Pat Rooney: Spring Game II of Prime Era featured as much uncertainty as Spring Game I
Apr. 27—It never was going to be the sort of season sneak-peak offered by spring games of yesteryear. Not with the transfer portal constantly shuffling players in both directions and Buffaloes fans still patiently awaiting all that fancy luggage Deion Sanders promised nearly a year and a half ago.
Still, the Buffs have Shedeur Sanders. At least there always will be that.
It was Colorado's battle-tested quarterback who made Saturday's annual Black and Gold scrimmage a worthwhile affair for those who braved the wet and dreary conditions at Folsom Field, moving the ball with ease during his few possessions while offering a reminder of the state of the Buffs at the outset of Year 2 of the Prime Era.
The Buffs have one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, who alone will keep CU in most games. They have Travis Hunter, clearly a safety net for Shedeur who likely will join his teammate in the first round of next year's NFL draft. If there was a newcomer who turned heads it was receiver LaJohntay Wester, the transfer from Florida Atlantic who capped the opening march of Saturday's exhibition with a touchdown catch.
After that? The Buffs still have a world of question marks on defense and in the trenches on both sides of the ball. And like last year, the weeks and months following the spring game might be more pertinent to whatever success CU enjoys this fall than anything that transpired over the course of 14 spring practices and one soggy scrimmage.
That, of course, isn't meant as any slight to the product on the field on Saturday. Spring games are vanilla exercises even in the best of circumstances, and CU's Black & Gold game was no exception. Yet the hurdle in getting too excited over expectations over the 2024 campaign is that Spring Game II felt very much like Spring Game I under Sanders. It's easy to wonder just how many of the players on display Saturday still will be here when the preseason camp opens. And the idea that Spring Game II under coach Sanders would feature so few running backs that a defensive back (Isaiah Hardge) would have to be temporarily moved to the backfield just to make sure the offense had enough capable bodies seemed implausible amid the hype of a year ago.
Granted, with thousands of players floating around the transfer portal, the roster spots certainly will get filled. That running back depth will be reinforced when a pair of intriguing transfers, Dallan Hayden (Ohio State) and Rashad Amos (Miami Ohio), arrive in Boulder this summer. More certainly are on the way. As it stands, the new-look offensive line should benefit from having the entire spring to work together, yet the jury very much remains out regarding just how improved the Buffs will be up front. If the answer ultimately is anything except "better by leaps and bounds," the 2024 Buffs will face the exact same hurdles as the 2023 Buffs.
The Buffs also received a number of prep commitments on Saturday for the class of 2025, but Buffs fans might be wise to not get excited about any such commitments unless Sanders returns for year three and those players actually arrive on campus. For his part, coach Sanders again reiterated a desire to stay in Boulder long term ("I do not plan on following my kids to the NFL," he said afterward) but until that happens, CU's coach will continue to field those questions.
Of course, the spring game is less about the big picture than what's next, and with Shedeur and Hunter likely heading into their final collegiate seasons, there will be pressure to win now. Can coach Sanders build a winner almost entirely through the transfer portal? It didn't work last year. And it will only work this year if the even newer luggage proves to be a marked improvement over the old new luggage.
