Denver Native (Carol)
07-03-2010, 12:42 PM
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_15432092
A late push from UCLA was nearly enough, but Valor Christian quarterback Brock Berglund stuck with the team he grew up cheering for. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound dual-threat quarterback has committed to Colorado.
"CU is a place, growing up here, that I've always looked at as 'That's the place I wanted to go,' " Berglund said Friday. "But I decided at the beginning of this processes that . . . I couldn't make a rushed decision, and I needed to evaluate all the options."
Those options — Duke, Kansas, Utah and especially UCLA — nearly took Berglund out of the state. Berglund said he was close to committing to UCLA after a visit this summer.
"About a month ago, I would've said that I'm going to UCLA," Berglund said.
A phone call last week from CU offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau changed that.
"It was probably the first time I talked to him since that (UCLA) visit," Berglund said. "The relationship we have is real special. I think we can do a lot of good things (at CU)."
Berglund is the consensus pick as the top quarterback in the state for the 2011 class, according to recruiting services Rivals.com and Scout.com. Rivals rates him as the 13th-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation.
Berglund said playing early wasn't a factor in his decision, although CU does graduate Cody Hawkins after this season and Tyler Hansen will be a senior in 2011.
"Anywhere you go to play college football, you're going to have to compete for a job," Berglund said. "I mean, I looked at the quarterback situation (at CU), but I'm not saying, 'I'm going to go in there and start for four years.' That's not how it's going to be. I'm going to go in there and compete to play as early as I can."
As a junior last fall, Berglund threw for 30 touchdowns — vs. just four interceptions — and ran for 14 more. This spring, he made the finals in the 200-meter dash at the Class 4A meet.
Valor Christian, the 2009 3A state football champion, will make the leap to 4A this fall.
Oral commitments are nonbinding until national signing day, which is Feb. 2, 2011.
Denver Post staff writer Tom Kensler contributed to this report. Ryan Casey: 303-954-1983 or rcasey@denverpost.com
Prep football commitments
2011 CU commitments
Brock Berglund, QB, Valor Christian, 6-feet-4, 205 pounds
Nick Sherry, QB, Casa Grande (Calif.), 6-4, 211
Shaun Simon, OL, Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, 6-2, 315.
2011 Colorado prep commitments
Brendon Austin, Chaparral, OL, 6-5, 263, Stanford.
Brock Berglund, Valor Christian, QB, 6-4, 205, CU
Justin Hansen, Longmont, OL, 6-4, 287, CSU
Marc Mustoe, Arvada West, OL, 6-7, 273, UCLA
2011 top 10 in Colorado
1. Brendon Austin, OL, 6-5, 263, Chaparral (committed to Stanford)
2. Leilon Willingham, LB, 6-2, 240, Mullen
3. Brock Berglund, QB, 6-4, 205, Valor Christian (committed to Colorado)
4. Dorian Brown, RB, 6-1, 220, Thompson Valley
5. Marc Mustoe, OL, 6-7, 273, Arvada West (committed to UCLA)
6. Eddie Yarbrough, LB, 6-3, 235, Grandview
7. Ezekiel Bishop, ATH, 5-10, 182, Denver East
8. Adonis Ameen Moore, RB, 5-10, 215, Mullen
9. Rayshon Williams, WR, 6-1, 190, Mullen
10. Brady Daigh, LB, 6-2, 220, Mullen
A late push from UCLA was nearly enough, but Valor Christian quarterback Brock Berglund stuck with the team he grew up cheering for. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound dual-threat quarterback has committed to Colorado.
"CU is a place, growing up here, that I've always looked at as 'That's the place I wanted to go,' " Berglund said Friday. "But I decided at the beginning of this processes that . . . I couldn't make a rushed decision, and I needed to evaluate all the options."
Those options — Duke, Kansas, Utah and especially UCLA — nearly took Berglund out of the state. Berglund said he was close to committing to UCLA after a visit this summer.
"About a month ago, I would've said that I'm going to UCLA," Berglund said.
A phone call last week from CU offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau changed that.
"It was probably the first time I talked to him since that (UCLA) visit," Berglund said. "The relationship we have is real special. I think we can do a lot of good things (at CU)."
Berglund is the consensus pick as the top quarterback in the state for the 2011 class, according to recruiting services Rivals.com and Scout.com. Rivals rates him as the 13th-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation.
Berglund said playing early wasn't a factor in his decision, although CU does graduate Cody Hawkins after this season and Tyler Hansen will be a senior in 2011.
"Anywhere you go to play college football, you're going to have to compete for a job," Berglund said. "I mean, I looked at the quarterback situation (at CU), but I'm not saying, 'I'm going to go in there and start for four years.' That's not how it's going to be. I'm going to go in there and compete to play as early as I can."
As a junior last fall, Berglund threw for 30 touchdowns — vs. just four interceptions — and ran for 14 more. This spring, he made the finals in the 200-meter dash at the Class 4A meet.
Valor Christian, the 2009 3A state football champion, will make the leap to 4A this fall.
Oral commitments are nonbinding until national signing day, which is Feb. 2, 2011.
Denver Post staff writer Tom Kensler contributed to this report. Ryan Casey: 303-954-1983 or rcasey@denverpost.com
Prep football commitments
2011 CU commitments
Brock Berglund, QB, Valor Christian, 6-feet-4, 205 pounds
Nick Sherry, QB, Casa Grande (Calif.), 6-4, 211
Shaun Simon, OL, Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, 6-2, 315.
2011 Colorado prep commitments
Brendon Austin, Chaparral, OL, 6-5, 263, Stanford.
Brock Berglund, Valor Christian, QB, 6-4, 205, CU
Justin Hansen, Longmont, OL, 6-4, 287, CSU
Marc Mustoe, Arvada West, OL, 6-7, 273, UCLA
2011 top 10 in Colorado
1. Brendon Austin, OL, 6-5, 263, Chaparral (committed to Stanford)
2. Leilon Willingham, LB, 6-2, 240, Mullen
3. Brock Berglund, QB, 6-4, 205, Valor Christian (committed to Colorado)
4. Dorian Brown, RB, 6-1, 220, Thompson Valley
5. Marc Mustoe, OL, 6-7, 273, Arvada West (committed to UCLA)
6. Eddie Yarbrough, LB, 6-3, 235, Grandview
7. Ezekiel Bishop, ATH, 5-10, 182, Denver East
8. Adonis Ameen Moore, RB, 5-10, 215, Mullen
9. Rayshon Williams, WR, 6-1, 190, Mullen
10. Brady Daigh, LB, 6-2, 220, Mullen