Since Dec. 4 when Deion Sanders was hired as head coach, he has continually made clear the impending roster overhaul that Colorado’s program would experience.
“The team we are playing with now is not the team we’ll be playing with in Texas for that first game,” Sanders said.
Fast forward about three weeks from CU’s spring game and that statement continues to bear out as 43 scholarship players have left since that afternoon at a packed Folsom Field, while Sanders and his staff have added 23 transfers in that same time.
Since December, a total of 53 scholarship players have left CU’s program (not counting DE Chance Main, who entered the transfer portal only to formally announce his return last week) and 76 of the maximum 85 scholarships are filled, including only 12 holdovers from last season along with 47 transfer/JUCO additions and 17 freshmen.
Which means this is a good time to take stock and reassess the Buffs' roster -- starting with the offense.
Colorado lost quality players such as WR Montana Lemonious-Craig, RB Deion Smith and WR Jordyn Tyson, who recently committed to Arizona State. In total during the spring window, 18 offensive players left and 7 were added.
As the offensive roster stands today, the Buffs are still missing some depth in multiple position groups that show the work isn't done yet for Sanders and his staff.
Here’s a look at each unit and how it stacks up at this point ...
Quarterback
Transfer departures since spring:
Sophomore Drew Carter
Transfer additions since spring: N/A
Already accounted for:
Freshman Ryan Staub
Junior Shedeur Sanders (from Jackson State)
Summer Arrivals:
Three-star Kasen Weisman
Projecting the unit:
Most of the quarterback unit was already out the door before spring as Owen McCown (UTSA), J.T. Shrout (Arkansas State) and Maddox Kopp (Miami-Ohio) left in December.
As last season showed clearly, an offense is only as good as its quarterback. With Shedeur Sanders commanding that ship now, the Buffs’ offense looks to be set for success. He has the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12, if not in the country. Just look at what he did at Jackson State last season: 3,732 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, 6 interceptions.
A bright future lies ahead if Sanders stays healthy, but that's no guarantee, of course. Last season was a prime example as Shrout and McCown both went down with injuries, contributing to the Buffs' QB turnstile.
If Sanders were to miss any time, offensive coordinator Sean Lewis would have true freshmen Ryan Staub and Kasen Weisman to choose from, which is less than ideal given their youth and inexperience within the system.
Staub did produce some bright moments against the Buffs’ first-team defense in the spring game with a handful of short, safe completions and a touchdown pass to Chernet Estes during 7-on-7 work with Travis Hunter in coverage. However, a few fine plays in a spring game remains an inconclusive sample size.
As of now, Staub would be the backup, but putting a freshman in a game scenario comes with growing pains.
The backup position is still up for grabs and it’ll be Staub versus Weisman until the staff lands a transfer QB that is willing to take the passenger seat for a season.
Biggest question:
Who is going to be the backup?
Position strength index (1-10 scale): 7
Sanders is the stabilizing factor of this group, but for the unit as a whole, the depth is really lacking.
