The transfer portal has helped countless college football players’ dreams come true, and Zach Atkins is one of them.

After three seasons at Division II Northwest Missouri State, the former unranked recruit bet on himself and entered the portal. That gamble paid off and Atkins quickly became one of the most sought after transfer tight ends, with offers from the likes of Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss and others.

“It’s always been my dream to play Division I football and I felt like I was ready,” Zach Atkins told DNVR. “Just to have all the schools offer me was a huge blessing because it is a bet on yourself when you hit the portal and it definitely paid off.

“It was really special just to have all those coaches believe in me, see my tape and what I could become.”

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end possesses the kind of skillset that was missing from the Colorado football team in 2024.

Atkins caught 30 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns over the last two seasons, flashing his ability to make an impact as a pass catcher and blocker. The former high school wide receiver can line up on the perimeter and run routes just as well as he can play with his hand in the ground and move defenders off the point of attack.

“I’m a true weapon,” Zach Atkins told DNVR. “I’m a versatile tight end who can do it all. I can flex in, I can flex out and I play with a lot of passion. I like to fly around, make plays and do whatever I can to help the team win.”

“I take a lot of pride in my routes and how I get out of my breaks. I also developed and improved a lot in the run game over the last couple of years.”

Illinois, North Carolina and South Carolina were among the other schools in pursuit of Atkins when he entered the transfer portal, but none of them could provide the opportunity that Colorado does.

With quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter headed to the NFL, the Buffs will look much different in 2025. Zach Atkins’ recent visit to Colorado — which he said “felt like home” — helped him realize that he was a perfect fit for the Buffs’ new identity.

It’s why he committed to Colorado on Tuesday.

“Just how they can coach me and develop me into an NFL-caliber tight end, because that’s my goal, Colorado has the best opportunity for me to do that so that’s one of the main factors why I chose them in addition to the opportunity in the tight end room,” Zach Atkins told DNVR. “The opportunity to be a true tight end for them. Obviously, they’re losing Travis (Hunter) and some playmakers and they’re going to have to be a more balanced team.

“They’re going to have to run the ball more and use more 11 personnel (one tight end with three receivers). I just felt like it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

Tight ends were seldom used by the Buffs in 2024 (nine catches for 65 yards) and it hindered their ability to consistently establish a run game. It made sense for Colorado to live in 10 personnel (zero tight ends, four receivers) because of its talented receiver room, but with the Buffs’ top four pass catchers from 2024 heading to the NFL, the tight end position must become a focal point next season.

A good tight end — who is a reliable target with sure hands and a large catch radius — is often seen as a quarterback’s best friend. That’s exactly what Zach Atkins can be for whoever is under center for Colorado in 2025.

It could very well be Liberty transfer QB Kaidon Salter, who committed to the Buffs on Wednesday after accounting for 7,900 total yards of offense (5,887 passing, 2,013 rushing) over the last four seasons.

“The dude’s a dangerous quarterback,” Zach Atkins said of Kaidon Salter. “He can beat you with his legs and he can beat you with his arm. He’s just a really talented player and I can’t wait to play with him and have that caliber of QB play with me.”

Atkins says he’s already talked to both Salter and Julian Lewis, who is the future of the Colorado football program.

The 17-year-old, five-star QB just wrapped up his high school football career in three years after electing to forgo his senior season and reclassifying. Lewis completed 66.4% of his passes (186-of-280) for 3,094 yards and 48 touchdowns to just two interceptions in 2023 as he earned MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year honors.

Atkins looks forward to doing whatever he can to help Lewis acclimate to the college level.

“I’m coming to CU also to be a leader in that locker room,” Zach Atkins told DNVR. “I’m an older guy who’s played three years of college football. I know how things work so I want to be a leader and teach him things that I’ve learned, but I’m sure he’ll pick things up fast. The dude is different.

“If those dudes make a mistake, I guarantee you that they’re probably not going to make the same mistake again. He’s just one of those dudes who have the ‘it’ factor and I just can’t wait to play with him or Kaidon. They both have it.”

No matter who is at quarterback for the Buffs in 2025, the college football world will be watching and a lot of viewers will be praying on Colorado’s downfall.

That’s music to Zach Atkins’ ears.

“They’re the most hated team in college football and I love that; I want to be a part of that,” Zach Atkins told DNVR. “I feed off of that and I know people in that locker room feed off of that.

“That’s a privilege. We’re going to compete for a Big 12 Championship and that’s the goal, to win that thing. There’s definitely going to be hate.”

Colorado is one of the most watched teams in college football and Deion Sanders is a major reason why. The semifinalist for the George Munger Award (honoring college football’s coach of the year) is also a major reason why Atkins chose the Buffs over a handful of other Power 4 offers.

“It’s a dream come true,” Zach Atkins said of playing for Deion Sanders. “He’s the best defensive back of all time and one of the best athletes of all time in general. But the way he coaches, he’s so passionate and just cares about every dude as their own person. He wants everyone to just be themselves and not try to be someone that they’re not.

“I want to play for a coach like that, a coach that’s going to ride or die for his guys no matter what. That’s my type of coach.”

Sanders will send at least two of his players to the NFL in April and Zach Atkins wants to be next. The versatile TE certainly has the physical tools to play in the pros.

An opportunity in the spotlight might be all he needs to hear his name called on draft day.

“My goal has always been the NFL and I want to prove that I’m good enough to play at that level,” Zach Atkins told DNVR. “I have a lot of people to prove wrong already and that drives me, to be honest.

“I just can’t wait to get there and get to work.”

Follow Colorado Buffaloes beat reporter Scott Procter on X.