Five Colorado recruits to watch for 2025 and beyond

Colorado high school recruits flocked to Boulder on June 6th to participate in the University of Colorado’s Elite Camp. Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and the rest of Colorado’s coaching staff spent the day meeting and coaching recruits from all over the Centennial State and awarded select standout players with scholarship offers.

After dominating the transfer portal over the last two offseasons, the 2025 recruiting class is shaping up to be the class that Coach Prime and Colorado’s coaching staff will recruit the hardest since their arrival in Boulder. While Colorado’s biggest recruiting weekend of the summer is next weekend (June 21st-23rd), multiple players in the 2025 class and beyond have emerged as potential targets for CU and spoke with DNVR about their experience at Colorado’s Elite Camp.

2025 three-star ATH Zayne DeSouza

Before last Thursday, 2025 three-star ATH Zayne DeSouza only had two scholarship offers from Washington State and Northern Colorado. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, DeSouza balled out at earned his first Power 4 offer directly from Coach Prime after his performance at last week’s Elite Camp.

DeSouza plays tight end and defensive end for Loveland High School but worked out as a tight end at last week’s Elite Camp. DeSouza was working with tight ends coach Brett Bartolone and the rest of the tight ends in attendance before Coach Prime pulled him aside, DeSouza told DNVR.

“I came in there with the intention of trying to get an offer and impress the coaches, especially Coach Prime. He seemed to take a liking for me, he was coaching me the whole camp. He came over, grabbed me and said, ‘Where are your parents at, I’m going to give you an official offer’,” said DeSouza.

DeSouza went to Nebraska for a camp this weekend and is planning on either attending camps at Wyoming or Kansas State after. He will also attend a game in Boulder for an official visit this fall.

2025 three-star WR Jeremiah Hoffman

Jeremiah Hoffman has visited Boulder at least three times over the last year and made yet another impression on Coach Prime and CU’s coaching staff last week. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Hoffman plays wide receiver for Severance High School in Severance, CO. According to his Twitter bio, Hoffman has run a 4.5 40-yard dash and has set multiple Colorado High School state track and field records.

The speedy wide receiver out of Severance has yet to earn a scholarship offer from Colorado’s coaching staff but he was singled out by Coach Prime at last week’s Elite Camp. Hoffman is currently ranked as the 10th overall 2025 recruit out of the state of Colorado according to 247Sports.

2027 WR/TE Landon Wolny

Landon Wolny calls Glenwood Springs, CO home but plays for First Baptist Academy in Naples, FL. Last year as a freshman, Wolny had 27 receptions for 377 yards and five touchdowns in ten games. He is listed at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds and plays wide receiver and tight end for First Baptist Academy.

Although he is only entering his sophomore year of high school, Wolny performed well enough in front of CU’s coaches to earn an official offer. “I went into [Colorado’s] camp to showcase my skills. I put everything that Coach Prime was telling me and showing me to use, balled out and got the offer,” said Wolny.

Wolny also worked under Coach Bartolone and graduate assistant Andrew Zimmer while at CU’s Elite Camp. He visited Colorado last year for their matchup with Oregon State and is expected to return to Boulder for a game and visit this season.

2026 QB Yianni Balafas

Yianni Balafas plays quarterback for Kent Denver High School in Englewood, CO and led Kent to a 9-1 season throwing for 1704 yards, completing 73% of his passes for 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He also had 163 rushing yards on 11 carries for another two touchdowns.

“What was really cool was how Coach Prime was there the whole time. Usually, some coaches will just show up at the beginning, say hi, leave or show up at the end but he was there the whole time,” said Balafas.

Balafas attributes his high completion percentage to his mind for the game. He will also be attending camps at Vanderbilt, Stanford and multiple Ivy League schools this summer. PrepZoneCO also listed Balafas as one of the top 2026 quarterbacks in the state.

2026 ATH Jack Offerdahl

Jack Offerdahl plays all over the field for Dakota Ridge High School but competed at CU’s Elite Camp as a defensive back. Listed at 6-foot and 180 pounds, Offerdahl was Dakota Ridge’s third-leading tackler in 2023 with 80 total tackles. He also had 12 passes defended and three interceptions. Offerdahl also returns kicks and punts and led Dakota Ridge in return yardage, punt return yardage and return attempts.

He is the younger brother of current Colorado running back Charlie Offerdahl and shows an identical work ethic and drive in his play and demeanor. “I was disappointed with how I performed, I was hoping to perform well enough to earn an offer but Coach Mathis picked me as one of the top 5 DB’s at the end so I must have done some good things,” said Offerdahl.

Offerdahl also told DNVR that he would be highly interested in returning to Colorado for more visits.