The connections between Cherry Creek High School and the Buffaloes do not require a magnifying glass to spot.
Currently, the Buffaloes have a healthy plethora of Bruins alums on roster in C Carson Lee, OLB Alec Pell, WR Dimitri Stanley, DL Dante Sparaco, safeties Dustin Johnson and Curtis Appleton, ILB Jon Van Diest and K Mac Willis.
Soon, 2020 RB and Cherry Creek product Jayle Stacks will join the Buffs, while 2021 WR Chase Penry is currently committed to Colorado.
We sat down with Bruins head coach and Voice of the Broncos Dave Logan to get his take on Karl Dorrell and the direction of the Buffs, with specific emphasis on in-state recruiting.
Join the conversation on Logan and his thoughts on Dorrell and Colorado at Buff Nation, the premiere message board community serving countless CU fanatics.
Q: What's been your impression of Karl Dorrell so far, as he's become settled in Boulder?
Logan: “It’s been great. I’ve always been a fan of Karl’s. I got to know him a little bit back in 2000-2001 when he was the wide receivers coach for the Broncos. I got to know Karl a little bit then but I’ve always thought of him as a first class guy, a really good coach, an excellent communicator and I was happy when (Rick George and Lance Carl) landed on him to be the next head coach at CU. He’ll be all in and I think he'll do a really good job.”
Q: Cherry Creek has been recruited heavily by Colorado for some time now, and it appears Dorrell is looking to keep that trend alive, as the Buffs are currently recruiting a number of your guys, namely Gunnar Helm and Al Ashford. What are you seeing from Dorrell in terms of an in-state recruiting philosophy?
Logan: “Karl’s been here before as an assistant coach at CU. And he was the head coach at UCLA, so he understands the importance of recruiting. That’s something that obviously is really important at that level. I think he’s smart to identify the top six or seven (high school) programs on a yearly basis. You make sure you have great relationships with them and then you try to get into see as many of the high school football coaches in this area that you possibly can. You try to teach them about the University of Colorado and what’s going to be important."
"Some (former Buffs head coaches) have had good relationships with previous (high school) coaches, and maybe some of those high school coaches don’t fall into that category. But whatever it is, you’ve got to either try to reach out and continue what’s turned out to be a good relationship, or you’ve got to, in some cases, fix certain things with certain high school coaches."
"But I think Karl will attack this and put his people in the right spot. I think he understands fully that he wants to make certain that he locks down this state as best as he can.”
Q: What vibrations have you gotten from Dorrell's staff? Taylor Embree in particular has been active with some Cherry Creek talent.
Logan: “It certainly on paper looks like an impressive staff. I’ve known Taylor for years because of knowing Jon (Embree). Taylor had reached out immediately and I think is going to be the one that recruits Cherry Creek. Darrin Chiaverini has really established himself as an excellent recruiter. Time will tell. The success that they have up there will be determined by the number of players they’re able to recruit and then of course, finding a way to coach the guys there."
"But I have every confidence in Karl and the staff that they’re going to be able to get this thing back up and running and continue the foundation that coach Tucker had put in place.”
Q: Chase Penry is unique in the sense that he was the only 2021 commit who made his pledge in the Mel Tucker era who ended up staying with the Buffs. What is Colorado getting in Penry?
Logan: “Chase is as hard a worker as I’ve coached in high school football. He loves the game of football and he’s constantly working on bettering himself. I’m talking about every day in practice. He approaches the game in a really mature way for a kid who’s 17 or 18 years old. He’s a gifted ball catcher. He’s very strong, is not afraid to go across the middle and he doesn’t shy away from contact. I think Chase will be a very good player for the Buffs.”
Q: There's been a lot of speculation as to what Jayle Stacks' eventual role will be when he gets to Boulder. What is he capable of as an offensive asset and player in general?
Logan: “We’ll wait and see what they want their offense to look like, but he’s a big powerful kid. He’ll be as impressive in the weight room as any player that they have, and I don’t just mean running backs. He’s extraordinarily strong and powerful. He loves football, he’s got great hands, and can catch the ball. Jayle Stacks is a football player. He is a guy that is capable of dong a lot of things when asked by any coach."
