Colorado adds commitment from Cherry Creek two-way lineman Hank Zilinskas
Colorado added its 16th commitment in the 2023 class Thursday, and the newest member of the Buffs won’t have to travel far to begin his college career. Cherry Creek High School two-way lineman Hank Zilinskas made his decision public Thursday announcing his plans to play for the Buffs next year.
“First of all, I would like to thank my family for supporting me throughout my academic and athletic career,” Zilinskas wrote in his commitment post on social media. “Thanks to all of my coaches and teammates for helping me become the man I am today. A special thanks to Coach Logan, Coach Betti and the rest of the Cherry Creek staff for preparing me to take the next step in my career. Thanks to my high school teammates for pushing me to become better everyday. I’d also like to thank Nick Vinson and Taylor Sheridan of Elite Speed for training me to become a better football player. Finally, I’d like to thank all the coaches that recruited me throughout my high school career. With that being said, I am excited to announce that I will be staying home and committing to the University of Colorado! Thank you to Coach Dorrell, Coach DeVan and the rest of the Colorado staff for this amazing opportunity! Sko Buffs!”
The 6-foot-3 prospect, who projects as an interior offensive lineman at the next level, took several visits to CU throughout the process including using one of his official visits on a trip to the Buffs campus last month.
He also visited Kanas State on an official visit in June as well. Zilinskas made unofficial visits to schools such as Iowa, Utah, Rutgers and Colorado State in the months leading up to his decision.
Ultimately, he has decided to stay close home where he will have an opportunity to play for Kyle DeVan and the Buffaloes as the second in-state commitment in the 2023 class for CU. Aurora-Regis Jesuit tight end Andrew Metzger is the other in-state prospect in the group. He gave Karl Dorrell’s program his pledge back in mid-April.
He is the third offensive lineman to commit to CU in the 2023 cycle joining Texas recruits Tyrone McDuffie (El Paso-Parkland) and Southlake-Carroll Drew Perez, who both gave their commitments to the Buffaloes last month.
Nevada and Utah State also offered the newest Colorado commit plus Zilinskas also had an opportunity to play at an Ivy League school, Penn, on the table as well.
CU currently ranks 39th in the overall team recruiting rankings for 2023, according to Rivals. That is good enough for fifth in the Pac-12 rankings.