Last night, the Buffaloes' Class of 2022 expanded to three, with Colorado landing a verbal pledge from Rusk High School (Texas) quarterback Owen McCown.
McCown, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound prospect and son of longtime NFL quarterback Josh McCown, chose the Buffaloes from a handful of other offers, including Virginia Tech.
And with that, the Buffs secured a signal caller for the 2022 class early into the recruiting cycle.
This past fall was McCown's first as starting quarterback at Rusk High School and he threw for 1,080 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions in eight games played.
For Rusk head coach Thomas Sitton, McCown's powerful arm revealed itself early on.
“In my 25 years of coaching, I’ve never seen a ball come out of a kid’s hand as fast as it does (with Owen)," Sitton said. "He’s got great arm strength — when you’re catching a football from him, you can feel it. There is pop in your hands."
"Most of our coaches, just being honest with you, do not like to play catch with him. He’s not trying to hurt you but he’s got some zip on it."
Listed as a pro-style quarterback, McCown is ranked as the No. 21 such player in the nation while within the Lone State State for his 2022 class, he comes in ranked at No. 61 overall.
With respect to McCown's label, Sitton disagreed, namely because being viewed as a pro-style type of player often comes with the connotation that an ability to evade the blitz is lacking, something Sitton can attest is not the case with McCown.
"Would I label him as a pro-style quarterback just because he throws it really well? I would not, just because he is a very fast kid, he’s great at escaping pressure and he’s got a gear that he can hit and really turn it up as far as getting vertical up the football field," Sitton said. "He can run and he can flat out get it."
The Buffaloes entered the picture with McCown back in late January, when quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf extended an offer.
But as has been the case in the past and in all likelihood will continue to be a trend as long as he's at Colorado, Karl Dorrell's NFL roots played a role in McCown's recruitment and commitment, as well.
Specifically, Dorrell and the elder McCown linked up twice during their respective careers: 2008 in Miami and from 2017-2018 with the New York Jets.
At both stops, Dorrell was coaching wide receivers while McCown was on roster as a quarterback.
While the decision regarding his college recruitment was always going to be Owen's along, his dad, having known Dorrell personally, was able to shed some light on the kind of coach and person he was and is.
"From what I’ve heard from Josh, he loves (Dorrell)," Sitton said. "He thinks he’s the kind of man that’s great at leading a program, is a great role model, a great example and a (Colorado is) perfect place for where he’d want his son to play.”
At about 170 pounds, McCown will look to add some mass to his frame by the time he joins Colorado and begins the transition high school to Division I, Pac-12 football player.
But there will be time for that enough, Sitton believes, and McCown is a three-sport athlete at Rusk, running track as well as playing basketball for the Eagles.
While that aspect of his development plays out in the next year or so, Sitton is confident the Buffs are adding an asset whose personal attributes matches his on-field abilities.
"He has unbelievable character, he’s an unbelievable hard worker, (an) unbelievably team-first guy and he’s the toughest kid I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach," Sitton said. "He took some shots last year and he’d just get up and fire it away, down in and down out."
"He’s got a never quit attitude, he’s a great competitor and provides unbelievable leadership. He is the type of guy you want taking a snap down in and down out for your football program.”
