BOULDER- Jonathan Van Diest was one of the first players of the 2017 class to commit to the Colorado Buffaloes and, with some of the other recruits wavering, he’s stayed true to his word for almost a year.
“Not at all,” Van Diest said when asked if he ever looked at other schools. “I’m CU all the way. I’m not there yet, but I bleed black and gold already.”
The 6-foot-1, 234-pounder is finishing his senior year at Cherry Creek High School so he’s known about the Colorado football program for quite awhile but it was head coach Mike MacIntyre who really sold him on CU.
“He’s a great guy,” Van Diest said. “Has a great heart for God. I’m excited to be apart of a program that he’s running. National Coach of the Year, he’s doing something right, so I’m really excited.”
The three-star/four-star recruit is listed as a defensive end on some recruiting sites but he profiles better as a 3-4 outside linebacker due to his excellent pass rushing ability.
Van Diest was invited to play in the Under Armour All-American game and made the trip but couldn’t play because of a recent shoulder injury. He’s currently going through the rehabilitation process and expects to be ready for fall camp.
“This is my second time going through rehab,” Van Diest explained. “Which is nice because you know what to expect but at the same time it sucks because you have to take what your doctor says and go along with it.”
Van Diest talked about how it’s training him mentally to push through adversity, like Coach MacIntyre always says, no conflict, no story.
“There’s a lot that goes into football,” Van Diest said. “There’s the physical side but there’s also a mental aspect that’s like will you bounce back and do you know how to. I’m glad to have a couple injuries in high school going into college. That kind of frustration, I have this fire that’s like alright once I get healthy I’m going to get going.”
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact Van Diest will be able to make with the Buffs, maybe not early due to his injury, but he can definitely be a big-time player for CU in the future.
