A day after BuffStampede.com first reported defensive lineman Antonio Alfano visited the Buffaloes and was likely to transfer to Colorado, the former five-star prospect put pen to paper.

Alfano signed a financial aid agreement with Colorado on Monday, then announced his decision on Twitter.

The nation's top ranked prospect in the 2019 class by 247Sports, Alfano is expected to enroll at CU for the start of the spring semester on Jan. 13.

Originally from New Jersey, Alfano was an early enrollee at Alabama and he had two sacks in the Crimson Tide Spring Game in April. He stopped practicing at Alabama in early September, though, and entered the transfer portal in October.

"Antonio’s grandmother recently fell very ill and is still fighting on life support," his father Frankie Alfano explained on Twitter on Sept. 13. "He is very close with her. Since this illness took effect, Antonio has taken it very hard. He has not attended classes and practices."

Sources have indicated to BuffStampede.com there is a chance Alfano could get a waiver from the NCAA, which would allow him to compete immediately at CU in 2020. If a waiver is granted, Alfano would have four years to play four with the Buffaloes.

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During his prep career at Colonia High School, Alfano continued moving up the 247Sports Recruiting Rankings, and he was moved to No. 1 on the final list for 2019 this past January. He recorded 76 tackles, including 28 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 10 quarterback hurries and six forced fumbles during his senior season.

“What this boiled down to for us was, what’s he missing? (Alfano) had every box checked,” Director of Scouting Barton Simmons said during the 247Sports rankings reveal broadcast. “He’s 6-foot-4, 275 pounds. He’s got 11-inch hands, which is huge, 34-inch arms, a 4.8 40 (yard dash), which is freakish at that size, a 37-inch vertical jump. So all of the testing numbers are there. Okay, turn on the film. The film is phenomenal. His numbers, 10 sacks, 28 tackles for loss, dominates competition everywhere he’s been.

“Then he goes into the All-American Bowl. Truly, you couldn’t block him. He’s got versatility. He can play defensive end in any scheme. He can be a 4-3 D-end, a 3-4 D-end. He could blow up physically and become an interior guy, a true 3-technique. He could right now probably effectively play a 3-4 outside linebacker as a stand up, edge rusher. I just think there’s so much to like.”

Georgia, where Mel Tucker and three of his defensive assistant coaches came to Boulder from this past winter, was in Alfano's top three along with Penn State before he verbally committed to Alabama.

“We asked coaching staffs that didn’t land him, 'Can you tell me what we’re missing on Alfano? What is his flaw?' We couldn’t come up with one," Simmons said. “It’s a Nick Bosa-ish profile for Alfano."

The Buffaloes landed three five-star prospects the previous 18 years, since recruiting rankings came into existence, but never the No. 1 overall recruit.