After landing Dimitri Stanley, Colorado’s top high school wide receiver of the 2018 class, over the weekend, the University of Colorado continues its reign on nabbing in-state talent. The Buffs have four of the state’s top 12 recruits from the 2017 class joining them this fall and have already received verbal commitments from three of the top six players for 2018.

The focus on Colorado’s best high school players is no accident for CU. Co-offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator Darrin Chiaverini joined Joe Rico and Alex Ramirez of The Final Word on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 to discuss the importance of recruiting in-state talent as part of CU’s rise.

“The blueprint, as I see it is, you’ve gotta keep the best players to stay home at the University of Colorado, then go out and chase the top players in the country from California and Texas,” Chiaverini said. “Those have been some of our big recruiting areas in the past and we have kind of gotten back into that as of late. But keeping the top players home is a priority for us.”

Improved talent paired with the revitalization of a winning mindset saw CU’s best season in over a decade last year. The Buffs solidified their return to the national spotlight with a first-place finish in the Pac-12 South, and Chiaverini’s mindset is a major reason why.

“When I got hired, I wanted to let people know that it’s an honor to play at CU,” Chiaverini said. “It’s not just something that you do; it’s an honor and a privilege and something that needs to be respected. This is a great, great football program with a lot of history and tradition, and it’s time for us to bring it back. We were able to do some of that last year. We didn’t finish the way we wanted to finish as a football program, but we’re just scratching the surface on where we’re gonna take this place.”

Listen to the full interview with Chiaverini, including his confidence in quarterback Steven Montez, in the podcast below.

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