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Is the CU Buffs O-line better? Coach Prime’s tone is certainly different than it was a year ago – JS
How much better the Colorado Buffaloes’ offensive line is this year won’t be known until the games start in the fall.
However, compare head coach Deion Sanders’ comments from a year ago to now, and there are indications that the line will be dramatically better.
On April 8, 2023, Sanders was asked about the offensive line. After a long pause he said. “The team we are playing now is not the team we are going to play the first game in Texas. … Need I say more?’
On Thursday he was asked who had shown improvement on the line – which is completely new from last year.
“All of them. It’s not just one saying, ‘Hey, I stand out,’” he said. “These guys are a great group and a great family. You rarely see one without the other. You rarely see a guy like that somewhere; you always see three or four together. Tyler Brown is killing it. He’s probably outscoring the guys every day and he’s consistent, I don’t know what can do.
Following up, Sanders was asked if the difference this year is talent or cohesion, and he quickly praised first-year offensive line coach Phil Loadholt.
“Phil is really good. Phil is really good,” Sanders said. “Phil Loadholt is really good at what he does. He’s been there, he’s done that. They respect that, they admire that. They try to embody and emulate that. And his communication skills are impeccable. (Analyst Gunnar White) is also doing a phenomenal job.
“But these are different kids, man. I don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure of meeting them, talking to them. … It’s a different game they’re playing. They really have a why. I’m not saying no one else didn’t; they really have a why and they’re out there trying to fulfill it, man. I like the way they attack practice, and they really hold each other accountable. They don’t play over each other. I am proud of that.”
Throughout the 2023 season, the Buffs were dismal in the trenches. They were last in the country in rushing, and Shedeur Sanders was the most sacked quarterback in the country. Every full-time starter from that group has now disappeared.
Coach Prime and his staff signed the nation’s No. 1 offensive line recruit out of the high school ranks (Jordan Seaton) and brought in five veteran FBS starters up front. They also have Brown, who sat out last season due to what is now an old NCAA rule for second-time transfers.
Sophomore center Hank Zilinskas and senior Kareem Harden are the only linemen who played in 2023 who are back.
Although the real test will not take place until the autumn, the difference can already be felt.
Shedeur and his brother Shilo, a senior safety, had a back-and-forth about the group’s physicality after Shedeur said the line was doing great this spring.
“The O-line tries to fight every day,” Shilo said with a laugh. “But the thing about the offense is you get a one-on-one match and you win it, then they come and pounce on you. They just started the jumping thing this spring.”
Shedeur laughed and replied, “We don’t do that anymore. We really stopped doing that. Now we just focus on football and take it one game at a time, but it’s really just about trusting each other and competing. If a D-lineman touches me at all, they’re definitely taking care of business. Everyone stands up for each other.”
For the time being, the atmosphere around the line is better than a year ago.
