Colorado pushing hard to keep Cherry Creek wide receiver Ismael Cisse home

Colorado has eyes on Class of 2023 wide receiver Ismael Cisse, a local prospect out of Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village.

Looking at the Bruins, Cisse is far from exclusive in that regard, however, as the Buffs are also pursuing his teammate and defensive end Blake Purchase, in addition to defensive tackle Hank Zilinskas and d-end Chase Brackney, the latter of whom committed to Iowa in mid-February.

With Cherry Creek having captured three consecutive CHSAA Class 5A state titles, the Bruins boast a strong soon-to-be group of seniors, with the aforementioned players being prime within that unit.

For CU, keeping Cisse and his teammates home has appeared as a 2023 recruiting priority.

While Cisse has plans to visit Oregon, USC and possibly Florida by summer's end, he's already gotten himself up to Boulder multiple times and looking down the barrel, is penciling in more unofficial visits to Colorado currently.

“I would say they’re recruiting me hard," Cisse said. "They want me to be a “hometown hero,” is what they kept saying when I was up there. I feel like that’s going to keep our relationship growing stronger. I’m going to go back up there probably for a spring practice and then a spring game.”

The 6-foot-0, 180-pound Cisse hauled in 39 passes for 652 yards as a junior last fall, both of which were team-highs among the Bruins. Cisse also caught six touchdown passes by year's end.

His offer from CU dates back to early February, while the Trojans, Cal Berkeley, CSU, UNLV and Wyoming have also gotten on his radar with offers.

As his recruitment has doubtless started to intensify, Cisse is taking things slow.

“For me right now, I’d say I’m still just letting offers roll in and continuing to see what coaches really want me and will keep pushing, just to see where I fit in and if I’ll be able to start early and go to a program that’s going to help me develop for the NFL," he said.

Key for the Buffaloes in staying at the forefront of Cisse's recruitment will be Phil McGeoghan, who, per Cisse, has made a strong initial impression.

On a recent unofficial visit to Boulder, Cisse and McGeoghan were able to spend a good chunk of time together, familiarizing themselves with one another.

“I feel like he’s one of the best receivers coaches in the country, with his resume, the NFL players he’s coached — him wanting to come to CU and change the program, I feel like that’s really good," Cisse said. "I met him and we talked for like an hour and watched film. He’s real smart, knows the game and knows how to produce receivers.”

It's still early, but in terms of a recruiting strategy, Colorado is keeping up the pressure on both Cisse and his teammates.

“We always usually talk a place that we could all team up at, but it’s the same thing with Blake I would say — he’s liking how the coaches are pushing hard," Cisse said.

Same thing they said with me, they want him to stay home, too. They’re trying to get the best in-state.Obviously, going to Creek, a Colorado powerhouse, they want to keep us in-state. They’re pushing that on us both hard.”