Recapping Stokes senior season

It happens all the time in recruiting.

A player puts together phenomenal statistics throughout the course of his high school career, but because he does not have ideal size, college recruiters shy away.

Ryan Stokes threw for 622 more yards than any other quarterback has at the 4A level in Colorado this fall.

The Golden High gunslinger completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,012 yards and 37 touchdowns in 10 games as a senior. He also gained 507 yards on the ground.

"I would definitely say confidence was a key factor in my success this season, just having a feel for the field," said Stokes, who is also a standout kicker. "And my receivers, they backed me up. There wasn't one of them that I didn't have confidence in. And the linemen did their thing. It just all worked out."

Stokes led a Golden offense that scored 42 or more points in each of the final six games. The Demons went 7-3 but did not earn a playoff berth.

"It is a bummer that we didn't get a chance to play in the playoffs. It would have been fun to see how far we could have gone," Stokes said. "But there is not a single moment where I didn't put 100 percent effort into what I was doing. It is nice to look back and realize that you had a really good high school career."

Stokes has been in contact with a football coach at Brown and he has also talked to Oregon's special teams coach about potentially joining the Ducks' roster as a kicker. But Stokes does not currently have any offers.

"I would love to go to a school on the coast and maybe study Marine Biology," he explained. "But I am just keeping my options open and waiting to see what might open up for me. I just want to play college football."