The special teams and offensive team stand together at the end of the 2023 Black and Gold Spring Football Game. April 22, 2023. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Boulder football team had an up-and-down season last year. They found themselves at the height of national media attention, and shortly thereafter a sharp fall from fame following multiple straight losses. CU Boulder started 2023 undefeated at 3-0 with wins over rivals the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Colorado State University but ended on a 1-7 run to finish the year 4-8 and last in the Pac-12.
Now moving to the Big-12 Conference and in the second year of Head Coach Deion Sanders and the ‘Coach Prime’ era, the team looks ahead to 2024. Preparation for next year has already begun, but will be showcased for the first time in the school’s annual Black and Gold Spring Game. Last year’s game broke attendance records and saw more than 50,000 people show up in the snow to watch. This year, more than 24,000 tickets have already been purchased and more are expected before the 1 p.m MST kickoff.
Roster breakdown
It’s no secret in this Coach Prime era that Colorado relies heavily on the transfer portal to add to the roster. The portal is a dangerous game as it gives, but also takes as seen this week with Colorado adding Ohio State University transfer running back Dallan Hayden, a sophomore, just days before CU Boulder freshman phenom running back Dylan Edwards entered the portal himself. The Buffaloes’ offense will look a lot different compared to last year, as the only returning starters include quarterback Shedeur Sanders, wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. and fan favorite Travis Hunter. As of today, Colorado will likely have a completely new offensive line in front of Sanders as four new starters have transferred in and five-star and number-one overall recruit Jordan Seaton is slated to play left tackle for the Buffaloes.
Wideouts
Colorado may have a top-five wide receiver room in the country as they loaded up this off-season. They added four-star Vanderbilt University transfer Will Sheppard, three-star Florida Atlantic University transfer LaJohntay Wester, three-star North Carolina State University transfer Terrell Timmons Jr., and four-star recruit Drelon Miller who recieved 44 offers. These additions to go along with Hunter, Horn Jr, Kaleb Mathis and Omarion Miller will give the Buffs a very deep room that should see plenty of action this fall as Colorado will look to utilize these unique wideouts with Shedeur Sanders at the helm.
Running backs
Last season, the Buffaloes had one of the worst rushing attacks in the country due to a variety of things, but poor offensive line play was a major factor. In 2024, coach Sanders said he wants Colorado to run the ball not only more, but efficiently as well. CU has lost a lot of running back talent, as presumed starters Alton McCaskill and Dylan Edwards both entered the transfer portal recently. However, the Buffs wasted no time looking to replace them as they brought in Hayden from Ohio State, who showed promise but was bumped down the depth chart in Columbus, Ohio and decided to come to Boulder. The Buffaloes also have three-star recruit Micah Welch in the fold at running back, who has shown out at spring practices. There have also been rumors that Colorado is the projected landing spot of Rashad Amos, the former Miami, Ohio running back who rushed for over 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023. Amos committed to Mississippi State University earlier in April but recently uncommitted and will be in Boulder this weekend hoping to join the Buffaloes.
Defense
Colorado added some new pieces in the off-season, but a majority of starters returned, which is huge for the team. They returned Shane Cokes, LaVonta Bentley, Trevor Woods, Arden Walker, Omarion Cooper, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, Shilo Sanders, Travis Hunter, Carter Stoutmire and Travis Jay. These names all played major roles for the defense in 2023 and another year together should make this unit even better in 2024. They added some big names in four-star Louisiana State University edge transfer Quency Wiggins, three-star nose tackle University of Houston transfer Chidozie Nwankwo, four-star EDGE Pitt transfer Samuel Okunlola and four-star corner and Liberty University transfer Preston Hodge. These four will likely start for the Buffs in 2024 and should be massive impact players for Colorado moving forward. Linebackers Keaten Wade and Jaylen Wester also were brought in and could play some big minutes for Colorado.
In the game on Saturday, look to see how the new and improved offensive line holds up against a legitimate pass rush. This will be the first game Seaton, an offensive tackle and No. 13 overall prospect in the country, will play at the collegiate level, which will be a good test for him. The defense will look to stop the run and limit quarterback Shedeur Sander’s ability to make plays on the run.
The game will be held at Folsom Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Griffin Dreifaldt at griffin.dreifaldt@colorado.edu
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Eli Gregorski at eli.gregorski@colorado.edu
