Relationship with Phil McGeoghan key for Edward Schultz in choosing CU

Even before the Buffaloes offered him, Colorado was on Edward Schultz's radar.

Schultz, a three-star wide receiver from San Juan Capistrano (JSerra Catholic) Calif., became the Buffs' third Class of 2023 commitment last week, joining CU following an unofficial visit to Boulder at the end of January.

As his recruitment started to blossom, Colorado was a program of interest to Schultz because of his head coach's son, a Forever Buff legend.

Scott McKnight was named head coach of the Lions back in May of last year.

CU fans will recognize his name from his son, Scotty, who played in Boulder from 2007-2010 before being selected in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

McKnight currently ranks second all-time in receptions (215) and touchdowns (22) and fifth in receiving yards (2,521) at Colorado.

When the Buffs did offer him, during his visit to Boulder, Schultz's dream of playing for Colorado became a reality.

“That unofficial visit I took was probably the best thing I could have done," he said. "Not only was I able to see the facilities, the atmosphere and the area, I also got to meet all the coaches. The coaches are great there. Coach Phil McGeoghan is probably the best thing that happened to me.”

A bond quickly formed between Schultz and McGeoghan, and their relationship, plus McGeoghan's reputation as a developer of wide receivers, proved key in Colorado beating out the likes of Texas A&M, Utah, Minnesota, Arizona and others for the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder.

“The first time I met him was a meeting we had in his office on my unofficial visit," Schultz said. "He was very straightforward, very organized, very straight-to-the-point kind of guy. He showed me everything he wanted, his expectations to be a receiver and his standards — which are very high."

"His background and his resume, with all those years in the NFL, definitely helps out. But he’s just a trustable and believable guy. I believe that he’s one of the top coaches out there because of his background, but just from his presence, you can just feel and tell that he’s that person.”

While Schultz made his mark offensively with the Lions, leading the team in both receptions (21) and yards (335), scoring three touchdowns, his particularly excelled as a kick returner, with his 824 yards setting a new JSerra school record.

With his special teams prowess well-established, Schultz looks like a good bet to audition for kick return duty at Colorado once he eventually joins the team.

Schultz said that he "basically check-marked all of them," referring to the boxes McGeoghan presented to him in terms of his expectations for a wide receiver, with the one exception being hand size.

Looking down the barrel, there's a lot of time remaining before Schultz has his first opportunity to make things official with CU, later in December.

Schultz said he is confident in his decision to commit to the Buffs, but that being said, for the sake of enjoying his recruitment, would consider keeping the door open if other offers were to come his way.

“I’m going to be a man of my word of where I want to go," he said. "Right now, I’m committed to Colorado 100%. The only way I’d change my mind is if the coaching staff left, and maybe Phil goes somewhere else and (the next) guy has different expectations or just doesn’t like me.”

“I’m going to be open about other offers just because of that reason and also, you only get to have this recruiting thing once. I think it’d be pretty cool to go check out other colleges, seeing how they are — just to be there still as a kid."