Colorado football‘s fall camp is underway, which means the 2024 season is rapidly approaching.
With less than a month before the Buffaloes’ season opener vs. North Dakota State (Thursday, Aug. 29), Deion Sanders’ team is one of many across college football still trying to solidify starters at a few key positions.
The addition of transfers on both sides of the ball has upped the competition level of a team transitioning from the Pac-12 to the Big 12. Fall camp is the time for coaches to evaluate the talent on their roster, and for players to separate themselves from the pack of their position group.
There’s no Colorado quarterback controversy or uncertainty about who will star in the Buffs’ secondary, but there are a handful of questions that will be answered before Week 1.
Here are five position battles to watch during the Buffs’ 2024 fall camp:
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Center
The Colorado offensive line will be among the most closely-watched position groups in all of college football. True freshman Jordan Seaton is slated to start at left tackle with Indiana transfer Kahlil Benson expected to play opposite of him at right tackle. Transfers Justin Mayers (UTEP) and Tyler Johnson (Houston) as well as Tyler Brown (ruled ineligible to play during the 2023 season due to the two-transfer rule) figure to make up the rotation at guard, but how will the center position shake out?
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Sophomore Hank Zilinskas is the leader in that regard after a strong spring ball. “I think if we had to play a game tomorrow, he’d probably be the guy in there,” Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said of Zilinskas on April 25. UConn transfer Yakiri Walker (junior) will certainly have a say in that battle after playing in all 12 games for the Huskies last season, playing a total of 797 snaps. Although both guys are likely to see action this season, it would certainly benefit quarterback Shedeur Sanders to have one of them become the undisputed starter.
Tight end
The tight end position won’t be a focal point of the Buffs’ offense in 2024 due to the plethora of talent at wide receiver. It doesn’t mean that Shurmur won’t utilize them. Tight end Michael Harrison (now at San Diego State) was one of Shedeur Sanders’ most trusted targets a year ago (31 catches, 284 yards, five touchdowns). The Buffs likely don’t have a tight end on the roster with the receiving skills that Harrison possesses, but that position will certainly play a pivotal role in both the pass and run game.
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Ohio State transfer Sam Hart has the best opportunity to prove he belongs on the field alongside Sanders and company. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound TE played in five games for the Buckeyes in 2022, including the College Football Playoff loss vs. Georgia. Brady Kopetz will push Hart for playing time after appearing in five games for the Buffs last season and so will UNLV transfer Charlie Williams. If Hart or someone else doesn’t show the ability to be impactful as both a pass catcher and blocker, it could make Colorado a predictable offense for the second consecutive year due to limited personnel groupings.
Running back
Colorado’s running back situation will be fascinating to watch this preseason after having the Pac-12’s worst rushing attack in 2023. The Buffaloes lost each of their four leading rushers from last year (Dylan Edwards, Anthony Hankerson, Sy’veon Wilkerson, Alton McCaskill) to the transfer portal. Former walk-on-turned-scholarship-player Charlie Offerdahl is “the starter at this point,” according to Deion Sanders, but Colorado running backs coach Gary Harrell said this week that “we’re going to need two guys.”
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Dallan Hayden is a prime candidate to be one of those top two guys. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound Ohio State transfer spent the last two years (13 games played) with the Buckeyes, totaling 663 rushing yards and six touchdowns in a backup role. There’s also Arkansas transfer Isaiah Augustave who began to break out down the stretch of his true freshman campaign with the Razorbacks. True freshman Micah Welch can’t be overlooked, either. No matter who ends up being the top dog (or top two), the running game must improve for Colorado to compete in the Big 12.
Defensive line
The Big 12 is full of talented quarterbacks and explosive ball carriers. That puts the onus on Colorado’s defensive line to create pressure on opposing signal callers and be disruptive in the run game. The Buffs didn’t do much of that last season, but 2024 must be different, and it should be thanks to talented additions up front via the transfer portal.
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Chidozie Nwankwo will be critical to those run-stopping efforts after racking up 94 tackles (13 tackles for a loss) and five sacks across 40 games (33 starts) at Houston. Arizona State transfer B.J. Green has the most career QB pressures (107) among active Power Five college football players, according to Pro Football Focus. Dayon Hayes and his former Pitt teammate Samuel Okunlola combined for nine sacks…
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