After one visit to the Colorado campus, Mantrez Walker wanted to take another.
During the second visit, he made the decision to play for the Buffaloes.
Walker committed to CU during its annual Black & Gold day on April 27, one of three recruits who have jumped-started the Buffaloes’ class of 2025.
“I’ve been up there twice and really just the environment, it seems so chill up there and elegant,” Walker, a linebacker from Buford (Ga.) High School, said an interview with BuffZone. “Everyone seemed happy and it’s a lot of people just striving to be great. The people really seem to care about not only me but my family, as well, and that’s very important to me.”
Head coach Deion Sanders and his staff are still putting together the 2024 roster – there are seven open scholarships as of Thursday afternoon – but the recruiting for 2025 is underway and took a big step during the week of the spring game.
On April 26, four-star cornerback Alex Graham from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., gave his verbal commitment. The next day, so did Walker and tight end Corbin Laisure, from Bluff City, Tenn. Walker and Laisure are both three-star prospects.
While CU did have three other 2025 commits a year ago, all of which decommitted in November, the current trio on board is less than eight months away from signing day in December.
Coach Prime and the Buffs have relied heavily on the transfer portal to build their roster, but the high school recruits lay a foundation for the future and the trio of current commits has bought in.
“When I actually talked to the coaches and went there and checked it out, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I like this place; I like it a lot,’” Graham said in an interview with Rivals.com. “I brought my family there and they love it too.”
Graham, listed at 6-foot-1, 186 pounds, is from Michigan and picked CU over the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines. He has 30 scholarship offers.
Laisure, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound tight end, caught 64 passes for 774 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior last fall at Sullivan East (Tenn.) High School, but will transfer to Science Hill High School this fall. He, too, bought into the message from the CU coaches.
“Sitting down with their coaching staff, they don’t tell you what they’re going to give you, they tell you what you can earn and the opportunity you do have,” Laisure told WCYB-TV. “I think the opportunity to go and earn a spot, to go and earn my keep there is really high.”
Walker loves the opportunity, as well. He’s the latest in a long line of elite recruits from Buford, a 6A powerhouse in Georgia. (Current CU kicker Alejandro Mata also went to Buford).
“I just felt that the time was right,” he said. “I’m very excited to have an opportunity like this. It is an honor.”
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Walker had 54 tackles and four tackles for loss as a junior last season and believes playing for a powerhouse prep team will help him in college.
“I think that will help me translate easily,” he said. “I’ve been being coached hard all my life so I definitely will be able to adapt to the college environment and continue to ball out.”
Walker’s offer list includes Michigan, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Stanford and more, but CU stood out.
“I like Colorado’s mindset of winning right now and not being afraid to play guys who can help them towards that,” he said. “Also I like all of the NFL experience on staff and Deion’s realness with all of his players.”
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