Read this story by Grant Larson at CSURams.com
With the Rams’ fourth consecutive bowl game just a week away, the Colorado State football program continues to build for the future with three more athletes signing to attend CSU and play for the Rams. Griffin Hammer signed a financial aid agreement early Wednesday morning, followed by signed National Letters of Intent by Tyler Bjorklund and Ben Knox.
With five offensive lineman graduating in 2016 – including three starters in Nick Callender, Paul Thurston and Fred Zerblis – the Rams emphasized the position in the early signing period and landed a pair of behemoths in Bjorklund and Knox. Bjorklund, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive tackle out of Valencia, Calif., played his first two seasons of college eligibility at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif. He will have three years to play his final two seasons at CSU. Knox, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound lineman was rated the No. 18 overall offensive lineman by ESPN.com out of high school, and attended the University of South Florida for a year before transferring to Independence Community College in Kansas. The former four-star recruit will have two years to play his final two season of eligibility.
In addition to Bjorklund and Knox, the Rams landed a heavily sought-after high school recruit in Hammer. The 6-foot-5 playmaker out of St. Charles, Ill., primarily played wide receiver as a prep, but is pegged to help replace the production of seniors Nolan Peralta and Danny Nwosu at the tight end position for the Rams. Hammer boasted reported offers from Illinois, Western Michigan, Wyoming, and a number of other FBS programs.
The Rams now have four players signed as part of #RAMPAGE17, as Preston Williams, a former five-star wide receiver from the University of Tennessee, signed his financial aid agreement with the Rams in November. The rest of the Rams’ 2017 recruiting class will be announced on Feb. 1, 2017, when all high school and junior college football student-athletes may sign NLIs.
Bjorklund, Hammer, Knox and Williams expect to enroll for the spring semester and will participate in offseason workouts and spring practices with the Rams. All three of Wednesday’s signees will be eligible to play in the 2017 season, while Williams will have to sit out for a year as a Division I transfer.