3/6/2016 football Edit

Top in-state back visits Boulder twice in one week, adds two offers

Adam Munsterteiger

Publisher

In the span of six days, Marcus McElroy Jr. took two unofficial visits up to Colorado. The talented running back from Denver (Colo.) Mullen was in Boulder for the Buffaloes' Junior Day last Sunday and he returned on Friday morning for a day tailored just for him. He got to sit in on the Buffs' running backs position meeting, attend a practice, go to an Engineering class, and then sit down and talk with CU head coach Mike MacIntyre.

“I was being open to everything, being very thoughtful on if I could see myself in their offense,” said McElroy. “The way they were running the offense, I definitely could see myself fitting in. They said they didn't view me as one of the players they'd move around to different positions. They said they viewed me as that guy at running back.

“I picked up a lot of stuff during the position meeting. It was nice meeting with the coaches again and seeing how they run things. It really was an eye-opening day. And the main thing I took away was the academic side of it. I have a better idea of how CU is. They tried to sell me on the fact they play in an elite conference and it is an elite school academically. They feel they are a perfect fit for me as a student and as an athlete."

Still a junior, McElroy has already accounted for 3,938 yards of offense and 52 TDs at Mullen.

McElroy also maintains high interest in Colorado State. Like Colorado, the Rams offered him when he was still a sophomore. And McElroy Jr. added two new offers late last week.

“UNC (Northern Colorado) offered me on Thursday and Kansas State on Friday,” he explained. “I don't know much about either of those programs yet, I have just been recently getting in contact with Kansas State. It is cool to have more offers, though.”

McElroy said he currently plans to schedule unofficial visits to Kansas State, Nebraska, Northwestern and "probably" UCLA. He is keeping an open mind with his recruitment.

"I will probably make my decision at the beginning, or mid-way through, the season. I want to use the summer to really take time because I will be out of school and I will have time to get out to see more schools," he said. "There are a lot of different people that have ideas on where I should go but I am having fun with the process. It is really cool."

At 6-foot-0, 203-pounds, McElroy has good size as a running back and he also has exceptional speed. He ran in the 200-meter dash in 22.5-seconds last spring. An All-Colorado selection for football last fall, McElroy averaged 8.8 yards per rush as a junior.