Last Thursday, Class of 2023 center Joshua Bates, an in-state prospect out of Durango High School, picked up his first offer, courtesy of Mitch Rodrigue and the Buffaloes.

Since then, Oregon and Colorado State have issued the 6-foot-3, 280-pounder offers and at this point, it seems fair to suggest that further opportunities for him reside not too far around the corner.

For Bates, who, in addition the time he puts in at Durango, also routinely makes the 7-hour drive to further hone his craft with Matt McChesney over at Six Zero Academy, acquiring his first few offers has been a rewarding feeling.

“It’s pretty awesome and really a dream come true," he said. "When you work this hard for quite awhile and everything starting to pay off, it’s really nice. I’m just going to keep grinding and keep working and hopefully there will be more to come.”

What's more, that is first offer came from Colorado also was special.Bates' father, Justin, was a four-year starter at Colorado from 1999-2002, winning a Big 12 title with the legendary 2001 Buffaloes unit.

Shortly before he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft by Dallas, Bates earned All-Big 12 honors at tackle for the Buffs in 2002.

While Bates' dad has made it clear to him that he wants him to land at whichever university suits him personally, it doubtless was a special moment for father and son when the younger Bates earned an offer from CU over 20 years after dad did.

“It was definitely emotional for me and my dad, both," Bates said. "It’s pretty crazy to look back on his career, being able to watch his career and with me trying to make a career of my own, it’s really special."

"One thing he’s always said is that Colorado was the place for him. The big part is that he wants me to find the best place for me, if that is Colorado, if it is Oregon or whoever else wants to offer — that’s the most important thing.”

Bates said that the vast majority of programs, CU included, wants him to continue playing center in college.

On June 7, Bates will be up in Boulder for an unofficial visit as well as to participate in a football camp the Buffs are hosting.

In addition to Colorado's respectable 2020 season, Bates said he's taken notice of how the Buffs have seen some younger players get into the action early and make on-field contributions.

Last fall, CU started a true freshman at cornerback in Christian Gonzalez while on offense, freshman wideout Brenden Rice put together a debut season worth remembering.

“For them to go to their first bowl game in a while — the Alamo Bowl — that’s huge," Bates said. "It was really fun watching them all year and they brought back that Colorado tradition on the defensive side and the offense has been able to continue to grow."

"With the younger players standing out and playing, that’s one thing that popped out to me in Colorado's play this year. The younger guys, the true freshman, really stepped up and played last year. That’s one thing I really like about Colorado football.”

At this point in time, consider Bates' recruitment to be in the bottom of the first inning; in other words, it's still very early.

More offers are sure to come and he has a lot of high school football ahead of him.

But at the bare minimum, his offer from Colorado seems like something he'll keep close to mind in the future as he continues to navigate his recruitment.

“The Buffs have always been in my heart," he said. "Ever since I was little, I always wanted to play for the Buffs. It’s really been a nice pillar in our family — not only just me, but all my siblings, my mom — we all really like the Buffs and we really appreciate what the Buffs have done for our family.”