A few weeks ago, we heard from senior defensive end Mustafa Johnson, who was quick to note the biggest change between now and this time in 2019 with respect to the defensive line.

“I would just say that we’ve got depth. That’s the biggest thing, now that we have guys who were able to come in play and get that experience (in 2019), there’s less worry and less strain of like ‘oh, I have to play every snap’ kind of thing. That’s kind of what ended up happening — I played a lot of snaps early on until I was forced not to play snaps because I got hurt. There’s a lot less worry now that we’ve got guys that have done it and been in there before instead of six freshmen that’d never played before and four upperclassmen."

Johnson didn't sugarcoat things when hinting that the Buffs' lack of experienced players last season meant he had to eat up more snaps, which undoubtedly was taxing on him.

For Lang, he led Colorado's defensive linemen with 588 total snaps played, while leading the entire defense in sacks (6) as well as quarterback pressures (12). While he noted that his game remains polishable, what he as able to do last season as a sophomore gave him some solid confidence heading into this year.

“There’s definitely a lot of areas I want to improve upon but I did gain a lot of confidence (last year)," he said. "It just motivated me and made me work harder during the offseason and now. There’s always stuff I can improve on, but I just can't wait to show what I can do this year.”

“I feel like last season gave me a lot of confidence coming into this season. I definitely look forward to being a dominant player on defense and doing everything I can to help defense be as good as it can be.”

As Johnson alluded to, the way Lang sees it, Colorado now has viable options via the younger players within the defensive line room that are capable of providing the team's upperclassmen with reinforcements when needed.

“I know they’re definitely excited and it’s definitely a relief knowing that they can come in ready to play, which I think they all are," Lang said. “There’s so many that it’s hard to just point out guys but Na’im Rodman, Jeremiah Doss and Jalen Sami — those are guys I’ve seen who have made strides. Everyone is going to ball though — I can’t wait to see what we’re going to do.”

Rodman saw 314 snaps in 2019 as a freshman, while Sami's freshman campaign saw him start 11 of Colorado's 12 games, in which he saw action on 411 snaps.

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Doss got a limited taste of game experience, playing in just over eight snaps per game in the seven that he participated in, but with Janaz Jordan (217 snaps) and Austin Williams (190 snaps) returning as additional depth pieces in addition to Dante Sparaco and Lloyd Murray, on paper Colorado appears to be in a significantly more robust spot on the defensive side of the trenches.

Chris Wilson has thus far facilitated a hard-nosed approach to improving his guys.

"I like Chris Wilson a lot," Lang said. "He has a lot of experience coming from the NFL and he knows what it takes. I look forward to listening to him and what he has to say and using it to get better...I feel like he wants us as a position group to set the tone for the team and basically take over. With him, it’s just all hard work. You’re either going to do the work or you’re not.”

For the majority of the last few months, Lang remained in Boulder and linked up with teammates before Colorado's voluntary workouts began.

"A couple teammates would get together and run," he said. "I was roommates with Na’im Rodman so we did a lot of work together over the whole COVID thing.”

Even though the players ultimately have had limited in-person interactions with Karl Dorrell and the new coaches he brought in, Lang is confident that the player-coach camaraderie is present and increasing.

“I feel like the relationships are coming together well," he said. "Between the staff and the players, we’re all on the same page. Coach Dorrell is fired up and we’re all about working hard and trying to win."