BOULDER — Shane Cokes is probably the only person in Colorado who wishes this week’s game was on the road.

“As sad as it is to say, I wish it was in Cincinnati so I could bring the whole family out, everybody back home,” Cokes told The Denver Gazette before the season. “It’s kinda like a full-circle moment. It’s going to be fun to play them. I’m excited for it.”

In a way, it’s a game Cokes has been waiting years for.

Growing up in nearby Dayton, Cokes was a Bearcats fan. It’s where his dad, Shawn, played in the late 1980s. It’s where Shane envisioned himself playing college football.

There was only one problem: a scholarship offer never came.

The youngest member of his class at Chaminade-Julienne Prep, Cokes was often overlooked. He had offers from a handful of Ivy League schools, the three service academies and two in-state MAC programs, Akron and Kent State.

“Obviously, colleges are looking for kids that are big, fast, strong, all that stuff and then they should, but that character part of it — Is this kid gonna be committed away from the field? Can you trust this kid when the coaches aren’t watching? Is this kid gonna be a good inspiration and leader for the teammates and be an extension of the coaching staff? That was my selling point for Shane,” former Chaminade-Julienne coach Marcus Colvin told The Denver Gazette. “There’s so many boxes you could check for him that are positive when it comes to recruiting.”

Cokes wound up choosing Dartmouth and showed up to Hanover, New Hampshire, as a 17-year-old kid playing against grown men, many in their fifth and sixth years of college football. Cokes said there were even a few Mormon players on the team that had previously taken their mission and were nearly 10 years older than him.

“It’s just kinda been regular for me,” Cokes said. “I just take it as a chip on my shoulder, like, ‘Hey, I don’t care how much older you are in front of me,’ whether it was in high school, freshman year, especially in college. I think it just makes you play even freer.”

Cokes didn’t see regular playing time until his junior year. But once he carved out a role, he quickly became an All-Ivy League player.

The player that Colvin always envisioned — a 6-foot-3, 275-pound game-wrecking defensive tackle — had arrived.

After four years at Dartmouth, Cokes had an Ivy League degree and two years of good tape. He put his name in the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining and called Colvin to let him know he put him down as a reference.

Colvin is certainly glad he did.

“My phone just blew up,” Colvin said with a laugh. “I mean, I’m getting calls from Florida, from Maryland from, I mean, name the college.”

A short while after that, Colvin got another message from Cokes: he was heading to Boulder. Cokes became part of that famous first transfer class signed by Deion Sanders at Colorado — the one that included Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.

In his first spring with the Buffaloes, Cokes was the talk of the team. A year and a half later, and he’s helped lead a resurgent CU defense — one that has gone from a liability to an asset.

“Shane is a staple,” Coach Prime said. “Shane is consistent. Shane is going to watch, probably, the most film of any defensive lineman. Shane is gonna be where he’s supposed to be, do what he’s supposed to do. He kinda corrals all the guys up front and makes sure they’re doing the necessary things they need to do for us to be successful.”

Every time Cokes has slipped on his No. 99 jersey, he’s done so while representing his home state and all of the under-recruited players from it.

“I think the midwest in general, it’s just like the type of person out there — you’re tough, you’re built for it,” Cokes said. “No matter what comes at you, you know what it takes to make that hard work and make it to that next level. Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, wherever — you’ve seen it with Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce, that’s the type of people we produce, that’s the type of grit we have.”

“Whenever anyone asks where I’m from, I always say Dayton, Ohio. I always represent it.”

He’ll be even more proud to do so this week when he faces the team he once dreamed of playing for.

“It’s crazy how life works,” Cokes said.