The Colorado State football team begins preseason camp in less than a week, but that doesn’t mean head coach Jim McElwain and his staff aren’t already building for the future. The Rams took a big step in doing so when Rocky Mountain High School offensive lineman Salofi Gaoa gave his verbal commitment to assistant coach Derek Frazier last week.
In an attempt to lock down the state of Colorado on the recruiting trail, McElwain didn’t even have to leave city limits to find the 6’6,” 274-pound lineman. The head coach was all too familiar with Gaoa after he played last year with McElwain’s son, Jerret, for the Lobos.
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The senior-to-be is rated a two-star recruit by Scout.com and will join the Rams in 2015. Gaoa is the second in-state recruit in the class of 2015 to verbally commit to CSU. Olabisi Johnson, an athlete from Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, verbally committed to the Rams last week as well.
Gaoa is also the second player from Coach Mark Brook’s program to commit to a Division I football program. His teammate, Alex Kinney, will also remain in state. The Rocky Mountain punter verbally committed to the University of Colorado earlier this month.
Collegian Senior Reporter Emmett McCarthy can be reached at sports@collegian.com.