Allan Baugh was the first commit for Karl Dorrell and his first-year staff, pulling the trigger and giving Colorado a verbal pledge at the end of April. Obviously, things have changed somewhat significantly since Baugh committed, and he had good insight as to what it's been like for him watching Dorrell build up the Buffs' Class of 2021.

Baugh, who soon will enter his senior year at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, won a Class 7A State title last year with the Raiders, going a perfect 15-0 on the season.

Recently, Baugh went on an extended vacation with his family and was pleasantly surprised when he returned home to find the Buffs' 2021 class had taken a new shape.

"When I committed I was kind of by myself there," he said. "We had one other commit (Chase Penry) from the Mel Tucker era but I (recently) went on vacation and was off the grid for a long time because we were out in West Florida. I came back, checked Twitter and all of the sudden I wasn’t the only player anymore. It was good to see that."

"We’re starting to build that Colorado pride, getting kids in-state and bringing kids in. I feel like what I’ve seen from this class is that it’s going to be good. This class brings a lot of character and a lot of talent, too."

Of course, the talk of the town with respect to Colorado recruiting right now has been the recent verbal commitment received from four-star Heritage tight end Erik Olsen, something that Baugh noticed from afar and falls in line well with what Dorrell had preached to him back in April leading up to his own commitment to CU.

“I think it speaks volumes — I’ve been talking to coach Dorrell for a long time now and he had told me that (Colorado) is all bought in: the university, the administration and everybody really wants this football program to make a turnaround and become a big dog in the Pac-12 and in the national landscape of things," Baugh said.

"That always starts with recruiting and (Dorrell) made it a point that he wants to bring back the pride at Colorado to where it was in the 1990s. Part of that is keeping the top kids in-state and keeping them from going out to USC or Oregon and making sure these kids realize that you don’t have to leave the state to be great."

"...When he was talking to me, he’d say that ‘we're going to get more people. You’re just going to have to be the first one.’ I made that leap of faith and obviously now, people are starting to follow along, so it’s great to see that.”

Baugh recalled his own experience of being recruited by Colorado and while Dorrell, whom he and his family had known since the latter's days with the Miami Dolphins, certainly made an impression, Chris Wilson also did and has remained consistent in being a phone call away over the last few months.

Together with Dorrell, Wilson sold more than just football to Baugh, something that he sees as resonating with other recruits who are considering Colorado.

“We’ll get on the phone pretty much every single week and talk not just about football things, but about life," Baugh said. "That was the main reason why my parents and I decided that Colorado was the best place for me, because with coach Wilson, coach Dorrell and all the other coaches I’ve met and talked to — they’re not just about football 24/7. They want you to grow spiritually, academically and physically."

"They want you to be a well-rounded person so when you leave the university, and it’s not the NFL you’re going to, you can be a productive person in life and a productive citizen.”

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While the Buffaloes have much work that remains to be done before the 2021 class takes its full shape, Baugh's impression of Dorrell and Colorado's coaches thus far has led him to believe that they are capable of bringing in a solid class.

"When you add that to the fact that (Dorrell) has ties down here in South Florida, has a couple other staff members that are big in Los Angeles and other places around the country, he can definitely build a good class," Baugh said. "I feel like a lot of people are starting to realize that Colorado brings the best of both worlds in athletics and academics, and obviously the campus is beautiful. The campus is a selling point in and of itself, so it’s been great to be able to see what (Dorrell) has been able to do as his first (commit)."

And if there's anything Baugh can do to help in his capacity as Dorrell's first commit, he will.

"For the most part, I’ve really been texting people that haven’t committed to Colorado but have Colorado in their top five, saying ‘hey, look — we’re building something at Colorado. You need to come over and commit,'" he said. "So I’ve been trying to expand the brand a little bit and trying to be a recruiter myself out here in the Southeast.”