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News Junkie
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
So much to consume!
Hello, everyone! Our relative silence following the hire of Deion Sanders as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes has been for a few reasons. Number one, we are all really busy, which sucks. No one is understanding when I tell than that I have to watch the latest Well Off video instead of doing my job/going to the doctor/putting out that house fire. Upsetting.
Number two, covering the Buffs has become harder than ever since Coach Prime has taken over, paradoxically. Sure, the views and listens come easier (At the Buzzer, available wherever podcasts are found!), but there is a deluge of information that comes out everyday that is better than any insight that we could give. As a result, we need to try to find value elsewhere. This may be recruiting, or in this case, a helpful collection of spring ball info that makes sense.
There is less than a week left before the spring game on April 22. Spring ball has flown by, the transfer portal has opened and we now have a slightly better picture of what this team might look like in September. Below are some of the contours of that updated picture.
Spring Ball
Deion Sanders Jr, Darius Sanders and Uncle Neely together form the YouTube Hydra that covers the program every day. Their channels (Well Off Media, Reach the People Media and Thee Pregame Show) all cover different angles of the same picture - Coach Prime’s program. I would recommend surfing through all of their channels to find what you like. Below I have embedded the two public scrimmages from Deion Sanders Jr’s point of view:
So! Not too much can ever be taken away from spring scrimmages, but we do want to summarize our thoughts below.
- Captain Obvious: Travis Hunter is not a dude, he is THAT DUDE. He is the best athlete since Laviska Shenault, AT THE LEAST. Unbelievable player and athlete.
- Jimmy Horn Jr is and will be a stud.
- Coach Prime values consistent work over effort, much more than I thought (or than I value it, frankly). Charlie Offerdahl is one of his favorite players for a reason.
- I love Cam’ron Silmon-Craig. He is a grinder, hustler and has incredible short-range quickness.
- The memes are partially true - CU is not a big team. They are getting bigger with every transfer, but it’s not like the monsters showed up on the 1st day of the new regime,
- Shedeur Sanders is CU’s best passer in at least 15 years.
It’s a blessing to have THIS MUCH to dissect regarding CU football in the spring, and the aforementioned SOLD OUT spring game will be the best chance yet.
Now we get to the numbers game. Coach Prime stripped all players of their numbers at the beginning of spring, in an old school move of having the players “earn” their number. This, on its face, means almost nothing to me, but it is a useful tool to see who the coaches are liking. Below are the list of players that have earned their number.
Numbers:
5 WR Jimmy Horn Jr - certified dude and a hard worker
12 WR/DB Travis Hunter - duh
29 LB Isaac Hurtado - a bit of a surprise but he is a special teams ace and showed up in the scrimmages
99 DE Shane Cokes - the Dartmouth transfer has emerged as the leader of the front seven. Physical and dependable
25 LB Marvin Ham - A bit of a surprise, but the Tucker recruit has always had the athleticism
43 S Trevor Woods - A favorite of mine that is returning, Woods is part of a suddenly-stacked safety room.
89 TE Louis Passarello - Another shocker here, as Passarello has not played in a much less talented TE room. But the work ethic shows out in practice.
7 S Cam’ron Silmon-Craig - a certified dude from JSU and a secret weapon of Coach Prime’s
More and more players will earn their numbers as spring goes on, and we will do our best to update here.
Transfer Portal
Coach Prime is not shy about using the transfer portal. He is a star and will continue to leverage his star power to make his job easier. As such, it is a foregone conclusion that the Buffs will continue to add players in the second transfer portal window, despite being over the scholarship limit. Below is the current activity in the transfer portal, frequently updated:
Additions:
DE Deeve Harris, ODU - a starter/depth piece on a surprisingly competitive Monarchs team, Harris is a depth piece that has the physicality and athleticism needed to compete right away.
Departures:
CB: Nikko Reed, ? - Reed was a standout of the Dorrell era and will be missed. He has potential as a starting CB elsewhere in the P5 and is a good returner.
TE Austin Smith, ? - Smith has plenty of athleticism at the TE spot and may look to go back home to Texas
DE Kaden Ludwick, ? - the Oregon product has the frame and size to make good on his motor, but didn’t fit the new scheme as well
CB Keyshon Mills, ? - Mills is another young DB that saw early action in his career, but may not fit the new prototype for the DBs
RB Jayle Stacks, ? - Stacks is a fire hydrant with quick feet at RB. Expect him to seek a bigger role at a lower level of football.
by Jack Barsch
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