Buffaloes and Wildcats after Northern California lineman

After checking out Stanford and Arizona, Salinas (Calif.) Palma standout Drew Dalman spent two days in Colorado near the end of his spring break.

“First of all, I loved the coaches. [Head] coach [Mike] MacIntyre and coach [Klayton] Adams, the offensive line coach, they are great guys. They were busy but they still cut out a lot of time to show me the school, so that really stood out,” said Dalman, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound interior offensive lineman.

“The facilities they have at Colorado are pretty outstanding. The whole new indoor practice facility and weight room was really impressive,” he added. “I know Colorado has a pretty good Engineering program so that is pretty interesting to me in terms of choosing a major.”

Colorado was the first Pac-12 program to offer Dalman in early March, and he picked up an offer from Arizona this past Thursday.

“I pretty much have been locked on the west coast so it is great to go see colleges like Arizona and Colorado that aren't directly there. It is great to have these options,” Dalman said. “I wasn't really sure what to expect when we went down to Arizona. I didn't know if they were going to offer, so when they gave me the news shortly after I left, it was exciting.”

Dalman also has offers from Columbia, Fresno State, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming and Yale. He hopes to decide this summer but added he doesn't want to “force a decision.”

“I love the Pac-12, and a few Ivy League schools have come out of the woodwork and I like the academic aspect of that. So the Pac-12 and Ivy League schools are at the top of my list right now,” he said.

His father Chris Dalman played collegiately at Stanford before a seven-year professional career in San Francisco, which included a Super Bowl victory with the 49ers in 1994.

“My dad has come with me on the visits. He has been through this process before so he has been pretty key in helping out with that,” Drew said.

A first-team all-country, all-area and all-league selection as a junior, Dalman could end up playing either offensive center or guard at the next level.

“Colorado likes that I play with an edge and play hard and am athletic. I think that is what they are kind of looking for in building their team up,” he said.