Eyeing the Future: Colorado State's 2026 Football Recruiting Class

Recruiting for the 2026 class of college football players is in full swing.

June is a massive month in the trail of recruiting high school players, and the 2026 Colorado State football recruiting class is quickly growing.

It can be hard to keep up with the full group, so here is a summary of CSU's whole class with information on every commitment.

All rankings are via 247Sports. This list will be updated with every new commit.

Here's a look at CSU's 2026 recruiting class:

Atticus Tillman, safety

• High school: Arvada West High School (Arvada, Colorado)
• Star ranking: 3 (no score available)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Navy, Bowling Green, Georgia State, New Mexico State and Portland State.
• Notable: The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Tillman had 40 tackles (25 solo), three interceptions, 11 passes broken up and a forced fumble as a junior in 2024.

Arley Morrell, tight end

• High school: Pratt High School (Pratt, Kansas)
• Star ranking: 3 (0.8517 score)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Oregon State, Washington State, Wake Forest, Texas State, Tulsa, New Mexico, Marshall and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Morrell had 19 receptions for 446 yards (23.5 yards per catch) and four touchdowns in 2024 as a junior at Pratt. He also had 107 rush yards.

Jude Nelson, tight end

• High school: Millikan High School (Long Beach, California)
• Star ranking: 3 (0.8544 score)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Boise State , Arizona State , UNLV, Fresno State, BYU, Washington State, San Diego State and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Nelson had 29 catches for 357 yards and five touchdowns in 2024 for Millikan. He also recorded four sacks on defense.

Darnell Kelly, quarterback

• High school: Langston Hughes High School (Fairburn, Georgia)
• Star ranking: 3 (0.8567 score)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tulane, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee, Liberty, Miami (Ohio), East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Kelly was the first to publicly announce his commitment in CSU's 2026 class when he did so in early April. At Peachtree Ridge in 2024 as a junior, Kelly had 2,521 passing yards (67% completion percentage) with 28 passing touchdowns and just six interceptions. Kelly also ran the ball for 463 yards and another five touchdowns. In two seasons as a varsity starter at Peachtree Ridge, he had 5,240 passing yards, 55 passing touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He ran for 852 yards and 14 touchdowns over the last two seasons. Kelly will now play his senior year at Langston Hughes.

Alexander Brewer, offensive line

• High school: Sequoyah High School (Canton, Georgia)
• Star ranking: 3 (no score available)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Memphis, USF, Miami (Ohio), Middle Tennessee, James Madison, Charlotte, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Brewer was first-team all-state as a junior in 2024.

John McClellan, linebacker

• High school: Rancho Cotate High School (Rohnert Park, California)
• Star ranking: 3 (0.8306 score)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from UNLV, Nevada, Sacramento State and Northern Arizona.
• Notable: The 6-foot-3, 214-pound McClellan had a staggering 157 tackles in 2024, which included 15 tackles-for-loss, 5.5 sacks and scored two touchdowns.

Yasser Jackson, athlete

• High school: Oakland High School (Oakland, California)
• Star ranking: 3 (no score available)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Sacramento State and Delaware State.
• Notable: The 6-foot-3, 175-pound, versatile Jackson has played receiver, linebacker and safety.

Jace Winchester, offensive line

• High school: Dakota Ridge High School (Littleton, Colorado)
• Star ranking: 3 (0.8156 score)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Wyoming, Washington State, Fresno State, Nevada, Navy, Army, Cornell, Brown and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-3, 275-pound Winchester earned second-team all-state honors in Colorado's Class 4A as a junior during the 2024 season.

Jacob McRae, offensive line

• High school: Allen High School (Allen, Texas)
• Star ranking: 3 (no score available)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from San Diego State, Memphis, Utah State, UNLV, Tulane, James Madison and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-5, 285-pound McRae plays for powerhouse Allen High School, the same school former CSU star basketball player Isaiah Stevens came from.

Ace Brown, linebacker

• High school: Archbishop Hoban High School (Akron, Ohio)
• Star ranking: 3 (0.8444 score)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, Toledo, Eastern Washington, Ohio, Miami (Ohio), Kent State, Bowling Green and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker/edge rusher originally committed to Eastern Washington before flipping to CSU. CSU linebackers coach Clint Sintim recruited Brown while Sintim was at Illinois before he joined the Rams.

Packs Ahovelo, offensive line

• High school: Kailua High School (Kailua, Hawaii)
• Star ranking: 3 (0.8417 score)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Arizona State, Cal, San Diego State, UTSA and Hawaii.
• Notable: The 6-foot-6, 320-pound offensive tackle earned First Team All-Hawaii Division I honors as a junior in 2024.

Kash Brock, receiver

• High school: Basha High School (Chandler, Arizona)
• Star ranking: 3 (no score available)
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Arizona, Northwestern, Washington State, Iowa State, San Diego State, UNLV, Air Force and Central Michigan.
• Notable: The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Brock had 30 catches for 401 yards and five touchdowns as a junior in 2024.

Cedric Ross, running back

• High school: Estacado High School (Lubbock, Texas)
• Star ranking: N/A
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Texas Tech, Arizona, San Diego State, Texas State, UTSA, Sacramento State, Air Force, North Texas, UTEP and more.
• Notable: The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Ross has played receiver, running back and returned kicks. CSU's staff views him as a running back with the Rams. Stats for Ross as a junior in 2024 could not be found, but 247Sports reports in 2023 he had 526 rush yards and 635 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns between rushing and receiving. Ross has run a laser-timed 4.37-second 40-yard dash and recently took silver in the Texas Class 4A boys 100 meters in 10.57 seconds . He also can squat more than 600 pounds.

Thomas Cook, Jr.

• High school: North Crowley High School (Fort Worth, Texas)
• Star ranking: N/A
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Texas State, Tulsa, UTEP, Sacramento State and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Cook was a first-team All-District cornerback for that powerhouse program as a junior in 2024. North Crowley is the defending Texas 6A Division I champion. North Crowley was ranked No. 6 in the nation for 2024 by High School Football America and MaxPreps has North Crowley as its No. 3 team in the nation from 2024.

Desman Manuel, defensive line

• High school: Cedar Hill High School (Cedar Hill, Texas)
• Star ranking: N/A
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from UTEP, Weber State, CSU-Pueblo and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Manuel recently finished third at the Texas high school state track meet in the shot put.

Tyrone Fitten, defensive line

• High school: Callaway High School (Hogansville, Georgia)
• Star ranking: N/A
• Other scholarship offers: Reported offers from Appalachian State, Georgia State, Mercer, Samford and others.
• Notable: The 6-foot-2, 311-pound Fitten was named AA All-State honorable mention in Georgia as a junior in 2024.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle .

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Tracking the Colorado State football 2026 recruiting class