Colorado under Mel Tucker has placed a strong emphasis on establishing good rapport with in-state talent of all ages since he took the helm of the program almost a calendar year ago.

How the Buffs have started off with Class of 2022 OL Connor Jones, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound OL of Palmer Ridge High School in Monument, is a good example.

Two of his teammates are already committed to the Buffs and Jones this year has himself gotten a good feeling of the culture and atmosphere in Boulder.

In the last few weeks, Colorado has gotten its 2021 and 2022 classes going with the commitments of ATH Kaden Dudley and his teammate Anthony Costanzo.

Recently, the Buffaloes have taken steps to keep that Monument, Co. pipeline running strong.

In particular, CU and Chris Kapilovic have striven to lay a foundation with Connor Jones.

Jones is entering the stage where his recruitment will soon start to take off — he's already gotten an offer from Colorado State, his first, while Oklahoma and Wyoming have also appeared on his radar in starting to reach out.

With that said, it is Colorado which succeeded in getting him up to Boulder four times in 2019 for unofficial visits, most recently against Washington, where he got to watch the Buffs pull off the win and was impressed by the overall intensity of Folsom Field and among players and coaches after the game.

“It was a really nice time," he said. "It’s always a good experience getting up there, getting in unofficial visits and watching games. The (UW) game just had good energy and I was just really excited to have the chance after (the win) to get in the locker room. The energy level in there was really high and just overall, it was an exciting experience.”

Kapilovic has served as the point of contact for Jones, with whom the former clearly wants to begin forging a relationship with. Staying in touch and getting Jones in town, which certainly was accomplished this season, seem like early keys to getting that done as Jones' journey down the recruitment road is starting to take off.

“Overall, it’s been really exciting," he said. "It’s one of the best feelings I have when a coach reaches out and says ‘hey, I want you to come out to a game.’ I’m just pumped for what’s coming next.”

Winds blowing Jones in the direction of landing at Colorado undoubtedly are Dudley and Costanzo, who all have been longtime friends.

“Kaden and Anthony have pretty much been my day ones," Jones said. "I’ve (known) Kaden since second or third grade and together we came up. In fifth grade we (met) Anthony. We all just kind of stuck together since then. It’s exciting their hard work pay off and seeing what they’re doing and comparing it to what I’m doing and seeing what I’m doing is very close to what they’re doing.”

If the Buffs keep playing their cards right, it seems a fair bet to imagine they could stay high on Jones' board.

“My options are open," he said (but) I definitely want to stay in-state if I can — I’m definitely a homebody.”

Right now, Jones, with much of his high school football career still ahead of him, is focusing on getting better every day.

He is a pupil of Matt McChesney over at Six Zero Strength & Fitness in Centennial, which has asserted itself in recent years as the premiere football training academy for players of all ages in the state of Colorado.

“I need to keep honing my skill, get bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic — keep working my tail off and keep improving," Jones said. "The sky’s the limit.”