Jonesing to be a Buff

How quickly things change.

It seems just weeks ago, many Colorado fans had begun to lose hope in the recruiting abilities of the Buffaloes staff.  Some were holding out hope in the evaluation skills of Mike MacIntyre and company, but the general consensus felt as if the Buffs were not taking high enough caliber players for their small class.

Things took a big turn this weekend.

The biggest news is up to debate, but we’ll start with the commitment.

Colorado picked up their fourth commitment of the cycle in three-star (rivals) prospect, Akil Jones.

Offically committed to the University of Colorado #CUin16 @SportsRecruits @adamgorney @JHopkins247 @ScoutMedia pic.twitter.com/frJbwiofQq

— aKillmonger (@akjones27) June 27, 2015

Jones is a 6-foot-1, 215 pound linebacker, who could figure to play inside or out for the Buffs, but fits the mold of a faster inside linebacker that is growing in importance in the Pac-12. He held offers from San Diego State, Utah State, Wyoming and UNLV on top of the Buffs, and was drawing interest from other Big 12 and Pac-12 schools.

While Jones actually pulled the trigger on the Buffs, it is the interest of another prospect that is making real headlines.

Four-star (rivals) cornerback Craig Watts, committed to the Wisconsin Badgers just nine days ago, but since he had already scheduled a trip to Colorado for an unofficial visit this weekend, he made the trip anyway, and apparently the Buffs made an impact.

Four-star cornerback recruit Craig Watts, from St. Petersburg, Fla., told me he is seriously considering CU despite commitment to Wisconsin.

— Adam Munsterteiger (@adamcm777) June 28, 2015

https://twitter.com/NoFlyZone_2016/status/614887737594740736

Watts, who seemingly has an offer from half the country, isn’t the only Florida prospect who enjoyed Boulder this weekend.

Three-star athlete Anthony Julmisse, and three-star receiver Johnny Huntley are two more extremely well thought of players that enjoyed their time in Boulder this weekend.

https://twitter.com/FloridabredAnt/status/614423482672123905

Colorado is breathtaking💯😍🗻

— Ant (@FloridabredAnt) June 26, 2015

I had a great visit at Colorado💯

— Ant (@FloridabredAnt) June 28, 2015

https://twitter.com/Johnny7Huntley/status/614426670003400704

https://twitter.com/Johnny7Huntley/status/614587011765112832

And even after they left, current Buff Afolabi Laguda was still recruiting on twitter.

Went up with my youngins @Johnny7Huntley and @FloridabredAnt this weekend! We back at it again in August! #CUin16 #Skobuffs

— Afolabi Laguda (@FizzyFo1) June 28, 2015

@NoFlyZone_2016 @FloridabredAnt @Johnny7Huntley all my lil bras back at the bottom! Got me feeling homesick. #FLA&GA TO CU!

— Afolabi Laguda (@FizzyFo1) June 29, 2015

Both Watts and Julmisse responded to Laguda saying they will be back.

A solid rule to follow is to never put too much stock into the tweets of high school kids, but everything that came out of this weekend sounds to be very positive, and a common catalyst in the recruiting pickup seems to be the Buffaloes new defensive coordinator, Jim Leavitt. The return on Leavitt seems to be unlimited right now, and his recruiting prowess could pay massive dividends for Colorado. Leavitt sounds like a coach who loves to recruit which is a great asset to have in a coordinator, considering many coordinators view recruiting as a secondary task.

Scott invited to Pan American training camp

Colorado Men’s Basketball star, Josh Scott, is one of 22 athletes who have been invited to participate in the United States Pan American Games Men’s Basketball training camp, from July 7th to the 12th, in Colorado Springs.

The camp will be used to pic the 12 best players to support the USA at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Cananda, July 21-25.

Other invitees include Ron Baker (Wichita State), Kaleb Tarczewski (Arizona), Fred Van Vleet (Wichita State), Rico Gathers (Baylor), Nigel Hayes (Wisconsin), Melo Trimble (Maryland), and more. Not bad company for Scott.

The US team will be coached by Mark Few, with Colorado head coach Tad Boyle serving as an assistant on the staff.

Tweet of the day

Tweet of the day which actually means tweet of whatever interval of time I feel like, comes from this weekend, when Buffaloes Freshman Donald Gordon got his first taste of some Boulder culture, the Thursday Night ride.

https://twitter.com/channel10__/status/614272202301571072

While every Thursday night ride is actually not “hippy day,” one might argue that everyday in Boulder is hippy day, so that point is really moot. It looks like Donald got a kick out of it, and thats all you can really do with so much that you might see in this town.