Five Spring Position Battles To Watch For Coach Prime & Colorado

This time next week Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes put the pads back on for spring football, it’s time for the 2024 depth chart to take shape.

This year’s spring football practices will mean much more than 2023’s, while some transfer portal departures should be expected ahead of the spring portal period, Colorado’s roster is in drastically better shape than last spring. However, more roster turnover should be expected. Coach Prime has emphatically said he and the Buffs aren’t yet done regarding the transfer portal despite adding 24 transfers in the first portal window.

Only four committed players aren’t on campus yet (Will Sheppard, B.J. Green, Kam Mikell and Drelon Miller) meaning we should get an accurate glimpse at the latest version of the Buffs this spring. Here are five position battles worth monitoring throughout Colorado’s 2024 spring football practices.

Showdown in the slot

Jimmy Horn Jr. was clutch in games against TCU, Colorado State and Utah but struggled with overall consistency and drops throughout 2023. The speedster started all 12 games for the Buffs last season and put up career highs in receptions (58), yards (567) and touchdowns (6). However, during the final month of the 2023 season, Colorado’s offense began to fall apart and Horn only had eight receptions.

Shedeur relentlessly recruited FAU graduate transfer LaJohntay Wester and eventually, Wester committed to the Buffs. FAU received a commitment from Shedeur in 2020 before Jackson State hired Coach Prime, now the duo will finally team up at Colorado.

At FAU, Wester proved himself to be one of the most dynamic players in the American Conference and earned First Team All-AAC honors as a wide receiver and punt returner. Wester possesses blazing speed, the ability to wiggle himself out of a phonebooth and is as tough as they come at 5-foot-11, 167 pounds. While Horn is the incumbent starter in the slot, Shedeur recruited Wester to Colorado for a reason.

Who will be QB2?

After being thrown into action against Nebraska and Washington State, Ryan Staub was able to approach the season finale at Utah as Colorado’s starting quarterback. Staub executed Pat Shurmur’s game plan, got the ball out quickly and led Colorado’s offense with confidence. Because of that performance, Staub should be the early favorite to remain backup quarterback in 2024 but two SEC transfers will make their case this spring.

Former Vanderbilt quarterback Walter Taylor has the ideal physical traits to play the position but has only thrown 15 career passes. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound sophomore is a handful in the run game and has been working alongside Shedeur’s private quarterback coach, Darrell Colbert.

Like his twin brother, Destin Wade was a four-star recruit out of Tennessee who played for the Kentucky Wildcats the last two seasons. His only career start came against Iowa in the 2022 Music City Bowl as the Hawkeyes shut out the Wildcats.

All three quarterbacks have limited on-field experience but the overall talent level behind Shedeur has increased dramatically. While the hope and goal is we see much less of the backup quarterback in 2024, the battle throughout spring football and into fall camp will be one of the most important storylines to follow this offseason.

The threeway battle at center

Walker has the most experience of the three at center having played in all 12 games for Connecticut in 2023. The former Husky is the more agile player of the three but is also the smallest of the bunch.

After being ruled ineligible for the 2023 season by the NCAA, Tyler Brown is entering this spring to reclaim a starting position on the offensive line. After earning First Team All-SWAC honors at left guard in 2022, Brown has accepted the challenge of changing positions and is widely considered the favorite to start at center.

Hank Zilinskas went under the radar as one of Colorado’s best true freshmen in Coach Prime’s first season. Zilinskas started for the Buffs in their wins over Colorado State and Arizona State proving he was capable of contributing to CU’s offensive line immediately.

With center being the most open offensive position battle this spring, there’s a chance the battle between Yakiri Walker, Tyler Brown and Hank Zilinskas could go into fall camp.

Will Cormani McClain hold off D.J. McKinney?

All eyes are on Cormani McClain this spring to see if he can live up to his five-star potential. The talent and measurables are there for McClain to become a dominant cornerback and future NFL player but Coach Prime has made it clear that McClain must improve in multiple areas off the field.

Coach Prime shared exactly how he felt about D.J. McKinney in a recent Well Off Media video saying he sees first-round potential in the former Oklahoma State cornerback. McKinney possesses the measurements and ability to become an impact player for the Buffs. He played 596 snaps across all 14 games for the Cowboys last season as a redshirt freshman and would have been a likely starter for Oklahoma State in 2024.

Coach Prime has challenged both corners and has set the stage for one of the most important position battles this spring. Quarterbacks are going to be hyperaware of Travis Hunter’s defensive presence in 2024, another lockdown corner opposite of him could elevate Colorado’s defense to be one of the best in the Big 12.

A new right tackle in 2024?

Savion Washington followed Sean Lewis and Bill O’Boyle to Boulder from Kent State and was Colorado’s best offensive lineman when healthy in 2023. Washington was never quite the same player after suffering an ankle injury against USC that forced him to miss two games. Now fully healthy, Washington will have to hold off former Indiana right tackle Kahlil Benson.

Initially beginning his time as a Hoosier at guard, Benson started all 12 games at right tackle for Indiana last season. Benson charted 424 pass-blocking snaps and only allowed one sack in 2023. Since arriving in Boulder, Benson has developed a tight relationship with Shedeur and coined the term “DT2”.

Benson projects to be the early favorite because of his experience but new offensive line coach Phil Loadholt could fully unlock Washington’s potential.