Published Jun 5, 2020
Buffs host Cherry Creek cornerback Al Ashford for virtual visit
Justin Guerriero  •  CUSportsReport
Editor
Twitter
@GuerrieroCU

Colorado via Demetrice Martin extended an offer to 2021 Cherry Creek cornerback Al Ashford last month and yesterday, he conducted a virtual visit with the Buffaloes.

Advertisement

Ashford initially got on Colorado's radar back when Mel Tucker and Travares Tillman were still in Boulder, but the Buffs got back on his trail after the dust settled following Karl Dorrell getting settled with his staff.

Martin is Ashford's primary recruiter and the 6-foot-1, 170-pound prospect is also entertaining offers from Army, Boise State, UNLV and others.

“Me and 'coach Meat' definitely have gotten real close," Ashford said. "He’s a great guy and it’s been great getting to know him. He’s really told me a lot about the game and me and him click on a of of things. We bounce off of each other, being two balls of energy. It’s been great getting to talk to each other, chop it up and going through this recruiting process, getting to build that (kind of) relationship is definitely not a regular thing.”

Ashford has aspirations to major in sports medicine when he gets to college, and Colorado's academics thus far have impressed he and his parents.

“(Colorado) has a great program for (sports medicine), especially being partnered with UC Health," he said. "Getting to talk to the academic support staff, they actually were really talking to my mom and telling her that they’d be my second mom in a way.”

info icon
Embed content not available
"He’s definitely a natural leader — when he speaks, people listen."
Al Ashford on Karl Dorrell

For Ashford, who has taken unofficial visits to Colorado in the past, his virtual experience with the Buffs this time around served as a good introductory course that highlighted what CU can offer him, if he were to become a student-athlete in Boulder.

Ashford, who has spoken to Dorrell briefly over the last few weeks, got to meet him and Tyson Summers on his virtual visit for the first time.

“It was good," he said. "Coach Meat and coach Dorrell made it really informative. Coach Summers got on there and we chopped it up about a lot of defenses. I really got to see around campus and their facilities — stuff I didn’t get to see when I took my unofficial visit. It was good getting to really talk to the academic advisors, academic training staff and talk about how (Colorado) will make me a better athlete and also a better human being, which is really important.”

Dorrell seems to have made a good impression on Ashford and his parents during the virtual visit.

‘You can tell he definitely knows the game of football," Ashford said. "He’s definitely a natural leader — when he speaks, people listen. Coach Dorrell, you can tell he’s put time into his craft and also has put time into putting his staff together. He really puts a lot of trust into his assistants, which I like t see. He told my family straight up what he thought of us and what he thought of me as a player. He was real honest about things and open to hearing about how guys are. He’s really talent he time to get to know me so I think he’s a good coach."

Ashford is a multi-sport athlete at Cherry Creek, as he also excels on the track & field team, where he has been clocked running a 10.8-second 100-meter dash. He is the first and only in-state cornerback that Martin has seen fit to offer, and overall, looks the part of a versatile and tough defensive back.

Given Cherry Creek's long and consistent connection to Colorado (there's currently just under a dozen Bruins alums on roster with the Buffs) and also noting that Ashford's teammate Chase Penry is a CU verbal commit, the Buffaloes seem to have a good shot at staying on his radar as Ashford continues to navigate his recruitment.

A successful virtual visit plus Martin serving as point man support that inference, as well.

info icon
Embed content not available