Colorado football rebuilds offensive line, lands 4-star WR in same weekend; What's next?
No FBS quarterback was sacked more than Colorado's Shedeur Sanders (52) in 2023.
Despite setting the Buffaloes' single-season passing yards record (3,230) and throwing 27 touchdowns to just three interceptions, Sanders was sacked at least three times in every game. For reference, QB Michael Penix Jr., of the Pac-12-champion Washington Huskies was sacked 10 times all season, and wasn't sacked three times in a single game.
The physical beating cut Sanders' impressive campaign short as he was forced to miss Colorado's final game and a half of the season with a fractured back.
After an Oct. 28 loss to UCLA where Sanders was sacked a season-high seven times, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders made the plan to improve protection for his quarterback and son very clear.
"The big picture, you go get new linemen," coach Sanders said after the UCLA loss. "That's the picture and I'ma paint it perfectly."
The "big picture" has already taken shape just a week after the NCAA fall transfer window opened (Dec. 4). The Buffaloes have rebuilt their offensive line through the portal and the plan known on social media as "#OperationProtect2" (in reference to Shedeur's jersey number) is in full effect.
Colorado loses two starting OL to transfer portal
Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan, the tallest player in CU history at 6-foot-10, won't be returning to Boulder next season after playing in all 12 games for the Buffs in 2023. Nicknamed "Tank," the 315-pound junior started 11 games at left tackle and led the entire Colorado offense in total snaps played (827).
Colorado's Van Wells entered the transfer portal a day after Christian-Lichtenhan. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound Wells started 10 games at center for the Buffaloes last season and is now headed to Oregon State.
With right guard Landon Bebee graduating, only two offensive linemen who started at least six games in 2023 remain on the Buffs' roster: right tackle Savion Washington (junior) and left guard Jack Bailey (senior).
Usually when a FBS program has this much turnover on its offensive line from one year to the next, it's problematic. But in Colorado's case, it's necessary.
Buffs rebuild OL through transfer portal
Former Colorado QB Kordell Stewart was one of the many friends of coach Sanders who was at the CU Events Center on Dec. 6 as "Coach Prime" accepted the 2023 Sportsperson of the Year award.
As "Slash" walked through a series of interview sessions on a "gold carpet" backstage, he offered his two cents on the Buffs' offseason needs.
"We'll get that stuff on the inside that 'Coach Prime' has spoken about as of lately, up front on both sides of the ball, because that's my mindset, that's what I come from, here in Colorado and Pittsburgh; we work from the inside-out," Stewart said. "Look at the top four teams in the playoff, tell me one team that doesn't have the front end shored up on the offensive and defensive side of the ball."
Looking back, Stewart foreshadowed the kind of recruiting weekend coach Sanders and the Buffaloes would have.
It started the next day (Dec. 7) when Jordan Seaton, the nation's No. 1 offensive tackle, announced his commitment to Colorado, choosing the Buffaloes over Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio State and others. The 6-foot-5, 287-pound, five-star OL is the rare type of talent who can start right away on Colorado's offensive line as a true freshman.
When asked about Shedeur being the most-sacked QB in FBS on FS1's Undisputed, Seaton didn't mince words.
"That'll never happen again," Seaton said.
The offensive line rebuild didn't end there.
On Friday, Dec. 9, four experienced FBS starters committed to Colorado via the transfer portal: UConn center Yakiri Walker (6-foot-2, 270 pounds), Houston guard Tyler Johnson (6-foot-5, 320 pounds), UTEP guard Justin Mayers (6-foot-3, 309 pounds) and Indiana tackle Kahlil Benson (6-foot-6, 310 pounds).
The four linemen have a combined 76 career starts at the FBS level and have given up a combined eight sacks on 2,962 pass-blocking snaps over the last two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus.
Walker started all 12 games (nearly 800 offensive snaps) for the Huskies in 2023 and has experience at both center and left tackle. Johnson was a two-year starter (2022-23) at guard for Houston and spent the first three seasons (2019-21) of his college career at Texas. Mayers started all 12 games at left guard for the Miners in 2023 and was All-Conference USA honorable mention the past two seasons. Benson started all 12 games (774 offensive snaps) in 2023 for Indiana and allowed just one sack, according to PFF.
Colorado lands 4-star HS WR, pair of transfer playmakers
Less than 24 hours after losing a pledge from four-star HS athlete Aaron Butler, who had been committed to the Buffaloes since May, four-star wide receiver Dre'lon Miller announced his commitment to Colorado.
Miller, a former Texas A&M commit, is a top-15 WR in the Class of 2024, according to 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. He's the Buffs' 10th commit in the Class of 2024, which gives the group an average player rating of 91.08. That leads the new Big 12.
Also on Sunday, Colorado improved its tight ends room by picking up a commitment from Cincinnati transfer Chamon Metayer. The 6-foot-5, 248-pound TE caught 23 passes for 258 yards and five touchdowns for the Bearcats in 2023.
North Carolina State transfer wide receiver Terrell Timmons Jr, the cousin of Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen, also committed to Colorado over the weekend. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound transfer averaged 17.7 yards per catch (195 receiving yards on 11 receptions) as a sophomore in 2023.
While Deion Sanders gets much of the attention and credit for a program-altering recruiting weekend, don't sleep on the impact of Corey Phillips, Colorado's director of player personnel. Coach Sanders hired Phillips in December 2022 after just one season at LSU as the Tigers' associate director of player personnel.
In that one year, Phillips helped LSU put together a 2023 recruiting class that ranked sixth nationally.
"The coaching staff that he (coach Sanders) has assembled here, with coach Phillips finding the kids and knowing how he is coming from Louisiana, I think the whole, entire community, the pool of guys who are here, they're all about trying to win," Stewart said. "They're doing it all costs. They're not being apologetic about it.
"A lot of guys before were extremely apologetic. It felt like they had to fit in to how Boulder was and they didn't want to hurt people's feelings. 'Coach Prime' doesn't care. He's about one thing and one thing only: winning. Whatever it takes to get it done, he's going to do it."
Colorado's offensive line has been addressed; What's next?
The Buffaloes have yet to land a transfer on the defensive side of the ball as of Monday, Dec. 11, but expect that to change sooner rather than later.
"Wow, what a week but guess what, we're gonna drop a few more DOGGS on ya offensively & then this weekend, the Defense gets all the FOCUS," coach Sanders posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It's safe to assume, based on comments from both Stewart and coach Sanders, that Colorado's next wave of transfer portal targets will play along the defensive line.
The Buffaloes allowed 176.4 rushing yards per game in 2023 (only USC allowed more in the Pac-12) and one of their leaders in sacks from last season, Jordan Domineck, has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft. Shane Cokes is Colorado's only returning defensive lineman who started at least six games for the Buffs in 2023.
If the early fall transfer period is any indication, "Coach Prime" and his staff should have no problem rebuilding the defensive front.
Update: Matthew Bedford flipped his commitment from Colorado to Oregon on Dec. 18
Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado football rebuilt its offensive line over the weekend
