Mike Vrana knew the hype was real.
Back in 2019, the Vista Ridge High School football coach named Brayden Dorman — a 14-year-old freshman — as the Wolves’ starting varsity quarterback. College recruiters immediately took notice of his tall frame, smooth mechanics and pinpoint accuracy.
Dorman received his first scholarship offer, from Iowa State, soon thereafter.
“We knew pretty early on that he was going to be special,” Vrana said. “When Iowa State comes in early, without ever seeing him live, that was a pretty big deal for all of us. Then it just kind of exploded.”
Get acquainted with the next elite quarterback prospect from Colorado.
“My dad and I every morning would just work on playing quarterback before school,” Dorman said. “I grew a huge passion for the sport.”
Dorman — a four-star recruit entering his junior season — is the No. 9 overall quarterback prospect nationally for the Class of 2023, per 247Sports.com. He’s a pocket passer at 6-foot-5, 206 pounds with statistics that make college offensive coordinators drool.
Last year, in a COVID-shortened fall season, Dorman completed 65% of his passes for an average of 365.8 yards per game. He threw 24 touchdowns over just five games. That production led to scholarship offers from CU, CSU, Kansas and Oregon State.
Dorman is considering the Buffs at this stage of his recruitment.
“Right now, I think they’re doing a great job,” Dorman said. “What they were able to accomplish last year was pretty crazy. I’m excited to watch them this year.”
CU is wise to remain in close contact with Dorman moving forward, especially as prospective schools re-open for camps. Dorman made roughly a dozen visits in the month of June. He said: “Every week it was like: Stay here for a day or two and then we’re on the road again.”
The summer exposure has since led to scholarship offers from Arizona, Mississippi State and Wisconsin.
“It’s definitely a good experience, not only to go out and see these schools but to figure out for yourself what will be the best scenario,” Dorman said. “It put a really good perspective in my head about the whole recruiting process.”
Dorman asked college coaches on his summer recruiting tour for honest evaluations of his skillset. He returned to Colorado with new goals in mind to ease potential concerns of evaluators.
“Displaying my mobility,” Dorman said. “I think coaches are iffy. If I can have a little bit of film on that, it would open things up a lot.”
Dorman is entering a small Colorado fraternity of elite football recruits. He is set to become the ninth four-star rated quarterback prospect to come out of the state since 2000, according to data compiled by 247Sports.com. Yet Dorman has only started in 15 career varsity football games.
The best is yet to come.
“We know stars don’t matter,” Dorman said. “The NFL displays that perfectly. Aaron Rodgers, for example, was a JUCO product. And look where he is now. For me, it really does not matter. I know that my teammates feel the same way.”
This content was originally published here.
