Torres one to watch in 2016

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - Don't mind the guy throwing up just outside the front door. Ashton Torres certainly doesn't. All he can do is smile. He's seen this a time or two in the past.

Vomit is actually a somewhat common occurrence here at Six Zero Strength, an athletic training facility in suburban Denver. Former NFL offensive lineman Matt McChesney runs the show in what he affectingly refers to as "the Dungeon," a tucked-away gym that has housed many of the top college prospects to emerge from the state of Colorado in recent years.

Now it seems Torres will be next in what is quickly becoming a long line to leave the Dungeon and end up on the field at a BCS-level school. A class-of-2016 offensive lineman, Torres knows it's early in the recruiting process. He's yet to secure his first scholarship offer. But offers will appear. And when they do, he'll be ready. It's not as though he hasn't given his future any thought.

"I'd like to stay and play at least kind of close to home, but whatever gives me the best opportunity to play, I'll take that," he said. "I want to play early if I can."

Today, the 285-pound Torres is part of a group of athletes lifting, planking, running and mixing in other various exercises at a downright blistering pace. This regiment, taxing as it is, is part of why the 2016 offensive lineman's name is already circulating in recruit offices across the region.

"Recruiting is really all starting up a little more," Torres said. "I 've talked a lot to Colorado and Colorado State and some to Washington and Arizona State. I don't really know much about the two out-of-state schools, but I've watched them before. I've only talked to Washington and Arizona State two or three times so far."

Torres, a junior-to-be at Colorado's Cherokee Trail High School, works out at Six Zero Strength four or five times a week. He plays tackle in high school but likely projects as a guard at the college level unless he adds significant height in the coming year.

"Ashton is an animal," said McChesney in a recent interview with Buffstampede.com "He's so young, he doesn't know that he doesn't know. I haven't seen anybody that big an mature for his age since Chris Fox, the guard at Michigan, who is also a Dungeon Family member Ashton is huge and he's very mobile. He's getting better and better every day. The longer teams wait to offer, the harder it's going to be to get him."

As a sophomore at Cherokee Trail, Torres helped the Cougars to a 10-3 record and an appearance in the Colorado state semifinals.