Colorado State is once again tapping into its juco ties and venturing into the junior college market, having recently offered a scholarship to Tyler Rawson of Salt Lake City Community College. Rawson, listed as a 6-foot-10, 225 pound big man, received the offer from assistant coach Steve Barnes last week via a phone call after the CSU coaching staff watched several of Rawson's games online.

SLCC is currently 9-1 with Rawson leading the way, stuffing the stat sheet to the tune of 16.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in only 23.3 minutes per game. Rawson is shooting 54% from the field, 44% from three and 77% from the free throw line. His success at SLCC comes after a productive season as a reserve at a D1 school in Utah last season.

Rawson played last year at Southern Utah of the Big Sky Conference, averaging 7.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 17.1 minutes per game in his freshman campaign. One of Rawson's better games came against UNLV, when he scored 13 points on 4-8 shooting from the field and 2-2 shooting from three in 22 minutes off the bench.

Rawson led Southern Utah in blocks, tied for first in rebounds, and was tied for third in scoring. But Southern Utah struggled and finished the season 10-19. It left Rawson wondering how he'd matchup against better competition, and eventually led him to transferring from Southern Utah to SLCC.

"It was a great first experience, I still remember our first game at Kansas State with their large and energetic crowd," Rawson said about his first and only season at Southern Utah. "I learned what it takes to be a D1 athlete. I loved the coaches down there as well as my teammates, but by the end of the year I felt it wasn't the best fit for me and I thought I could play at a higher level."

Rawson has been right so far, drawing offers from UC Santa Barbara and Utah State, in addition to the CSU offer. He also has interest from Boise State, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Oregon State, TCU and Utah. Regarding CSU, Rawson likes that the Rams compete in the Mountain West Conference, the communication he's having with the coaching staff as well as their focus on juco players.

"Coach Barnes calls me often and checks in on me," Rawson said. "I've never had coaches call me so often. They really care about me on and off the court, so that means a lot. CSU is the school I've been in contact with the most so far."

Rawson still has a long way to go in his recruitment, as he won't be making a decision until after the SLCC's season. That's when he plans on visiting schools, then deciding during the spring signing period.

In terms of his strength's on the court, Rawson highlighted his best attributes. "I'm a versatile player, especially for my size," Rawson shared. "I do a little bit of everyting, score when I need to, pass when I need to. My coaches even joke that I need to be a bit more selfish and stop passing in certain moments. I can shoot the three and play a stretch-four role if needed and I can attack off the dribble as well."

Rawson still has certain aspects of his game that he'd like to improve before he makes his way to his new school in the 2016-2017 season. It mainly revolves around his body, adding strength and improving his lateral quickness. He's struggled adding weight, but feels he'll need to going forward.

CSU only has one commit in the 2016 class, Devocio Butler of Hill College, and still have 5 scholarships available. Tiel Daniels and Fred Richardson are two big men who will exhaust their college ability after the 2015-2016 season. Nico Carvacho, Kimani Jackson, Emmanuel Omogbo and Toby Van Ry are the returning big men for next season.

Jackson and Omogbo are the only players currently getting rotation minutes, and Rawson could add a diverse skill set to that group, potentially bringing a high skill level with his shooting and passing abilities to go along with his length. His playing style wouldn't conflict with any of the returning big men either, only adding to CSU's versatility. Rawson will be a name to keep an eye on going forward, especially in the spring when he begins visiting schools.