to a lot of different places. We've been talking to each other for a really long time and all these other schools, they just kind of came in. I just thought it was right and I think he can take me to the next level.”
Ludwick said that currently at Clackamas, he's playing in a 3-4 base defense that will often send up the outside linebackers to creep closer to the line of scrimmage.
While the 6-foot-5, 245-pounder plays more of a traditional outside linebacker's role currently, Michalowski and defensive coordinator Chris Wilson have told him that he may be shifted by the time he gets to college.
Specifically, Michalowski and Wilson foresee a potential switch to more of a hybrid edge rusher.
Something that CU's coaches have taken into full account is Ludwick's rapidly changing frame.
As a sophomore in 2020, he weighed in at 205 pounds. Since then, he's added an inch of height and about 40 pounds of mass to his frame.
“They’ve said I’m very versatile but most likely I will be playing that edge spot," Ludwick said. "I’m still growing, so it kind of depends on how my body comes out but they said that they love me at the edge spot and that they could also insert me at that end spot, too.”
All things considered, from his recruitment by Michalowski to checking out Boulder in-person last week, Ludwick is content with his decision to join the Buffs.
“I’m really happy about it and really excited," he said. "They’ve got a great group of coaches over there and I feel like it’s going to be a good home for me.”