BOULDER — The day finally came: Antonio Alfano is no longer a Colorado Buffalo.
BuffZone.com’s Brian Howell reported Friday morning that Alfano is no longer enrolled at CU and is no longer a part of the Buffs’ football program. Alfano first joined the Buffs in January as a transfer from Alabama and was suspended indefinitely in early March for violating team rules.
Alfano was supposed to be a savior. At one point he was the highest-rated prospect in the 2019 high school class and he remained in the top 10 throughout the recruiting process. The defensive end dominated the New Jersey prep football circuit as well as the national recruiting camp circuit.
He was unstoppable.
The story gets muddy when Alfano arrived at Alabama. He played well during spring ball and in the spring game as an early enrollee. In other words, Alfano ditched high school a semester early and kept up with the best college football players in the country.
But early in his freshman season, Alfano “kind of disappeared a little bit” in ‘Bama head coach Nick Saban’s words. Saban didn’t mean those words in a football sense, he meant that Alfano stopped showing up to team activities. There were reports that Alfano was impacted by the diminishing health of his grandmother back home, but that’s the only hint of why things went south.
By October of his freshman year, Alfano was in the transfer portal.
When the 6-foot-5 280-pounder — who posted better testing numbers in high school than generational prospect Nick Bosa posted at the NFL Combine — decided on Boulder, it was easy to for Buffs fans to talk themselves into a resurgence.
“He has family in Colorado. That will help.”
“Saban is a tough coach to get along with.”
“He just wants to find somewhere where he will see the field early.”
“Mel’s contacts at ‘Bama would’ve told him if Alfano is a dud.”
“He’s too talented not to have an impact.”
And there was plenty more.
The offseason suspension raised some eyebrows and the “indefinite” tag was eye-grabbing. The reason for the suspension is still unknown, but multiple sources have told DNVR that Alfano was late to or missed meetings, lifts or study halls on multiple occasions.
On Thursday, Justin Guerriero of Rivals.com reported that Alfano would begin working out at Six Zero Strength and Fitness in Centennial, CO. Former Buffs great and NFL starter Matt McChesney owns and operates the gym and he trains numerous NFL players including Buffs great Phillip Lindsay and the majority of the Denver Broncos’ offensive line.
Per the report, Alfano was supposed to begin at Six Zero early Friday morning. McChesney sent the following tweet, which may be referencing Alfano:
https://twitter.com/SixZeroAcademy/status/1266340621247266816?s=20
Friday afternoon, it was reported that Alfano was no longer enrolled at — or playing football for — CU.
Alfano’s departure is disappointing but it shouldn’t come as a surprise. The red flags were obvious but the writing was on the wall when head coach Karl Dorrell opted to suspend the talented pass rusher.
Alfano was Mel Tucker’s reclamation project, and when Tucker left CU for Michigan State the odds of Alfano every playing a down in black and gold was cut to
Tucker may have been able to work past his violation of team rules, whatever that may mean, under Tucker’s watch. Tucker had proven he was in control. The team knew who he was and that they couldn’t get away with causing trouble.
But Dorrell couldn’t walk into a new program and let a student-athlete walk all over the rules just because he is talented. What kind of message would that send to the rest of the locker room?
Tucker set the culture at CU, but it wasn’t until late in the season that the team’s identity was established. That process is starting over, as it has to, with a new coaching staff. Some pieces from the previous regime will remain, but other pieces will change.
The commitment to discipline can’t change and Dorrell sent that message.
Maybe things would have turned out differently if Alfano had arrived in Boulder two years later when CU’s football program has developed.
As it stands now, Colorado isn’t one player away from a Pac-12 title so Alfano’s lack of discipline couldn’t stand.
And that sucks.
But it’s the truth.
And it’s also true that Mustafa Johnson is primed to be an elite Pac-12 pass-rusher anyway, but that’s a topic for another day.
