The Rivals Five-Star, the marquee football event of the offseason, is just days away. We kick off a conference-by-conference look at which programs should be paying the closest attention to the results from Jacksonville next week.
RELATED: Big 12 recruiting rankings
*****
MORE IN THIS SERIES: SEC teams in spotlight | Big Ten teams in spotlight | ACC teams in spotlight
MORE RIVALS FIVE-STAR: Five QBs storylines | RB storylines | WR storylines | Roster | TE storylines | OL storylines | DL storylines | LB storylines | Rivals Five-Star set for Jacksonville
PROSPECTS THAT COULD BOOST THEIR STOCK: Southeast | Florida prospects | Mid-South | Midwest | Northeast | West
BEST OF THE RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Top 10 quarterbacks | Top 10 running backs | Top 10 receivers | Top 10 tight ends | Top 10 defensive linemen | Top 10 linebackers | Top 10 defensive backs
*****
COLORADO
Deion Sanders and the Colorado staff just spent a weekend with Julian Lewis and his family in Boulder for an official visit, so you can be sure they'll be tuning in to what Lewis has to say this week.
Lewis is the No. 1 prospect in the Rivals250 and Sanders is looking to make the Buffaloes a national power as they enter the Big 12. They have the brand and all of the attention, so landing a prospect such as Lewis is not out of the realm of possibility.
The USC commit is being courted by others, but none seemingly as hard as Colorado, who had fans shouting for him in the streets and even a restaurant that created a burger named after Lewis. They are going all out for him.
*****
KANSAS
Kansas was one of four programs to make Linkon Cure's top group and get an official visit, so while the Jayhawks may be behind others in the race, they are certainly looking to stay in it.
The program in Lawrence has been trending up completely under the direction of Lance Leipold and attracting prospects such as Cure is not out of the question anymore.
*****
KANSAS STATE
Speaking of going all out, that is what Kansas State did this weekend as the Wildcats hosted the No. 1 prospect in the state, Linkon Cure. Head coach Chris Kleiman appeared to be spending much of the weekend alongside Cure as did quarterback Avery Johnson.
The Wildcats are looking to keep the state's best home and with the direction of the program in the new-look Big 12, they are an enticing spot. We will find out this week from Cure what he thought of their red carpet-esque efforts.
*****
UCF
UCF is the lone Big 12 program to have a commitment participating in the Rivals Five-Star in four-star athlete Tony Williams, who is slated to play linebacker in Jacksonville. The Knights will of course be tuning into to see how one of the prized commits fares against the field.
They will also be interested to see what comes from two targets in the trenches.
One of Sanford (Fla.) offensive guard Max Buchanan, who took an official visit to UCF in May. Now, it is important to note Buchanan has taken five other official visits, but the Knights will look to make Buchanan a splash land in their 2025 class.
Across from him will be 6-foot-6, 320-pound Auburn defensive tackle commit Malik Autry. The longtime Auburn pledge has made the rounds this summer on four official visits, one being UCF.
