A new batch of Skyhawks have officially been announced as the February national signing period began on Wednesday.
Fort Lewis football announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that 34 high school recruits that have signed to play Skyhawks football in the fall.
“I'm excited,” Skyhawks coach Johnny Cox said. “It was worth the hard work. We found the guys that want to be on our journey and can fit into Durango and want to graduate from Fort Lewis College. We definitely want to add to the school and the community with the people that we're bringing in. So they fit that bill, as far as what we want to do.”
Saying the Skyhawks struggled last season would be an understatement. Fort Lewis went 0-11 in the 2023 season, with an average losing margin of 38.7 points per game.
But Cox didn’t see one position group to specifically target to help the turn around of the program. He wanted the best athletes he could get and develop them into being good players.
For this recruiting class, Cox and his staff signed multiple offensive linemen, and that’s where they found the best talent.
“First of all, a guy has to understand where we're at as a program and not shy away from that challenge,” Cox said. “If he doesn't want to build and be a role player and be part of that journey, then it's really hard. if he doesn't have enough character to be like, yeah, I want to go through that and have faith that it's going to work out then that eliminates a bunch. Then once it gets to that part then a guy that’s going to prioritize graduating from Fort Lewis College and loves football, Division II football.
“You don't get all the frills necessarily like a CU or Notre Dame. There's parts where you go, man, you got to really love it to be out there.”
Cox also said he looks at athleticism and getting players who are bigger and faster as well. He has sold the culture that he has built in his two seasons at the helm.
Cox has primarily recruited the high school ranks instead of the transfer portal to build that culture with players fresh out of high school rather than players coming from a different college with a different culture. He said the incoming players will get a chance to compete right away for playing time.
“I feel like these guys will have a journey,” Cox said. “I feel like they will experience winning early in their career and then hopefully, being able to win have sustained winning by their senior year. So we're excited about that.”
Cox also acknowledged that future improvements to the sound system at Ray Dennison Memorial Field and a new weight room help with recruits, but the education and the town of Durango are an immediate draw for recruits.
Fort Lewis signed quarterbacks Jake Jones from Littleton, Jaden Hoffman from Severance and Derek Hester from Palmer Lake. All three signal-callers will continue their football careers in Colorado.
Senior quarterback Braden Wingle is gone after starting for the Skyhawks in 2023.
However, three quarterbacks are returning from last season’s roster.
“We're really excited about seeing Sam Jones, Stone Walker and Jake Morris battle it out,” Cox said. “Those guys are going to be in a position to really take the team and lead us. However, we're going to give opportunities to these young guys and see what they got. They can move up in there and make our team better.”
Jones played eight games as a redshirt freshman last season. Walker was a true freshman who played three games, and Morris was also a true freshman who played one.
Another incoming freshman who stands out is Demons cornerback Mason Palmer, who played in all 11 games for Durango this past season. Palmer had 46 total tackles in 2023 and led Durango with five interceptions.
“We’re excited about him, he brings some energy,” Cox said. “We were fortunate enough to watch him play so many times this year, we’d go to the games as a coaching staff. I was glad that he expressed some mutual interest. He has a really good family. Right now we have several guys from Durango High School and we really want to emphasize that if guys want to come play from Durango High School at Fort Lewis College, we want them to have that opportunity.”
Nineteen of the 34 recruits announced on Wednesday are from Colorado, and numerous recruits come from Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, California and Hawaii.
Cox said recruiting players around the greater Durango area and in Colorado happens first, and each coach has a specific area they focus on. He also said the staff looks in areas like Oklahoma with Native American players that could get free tuition at Fort Lewis.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
