In-state recruiting

Typically, the Colorado spring game is an afterthought on the sports calendar.

It’s usually lightly attended and often more of a glorified practice to wrap up spring drills.

This year, with new head coach Deion Sanders leading the way, the Buffaloes are expecting an actual game that includes plenty of fans in the Folsom Field stands.

CU announced Wednesday that the spring game, called “Black & Gold Day,” will be on April 22 at 1 p.m. And, for the first time in recent memory, there will be a cost to attend.

General admission tickets will be $10 and go on sale Feb. 13. Students will be free of charge, but need to go through a ticket claim process similar to the one used for men’s basketball.

“I’m excited about it,” athletic director Rick George told Buffzone. “It’s gonna be great for our fans to get a first-hand look at Coach Prime and his staff and his team because there’s a lot of new faces and we think there’s going to be a lot of interest and our hope is that we’ll sell the game out.”

CU has had an overwhelming response for ticket for the 2023 season and George said, “I have every expectation that this season will be sold out.”

The spring game will give fans an early look at the Sanders and team.

“There will be a lot of interest and there’s already a lot of interest around the state and the country about bringing him on board and the staff that he’s assembled and the student athletes that he’s been able to recruit and to transfer here,” George said. “It’s gonna be a totally different look of the team and I think our fans are gonna be excited about that. Having a game on April 22, it’s going to be a great time of the month and a great time in Boulder so we expect a very big crowd.”

There have been reports that the Buffs’ spring game will be nationally televised, but George said, “We hope that somebody covers it, but at this point, we don’t have anything to announce.”

CU will open spring practices on March 19.

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Of the 42 scholarship players CU has added in the 2023 recruiting class, just one is from Colorado: Cherry Creek offensive lineman Hank Zalinskas.

This is the lowest number of in-state recruits in a class for CU since having one in 1998.

Sanders said the staff will make Colorado players a priority — if they believe those players can help the Buffs.

“We recruit in-state athletes, we really do,” he said. “We can’t force them to say yes. We want them to say yes.

“We would

love

to

obtain all the talent that’s in state. That’s our goal to be dominant in state. If a kid can play, we want him. We want him at this institution playing football for us. We want him to be able to play; not just recruit him just because he’s in state. He’s got to be able to contribute and be dominant.”

Early enrollees

In the past, CU has often not held a spring “game” because there weren’t enough players on the roster at certain spots. That may not be an issue this year. Of the 42 players signed by CU so far, 29 of them are already enrolled and will be able to compete this spring.

That will help the Buffs to have an actual game, but also helps the staff in getting ready for the 2023 season.

“It’s huge because these guys were recruited with a purpose,” he said. “Our hand prints are all over them. We feel like those are the guys that we wanted and we went and got them and we secured them. Now we need to see everything that we desire to see.

“A lot of these kids have tremendous opportunities because there’s no penciled in starters pretty much. You darn well know Travis (Hunter) and some others, they’re starting, so don’t get confused. We don’t need to be politically correct when there’s a dawg in the house. But some of these guys have an opportunity to show us what they’ve got and I love it. That’s what spring is for. Now we can assess the talent and make the proper adjustments from the portal shortly thereafter.”

Notable

CU’S class includes players from a school-record 16 different states and two foreign countries. The previous record for most states in one class was 13 in 1973. … The state most represented is Florida, with seven. It’s the first time since 1978 that a state other than Colorado, California or Texas led the way. In 1978, CU also had seven from Florida.