There's been much attention of late on how the transfer portal has hurt Colorado, with defensive backs Mark Perry and Christian Gonzalez plus wide receiver Brenden Rice all announcing their intentions to transfer with about a week of each other, leading into New Year's Day.
However, in the last 48 hours, the Buffs have issued a number of offers to transfer portal targets themselves. Below is a look at those targets.
1. Ky Jordan, former Minnesota tailback:
Former Minnesota tailback Ky Thomas. New Colorado offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, who was hired by Karl Dorrell after serving two years in the same capacity at Minnesota, issued the offer, so here we have our first example of him hitting the recruiting trail.
Thomas had a solid true freshman campaign with the Gophers, stepping up when starter Mohamed Ibrahim suffered a season-ending injury against Ohio State in the 2021 season-opener.
He went on to rush for 824 yards, scoring six touchdowns with a healthy 5.0 yards per carry average.
Colorado fans might not have particularly fond memories of him; when the Gophers visited Boulder on Sept. 18 of last year, in what turned into a 30-0 beatdown of the Buffs, Thomas rushed for 66 yards on seven carries.
2. Gabe Jeudy, former Vanderbilt defensive back:
Vanderbilt transfer defensive back Gabe Jeudy also got offered today, this time by Chandler Dorrell.
The former three-star recruit signed with the Commodores' 2019 class, playing in four games as a true freshman.
He enjoyed a breakout campaign with Vanderbilt this past season, recording 50 tackles (fifth on the team) and starting all 12 games in the secondary.
3. Mac Hollensteiner, former Georgetown offensive tackle:
Georgetown graduate transfer Mac Hollensteiner also was on the receiving end of an offer from the Buffaloes Monday.
While the potential Noah Fenske, who joined the Buffs from Iowa ahead of this past year's spring ball, remains to be seen, CU's other transfer portal OL, Max Wray, had trouble staying healthy in 2021 and ultimately proved to be a bust as far as helping the team up front was concerned.
Hollensteiner is 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds; wound have two years of eligibility remaining.
4. Former Auburn defensive tackle Dre Butler:
Dre Butler would be best described as a reservist among Auburn's defensive line.
The 6-foot-5, 298-pound tackle joined Auburn following two years at Independence Community College and went on to record 20 tackles in 13 games played over the past two seasons with the Tigers.
Colorado appears to be the only P5 institution to offer him since he hit the portal on Jan. 3; Marshall, Eastern/Western Kentucky, Liberty and Florida Atlantic are among the other programs that have done so, too.
