Five things to watch for Coach Prime and Colorado's season opener vs. North Dakota State

Tomorrow the Buffs are back.

Although the country can’t seem to keep Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and the Buffs off their mind, it’s been nothing but business in Boulder. After undergoing roster reconstruction again this offseason, Colorado’s coaching staff is confident and excited about what they have ahead of Thursday’s season opener against the North Dakota State Bison.

Coach Prime, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston spoke to the media in the week leading up to the Buffs’ season opener and gave some hints about what we may see on Thursday.

Colorado’s improvement in the trenches

The questions of the offseason. Will the Buffs’ offensive line be able to protect Shedeur Sanders and prove they can run the ball? Can Colorado’s defensive line stop the run and get after the passer?

During spring football and the early days of fall camp, CU’s defensive line impressed and often won the day. Since the reshuffling along the offensive line and Kahlil Benson’s return from injury, Colorado’s offensive line has been going punch for punch with the defensive line.

Colorado’s starting offensive line from left to right is expected to be Jordan Seaton, Justin Mayers, Hank Zilinksas, Kahlil Benson and Tyler Brown against NDSU. When asked about his confidence level in the offensive line after Monday’s practice, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur answered without hesitation.

“Very confident,” said Shurmur. “I think those guys have worked extremely hard together. Fortunately, we haven’t had a lot of injuries. So they’ve had a lot of time on task, the five guys that are going to start, working together. I got a lot of confidence in all these young men.”

Defensive line coaches Damione Lewis and Warren Sapp have already proven to be two of Coach Prime’s best additions of the offseason. The feeling coming out of Colorado practice the last month is that the Buffs’ defensive front will create problems for multiple offenses this fall. Earlier in camp, assistant defensive line coach Warren Sapp raved about the depth he’s seen along the Buffs’ defensive line.

“I tell them we got five ends on a two-lane highway so y’all better fight for those reps because they’re gonna go fast,” said Sapp.

Expect to see plenty of Dayon Hayes, B.J. Green, Chidozie Nwankwo, Shane Cokes, Rayyan Buell, Anquin Barnes, Sam Okunlola and Arden Walker against the Bison.

Shedeur’s control at the line of scrimmage

One of the biggest changes to college football this offseason was the approval of in-helmet communication devices and tablets on the sidelines. Shedeur Sanders is not only one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country, he is one of the smartest and should be one of the greatest beneficiaries of the rule change.

In an appearance on Thee DNVR Pregame Show on August 15th, Colorado offensive quality control analyst Micahel Pollock spoke about the control Shedeur will have at the line of scrimmage this season.

When speaking on the Colorado Coaches Show on Monday, Coach Prime spoke about Shedeur’s mental processing and how the in-helmet communication will work to his advantage.

“If a guy is running tempo and the [in-helmet communication] doesn’t go off until 15 seconds does that mean you can talk to the quarterback all the way until the ball is snapped,” said Coach Prime.

In his college career, Shedeur has been surgical in opening games. In his previous three season openers, Shedeur has completed 85/104 of his passes (81% completion), 1064 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. Expect fireworks from 2 and the CU offense on Thursday.

Running back rotation

Coach Prime has remained adamant since the beginning of camp that Charlie Offerdahl is not only a leader on this team but is setting the standard for the running backs. Offerdahl has worked exclusively with the first-team offense in camp but the competition behind him is starting to gain.

Former Ohio State running back Dallan Hayden and incoming freshman Micah Welch have also received first-team reps and will certainly be featured in some fashion against the Bison. Hayden was also on the Colorado Coaches Show and was asked how explosive the Buffs will be on offense this year.

“Very explosive offense, I feel like we’re going to score a lot of points this year,” said Hayden.

The Buffs are showing signs of a three-headed rushing attack featuring Offerdahl, Hayden and Welch but the depth behind the top three is also promising.

Former Arkansas running back Isaiah Augustave was a late addition to Colorado’s transfer class this summer but has lived up to his four-star high school rating and has been able to rip off chunk yardage during camp. Freshman Brandon Hood has quickly become a fan favorite since his commitment to Coach Prime and the Buffs and was one of the standout players in Colorado’s public practice in Denver two weeks ago.

Depth at linebacker

Trevor Woods was thrown into a starting linebacker position as the Buffs battled injuries and consistency issues at the midway point of last season. Since then, Woods has bulked up from 198 to around 225 pounds and was the standout player in Boulder during the first week of camp. Woods has solidified himself as a leader and starter on Colorado’s defense but the Buffs’ linebacker depth was starting to show in the late days of camp. Coach Livingston spoke about how valuable Woods is to Colorado’s defense after Monday’s practice.

“He goes from safety his whole life to playing linebacker mid-year last year and embraces it,” said Livingston. “This offseason he puts on a bunch of weight and he’s just the kind of guy you want in your program. So excited for Trevor, he’s done it the right way.”

It should still be expected that LaVonta Bentley starts alongside Woods in tomorrow night’s game but former Charlotte linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green and senior linebacker Jeremiah Brown should also see the field against the Bison.

Brown was one of the best players in Colorado’s spring game in April and has settled in at off-ball linebacker after being a pass rush specialist for Coach Prime going back to Jackson State. Hill-Green committed to the Buffs on the day of their spring game and took some time to come along throughout camp but has since solidified himself on CU’s two-deep depth chart ahead of Thursday night.

Former Florida A&M linebacker Johnny “The Chainsaw” Chaney Jr. has also shown promise throughout camp. Chaney Jr. has been relatively quiet compared to others at his position but the 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior will factor into Colorado’s linebacker rotation sooner rather than later.

Which young players step up?

The critics were once again quick to jump on Coach Prime and Colorado’s recruiting strategy as the Buffs signed one of the smallest high school classes in the country with an emphasis on rebuilding through the transfer portal.

At Big 12 Media Day in July, Coach Prime directly addressed the notion that Colorado doesn’t focus on young players.

“To you all that say we only go in the portal, we signed 17 high school players last year and 13 played,” said Coach Prime. “When we sign a kid out of high school, the expectancy is for him to play. All you kids in high school right now, when we sign you, we want you to play. 17 kids, 13 played. We played a total of 20 freshmen last season, including seven walk-ons. So if you’re a freshman and you walk on, you have an opportunity to play.”

Buff Nation should expect the same from Colorado’s 2024 recruiting class. Jordan Seaton will be waving the flag and should garner the most attention out of CU’s 2024 commits but there’s more to come.

2024 four-star recruits Brandon Davis-Swain, Drelon Miller and Kam Mikell have also come along nicely and have shown impact player flashes in their first camp in Boulder. Miller has received reps with Shedeur and CU’s first-team offense. Davis-Swain has routinely shown flashes and has quickly earned the trust of his coaches throughout camp also.

2024 three-star running back Micah Welch has impressed since the minute he stepped onto campus in the winter and could be the Buffs’ running back of the future. He will see at least a handful of carries against the Bison.

Despite the Buffs only adding 12 scholarship freshmen in the 2024 recruiting class, Colorado finished with the highest average recruit rating in the Big 12 with a 91.03 average. The next closest team was Texas Tech with an 89.13 average. Regardless of what outsiders say, there is a youth movement in Boulder.