Former Monterey Peninsula College safety Drew Molinari (Salinas, Calif.) committed to Colorado on Saturday, officially finding his home for the next chapter in his collegiate career.
Standing 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, the rising junior chose the Buffaloes over Presbyterian, San Diego, Stetson, Georgetown and Western Illinois. Head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and the Black-and-Gold topped Molinari’s list after an offer was extended.
“Who would pass up on an opportunity to play for Deion?” Molinari told BuffStampede.com. “The official visit later would more confirm my decision.”
CU’s Director of Recruiting, Rashad Rich, and Director of Player Personnel, Darrius Darden-Box, initiated contact with Molinari in June. The next day, a chat with Sanders came with an offer. The campus’s official tour came in the following weeks.
However, a Power Four school wasn’t always in the cards.
While starring as safety, running back and wide receiver at Palma High School, eventually graduating in 2024, Molinari was originally bound for Portland State to play FCS football. But after a change in his personal life, he wound up going the junior college route.
Across the next two seasons at Monterey Peninsula College, Molinari worked for another chance at Division-I football. Molinari joked about never getting a handoff at MPC despite playing offense in high school, though he played everywhere in the Lobos’ secondary, starting games at nickel, safety and corner.
“I play anywhere the coaches put me,” Molinari said. “Wherever they feel I can impact and help the team, I will play there. I don’t care about the position, I just love playing football and helping the team win.”
As a sophomore, he notched 61 tackles (3.5 for a loss), an interception and three pass breakups. He posted 26 tackles, two interceptions and four PBUs the year before.
Still, anxiety about his future loomed early last season. Since MPC was beating teams by such a wide margin, it was hard to find competitive film.
“This past season had its ups and downs,” Molinari said. “Was getting in my head a lot, feeling like I needed to make every play because it was my last chance to prove something to college coaches.”
Then, he stopped worrying.
“I switched my mindset and just reminded myself that it is a kids' game and supposed to be fun, not stressful,” Molinari said. “So I just went out there every game not worried about the result; just focused about the effort and energy I put into every snap. This mindset helped me achieve my goals.”
Naturally, the results showed on the field, pulling D-I attention. He notched six offers before CU came calling, and would have had more if certain interested schools hadn’t filled their roster.
Now, after landing at CU, an aggressive Molinari looks to help Colorado and new defensive coordinator Chris Marve’s defense in any way possible, especially if it means laying some hard blows.
“My skillset at nickel is I love guarding and playing man-to-man, as well as hitting,” Molinari said. “At safety, you don’t do that as often. But at safety, I love being a ball hawk, coming down hill full head of steam.
“My tackling mindset is full speed run through them,” he continued. “People don’t like taking mean hits like that for a full game. I love delivering them.”
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