Colorado has been one of the most active programs of the offseason after stealing headlines during a 4-8 debut season for Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes have added 30 transfers and put together a top-10 transfer class with more likely to come.

Two returning players -- cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders -- ranked on CBS Sports' list of the top four returning players in college football. Several of the top prospects in the post-spring transfer portal have chosen the Buffaloes, who expect a major turnaround in 2024.

Still, one glaring complication remains: offensive line.

It's no secret to the program that offensive line production ranked among the most pressing issues facing Sanders' tenure. Colorado ranked near the bottom in almost every offensive line category last season, from sacks allowed to rushing yards. After a game on Oct. 28 against UCLA, a fourth loss in five matchups, Sanders pointed the finger right at his previous line.

"The big picture, you go get new linemen," Deion Sanders said. "That's the picture and I'ma paint it perfectly."

Sanders has stayed true to his word, hitting the portal hard to fill gaps and landing headlining No. 1 tackle recruit Jordan Seaton. Heading into Sanders' second spring game on Saturday, the unit features more questions than answers.

Inconsistent first attempt

When Sanders first got to campus, he bragged of the "Louis Vuitton" players he was bringing to campus, and delivered quickly. The Buffaloes added six offensive line transfers in the Class of 2023. The six players boasted a combined 5,924 career snaps, but results from that initial group were decidedly mixed.

Three of the transfers ultimately won starting jobs: Jack Bailey, Landon Bebee and Savion Washington. Those players had a combined 4,627 career snaps. Of course, those players were also the core of one of the most maligned offensive lines in college football last season. Returner Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan was the poorest-performing lineman of the group, allowing 42 pressures in 827 blocking snaps. However, Washington and Bailey were close behind. Seven different offensive linemen gave up at least 10 pressures.

Ultimately, Colorado ranked as the No. 67 pass blocking and 80 run blocking unit in the country. For comparison, the Buffaloes ranked No. 59 and 102 in those metrics one year earlier. Colorado was credited with 56 sacks allowed, a massive increase from the 23 a year before. Even adjusting for pass attempts, Colorado allowed nearly twice as many sacks per pass attempt compared to a year earlier.

Granted, quarterback Shedeur Sanders didn't make things easier. Despite the struggling line, Sanders ranked top 25 nationally in time to throw, holding onto the ball and often getting his unit into trouble. Only five power conference quarterbacks had a worse sack rate than pressured, bringing into question whether the line alone deserves blame.

Adding another layer of complication was the Buffs improving from 4.0 to 4.3 in sack-adjusted yards per carry in Sanders' first year, a marked improvement despite the poor overall rushing numbers caused by sacks. Still, all four Colorado running backs opted to transfer, including young standout Dylan Edwards, who was repeatedly mentioned and featured by the staff during the spring.

Ultimately, Sanders deemed the first shipment of Louis to be defective. All five of the offensive line transfers who were eligible last season are off the roster in 2024. Colorado also added four junior college transfers in the Class of 2023; three transferred.

Trying again?

Instead of trying to develop the offensive line in any way, Sanders completely cleared the deck in 2024. Three returning starters -- Van Wells, Washington and Christian-Lichtenhan -- all entered the transfer portal. Additionally, offensive line coach Bill O'Boyle was not retained, one of five coaching changes along the 10-member staff. The new hire, Phil Loadholt, is a first-time offensive line coach.

Without question, Colorado is getting an infusion of talent along the offensive line in the Class of 2024. Five-star offensive lineman Jordan Seaton and Texas transfer Payton Kirkland give the Buffaloes more high-end talent than last season, though neither comes with a single collegiate snap. The 2024 group does come with 6,273 career snaps overall, a slight 6% increase over last season. In Kahlil Benson (Indiana) and Tyler Johnson (Houston), the group also boasts transfers with a combined 29 starts at the power conference level. Colorado also gets another gift in 2023 transfer Tyler Brown, who followed Sanders from Jackson State, but had to sit out the year due to eligibility issues.

But while the talent improves, there's still simply no precedent for building a ready-made offensive line on the fly.

Sanders and Colorado are no strangers to breaking the rules of convention. The creativity and ingenuity made them one of the most-watched college football teams of 2023, with five of the top 15 most viewed games of the regular season despite a 4-8 record. Still, wiping the deck on the offensive line twice certainly flies in the face of conventional logic.

Why transfer overhauls at OL don't work

Out of nine offensive linemen picked in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, only one transferred at any point. That player, Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton, still spent two years with the Sooners before prepping for the draft. The rest were homegrown high school recruits.


Last season, four teams were named finalists for the Joe Moore Award, given to the best offensive line in football: Georgia, OregonLSU and eventual winner Washington. Among those four teams, three of the four returned at least three starters. Out of the 20 starters between the four, 19 were on the roster during the previous season. Only two players ever transferred.

Terrifyingly, Colorado only has two total linemen on the entire roster who it recruited from high school – Seaton and sophomore Hank Zilinskas. Every other player came via transfer. Perhaps just as eye-popping, Colorado lists only 11 total offensive linemen on its spring roster. For comparison, Georgia boasts 19. More could be on the way, but any addition would not get the benefit of working in spring camp.

In many ways, offensive lines tell the story of a program. Consistently attracting high-level recruits out of high school proves attraction. Turning them into a winning unit, teaching them to communicate and sending them to the next level shows developmental track record. Hitting on a great quarterback or receiver can cover some holes, but historically there's no cheating the process along the offensive line.

"Non-verbal communication is so important on the offensive line, so obviously the longer they work together, the better," says 247Sports contributor Blake Brockermeyer, a former first-round NFL Draft selection at offensive tackle. "At least there's still a lot of time between Saturday's spring game, summer skills and drills and then fall camp to build that trust and camaraderie. This group will need to gel."

Colorado enters the second-biggest spring game in program history on Saturday with five brand new starters on the offensive line. Maybe the clean slate could prove to be a positive. If history is any guide, the answer will be more complicated than that.