Tucked away on the University of Colorado Boulder’s campus a couple weeks ago, hometown kicker Daniel Gerlach impressed enough at a private tryout to nab a walk-on offer from Coach Prime’s Buffaloes.

The 2023 Boulder High School grad announced his commitment and transfer to CU on social media Sunday night. This after he spent much of his one and only season at Colby College (Maine) injured.

“It’s really exciting,” Gerlach said on Monday. “I remember my senior year (at Boulder High School) and (CU) really wasn’t that good. But when they hired Deion Sanders, everything changed. You could just tell right away this buzz in the air, this excitement towards the team that really hasn’t ever been. And that’s been my goal to be a part of that, whatever way I could.”

Gerlach, a standout kicker and punter for the Panthers in 2022 and 2021, isn’t expecting to compete for a starting role as placekicker or punter for the Buffs in 2024.

CU already has three kickers on its spring roster — Jace Feely, Alejandro Mata, Heritage grad Cristiano Palazzo — and a punter — Mark Vassett. All of whom saw the field last fall.

He just wants to be useful.

“Whatever they need me to do, I’ll do,” Gerlach said. “If at any point, I can either punt in a game, kickoff in a game, or do any field goals or extra points, I’ll be ready.”

Gerlach said, though CU hadn’t been in direct communication with him while he was at Colby College as a freshman, he got an opening when he reached out to its special teams coach for quality control, Trevor Reilly.

Then on March 18, Gerlach said he competed against two others at CU’s indoor practice facility. For about 90 minutes, they went through field goals, kickoffs and punts. And four days later, he was offered a spot on the team.

“Now, I’m in the process of getting my transcript and medical forms in,” Gerlach said. “The goal is, right now, to start practicing this week and be a part of spring ball. But there are a lot of compliance things that go into that. If not, I will probably start practicing in late May.”

Gerlach won the kicking and punting job at Colby College but was sidelined with a hip injury for the first half of last season. When he returned, it was only as a punter.

“I didn’t really find it rewarding or that fulfilling being there,” he said. “Being there, I didn’t feel I was accomplishing what I really could accomplish. So, I decided to come home and take a risk. And as of now, I’m part of the CU Buffaloes.”

At Boulder High School, Gerlach made 14 of his 17 field goals, with a long of 50 yards, and 30 of his 33 point-after tries. His longest punt was 49 yards.