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The early signing period for the 2021 class of college football recruits began Wednesday, with several players in Colorado making official pledges.

The big mystery heading into the day, of course, was where Cherry Creek defensive lineman Arden Walker would land.

Unfortunately for CU Buffs fans, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound three-star prospect chose to sign his letter of intent to play for the Missouri Tigers in the SEC.

Walker was the highest-rated uncommitted player in the state heading into the national signing day. In signing with Missouri, he opted not to follow in the footsteps of his father, Arthur, who was an All-Big Eight defensive lineman for the Buffs in the late 1980s.

All told, Colorado reeled in just two of the top 10 recruits in the state and Colorado State landed none, . And the state’s two four-star recruits on the 247Sports rankings 鈥� tight end Terrance Ferguson (Heritage) and offensive tackle Trey Zuhn (Fossil Ridge) 鈥� both chose to leave the Centennial State.

None of that represents a particularly new development. Dating back to 2015, the Buffs have signed more than three of the top 10 recruits in the state just once (4, 2015), and have landed just two of the state’s 13 four-star recruits during the same time frame, with the last in-state four-star commit coming in 2017 (Jake Moretti, Pomona).

The Rams, meanwhile, had signed just six top-10 in-state recruits in the previous six recruiting cycles combined.

Still, CSU has made an impact in-state so far this year, bringing in six total in-state scholarship recruits for 2021, including Colorado’s top-rated quarterback (Luke McAllister, Palmer Ridge), as well as a former Colorado prep star in Jack Howell, who transferred from Valor Christian to Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., last summer due to COVID-19.

Here’s a look at which Colorado prep football players signed to play on scholarship for FBS programs thus far: