Star cornerback Christian Gonzalez enters the transfer portal

One of Colorado's top talents announced his intentions to transfer late Thursday night, as second-year freshman cornerback Christian Gonzalez, a two-year starter for the Buffs on defense, announced he'd be searching for a new home.

Gonzalez, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive back from The Colony, Texas, was a four-star signee for the Buffs within the Class of 2020.

It didn't take long for him to assert himself once he arrived in Boulder, as Gonzalez earned a starting cornerback position for CU coming out of fall camp in 2020.

The then-true freshman went on to start all six of Colorado's games that year, including the Valero Alamo Bowl, recording 19 tackles in the process.

Gonzalez continued to develop this past fall as a second-year freshman, starting at corner for CU and 54 tackles, including five for loss, to go along with six pass breakups, earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention accolades.

In his announcement Thursday night, Gonzalez stated that: "After long talks and consideration with my family, we have decided that it is best that I move on from the University of Colorado. I will be placing my name in the NCAA Transfer Portal."

Gonzalez's announcement came on the same day that his position coach, Demetrice Martin, was formally introduced as Oregon's new cornerbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

In total, Gonzalez played 781 snaps on defense for the Buffaloes in 2021, a team-high.

While CU got contributions from a number of younger cornerbacks last fall in true freshmen Nikko Reed and Kaylin Moore, the loss of Gonzalez, a player who looked prime to play an even bigger starring role in 2022, is undoubtedly considerable.