Dante Sparaco first moved from the mountains to the Mile High City, then from Denver to the Florida Gulf Coast in pursuit of his football dreams. Now those dreams will bring him full circle back to the place his parents met almost 30 years ago.
During his time at IMG Academy, one of the most prestigious producers of Power 5 football talent in the country, Sparaco was part of a squad that went undefeated, finished at No. 2 in the national rankings by USA Today and saw all 22 of its starters receiving FBS scholarship offers. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder originally from Glenwood Springs fielded offers from all three FBS programs in his home state of Colorado along with scholarship opportunities from Nevada and Utah State.
Five Pac 12 schools other than Colorado, national contenders like Clemson, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Michigan, Miami and Florida also showed interested. Following his junior season at Cherry Creek High near Denver, Sparaco verbally committed to Colorado. When he went to IMG in Bradenton, Florida, despite his extra attention, he maintained his commitment to CU. He spent fall of 2016 at IMG trying “to be the best player I could be and be ready for the college experience.”
Sparaco committed to CU with a desire to play for former Buffs defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt, who left for the same position at Oregon in December of 2016. Meanwhile, Sparaco enrolled at CU early and participated in spring football in Boulder, setting the stage for a true freshman season last fall in which he played in the first four games.
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