As Colorado prepares to wrap the bow on the Class of 2021 and begin looking ahead to 2022 prospects, Darian Hagan has identified a blue chip prospect worth honing in on as recruiting for the 2022 class intensifies.

Hagan on Monday issued an offer to TreVonte' Citizen, a soon-to-be senior at Lake Charles College Prep in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The 5-foot-11, 204-pounder recently picked up an offer from LSU, while Arkansas, Penn State and Tennessee are other notable opportunities on the table for him at this point in time.

Rivals lists him as the No. 18 tailback in the nation, while he comes in at No. 13 within his home state and overall, is ranked as the No. 218 2022 prospect within his class.

This past fall, he rushed for 615 yards on 62 carries, as LCCP went 10-1 within Louisiana's Class 3A District 4.

The offer to Citizen is noteworthy for a variety of reasons. First off, it appears that when all is said and done following the February signing period, the Buffs will have not taken a Class of 2021 tailback.

That's not abnormal, given the current depth CU has at the position.

Jarek Broussard, who comes off an explosive 813-yard season in just six games in his first collegiate action, is about to be a redshirt junior while senior Alex Fontenot, the Buffs' primary back in 2019, should be returning from an undisclosed injury that sidelined him for all of this past fall.

Then there's former blue chipper Ashaad Clayton, who showed promise as a true freshman last fall and on top of that, juniors Joe Davis and Deion Smith will continue to compete.

The Buffs did lose sophomore Jaren Mangham to the transfer portal recently and it probably wouldn't be an egregious bet to suggest that perhaps Davis or Smith, tailbacks seemingly lower on the depth chart entering spring practices, may also opt to hit the portal before the summer.

All that is speculative, of course, but the fact remains that Colorado is undoubtedly not going to go two recruiting classes in a row without taking a running back.

Citizen is highly regarded in terms of his Rivals rankings and has the stats and frame to back it up.

He's established a reputation as a quick tough power back which is buttressed by him playing safety and outside linebacker for LCCP in addition to his tailback duties.

But thus far, his recruitment has been on the lighter side for a player with his skill set, who also lives in prime SEC recruiting territory.

Hagan has a very winnable recruiting battle ahead of him in trying to court Citizen. The Buffs are early enough to the party to stand out and so far are his only Pac-12 offer.

Plus, CU should carry some momentum into the opening stages of 2022 recruiting due to the solid first year the team had under Karl Dorrell.

If there is a such thing as a Twitter paper trail, Hagan has been sending Citizen graphics since at least September of last year, which suggests their relationship did not begin as recently as the offer formally fell into his lap.

Hagan has reeled in big fish previously. He appears to be aiming high for starters as the 2022 recruiting cycle gets pff the ground.