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CU 2025 Roster: First Look – Defense and Special Teams
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The Buffs will kickoff the 2025 season on August 30th at home against Georgia Tech. Over the course of the seven months, there will a good deal of turnover in the CU roster.
But perhaps not as much as you might think.
In the spring of 2023, there was the now famous (infamous?) overhaul of the roster, with almost two-thirds of the players who wore the black-and-gold in Coach Prime’s first season joining the team after spring practices were concluded.
Last April, there were a good number of additions (and subtractions) to the roster after spring practices, including the inclusion of linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, running backs Dallan Hayden and Isaiah Augustave, and cornerback Colton Hood.
This spring, while the Buffs will likely bring in a few key starters for the upcoming campaign, the roster turnover may be significantly less drastic than the first two seasons of the Coach Prime era.
There are currently 75 scholarship players on the CU roster. The 85-man limit is gone, so, in theory, Coach Prime and his staff could bring in another 30 scholarship transfers in April, but that is unlikely to happen. Most teams, while losing their walk-ons (CU had about 20 on the roster last fall) may not, in the era of paying players, be quick to supplement their lineups just because they can.
As a result, while there will certainly be players who will move on from Boulder this spring, be it in search of more playing time or more cash (or both), and while there will be additions to the roster from the Transfer Portal, the majority of players who will be on the field this fall for CU are already on campus.
So … What have we got to work with?
Previously posted: First Look at CU’s offense …
Note … Class designations should be considered as being in “air quotes”. While the COVID classes are finally dissipating, calling a player a “sophomore” or a “senior” still is more about years of eligibility remaining, not their actual class status …
Defensive Tackles …
- Seniors … Amari McNeill … Anquin Barnes … Tavian Coleman (TR) … Taurean Carter … Tawfiq Thomas
- Juniors … Jaheim Oatis (TR) … Gavriel Lightfoot (TR)
- Sophomores …
- Redshirt freshmen …
- True freshmen … Alexander McPherson … Christian Hudson
Edge …
- Seniors … Arden Walker … Keaton Wade
- Juniors … Samuel Okunlola … Quency Wiggins
- Sophomores … Taje McCoy
- Redshirt freshmen … Brandon Davis-Swain
- True freshmen … London Merritt
Comment … Towards the end of the 2024 season, hall of famer and Senior Quality Control for Defense Warren Sapp may have put it best: “We got five ends on a two-lane highway, so the depth of talent is pushing everyone.”
For a change, this was not hyperbole. CU finished the season ranked 11th in the nation in sacks, with 39. And to make it even better for the Buff Nation, it wasn’t just one or two players leading the charge. A total of 14 different players recorded
a sack and nine had two-plus sacks, the most at CU since 1983 and the highest total nationally. Six different Buffs had at least three sacks.
Gone are BJ Green, Shane Cokes, and Chidozie Nwankwo, but plenty of talent returns. Amari McNeil started the final four games of last season, and may be in line for a breakout campaign. Keaton Wade missed five of the first six games last fall, but had an impressive second half. Samuel Okunlola didn’t start until the Baylor game, but was a starter thereafter.
Taje McCoy … Quency Wiggins … Taurean Carter … Tawfiq Thomas … all had their moments contributing to what has become one of the deepest and most talented units on the team.
And that’s before we start talking about the transfers and the freshmen.
Jehiem Oatis may prove to be one of the best pickups of the off-season. Oatis, a 6’5″, 320-pound transfer from Alabama, was rated by 247 Sports as the No. 1 defensive line transfer prospect in the nation. Tavian Coleman racked up seven sacks and 18 tackles for loss in his time at Utah State and Texas State. London Merritt, the four-star IMG star who could become a fan favorite early in his career, signed with CU after decommitting from Ohio State.
This may not prove to be the best defensive line in CU history … but the potential is there.
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Linebacker …
- Seniors … Martavius French (TR) … Jeremiah Brown … Jaylen Wester
- Juniors … Reginald Hughes (TR)
- Sophomores … Kylan Salter (TR)
- Redshirt freshmen … Kyeran Garcia
- True freshmen … Mantrez Walker
Comment … As enthusiastic as the Buff Nation has reason to relish the defensive line depth chart this spring, the depth chart at linebacker continues to give cause for pause.
Last fall, the law firm of Bentley and Hill-Green had all but one of the starts at CU’s two linebacker positions (Trevor Woods started the opener at one inside linebacker spot, with Hill-Green taking over the rest of the season).
Part of the reason LaVonta Bentley and Nikhai Hill-Green saw so much playing time was that they were so good. Hill-Green was second on the team in tackles, with 82 (53 unassisted) with a team-leading 11.5 tackles for loss, while Bentley was fourth on the team in tackles, with 49 tackles (32 unassisted).
The other reason Bentley and Hill-Green saw so much playing time … there wasn’t much depth behind them. Jeremiah Brown and Jaylen Wester return, but they had all of 18 tackles last season combined.
Martavius French (from UTSA), Reginald Hughes (Jacksonville State), and Kylan Salter (TCU) have signed on, but none are guaranteed to fill the void of CU’s star linebackers from 2024.
While there may not be a large number of quality linebackers in the Portal this April, you can bet CU will be shopping …
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Cornerback …
- Seniors … Preston Hodge … Ivan Yates
- Juniors … DJ McKinney
- Sophomores … Colton Hood … Isaiah Hardge
- Redshirt freshmen … Malakai Murphy … Ben Bouzi
- True freshmen …
Comment … How do you replace Travis Hunter at corner?
Simply put, you can’t. Hunter was and is a unicorn, and will begin proving his dual-threat talent to the NFL this fall.
But that doesn’t mean that the Buffs are hurting at the cornerback/nickel back position.
DJ McKinney was the starter last season at the other cornerback position, which meant that he was picked on by opposing defensive coordinators as the alterative to throwing Travis Hunter’s way. McKinney more than held up his end of the bargain. While finishing third on the team in tackles (with 60) is not necessarily a stat you want from your cornerbacks, McKinney also had two interceptions, and finished second on the team (to Hunter) with nine passes broken up.
Colton Hood and Preston Hodge also posted two interceptions apiece last season, with plenty of playing time.
The trio of McKinney, Hodge and Hood make up a decent front line for the Buffs heading into the 2024 season, but depth remains a concern.
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Safety …
- Seniors …
- Juniors … Carter Stoutmire … Savion Riley
- Sophomores … Tawfiq Byard (TR) … Makari Vickers (TR) … RJ Johnson
- Redshirt freshmen …
- True freshmen … Antonio Branch
Comment … Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig and Shilo Sanders are off to try and make a name for themselves in the NFL. Between the two, they started 23 of a possible 26 starts at safety last season, with Carter Stoutmire filling in for Sanders for three games early in the season, after Sanders broke his arm during the Nebraska game. Stoutmire, over the course of the fall, did see enough action to finish sixth on the team in tackles, with 39 (31 unassisted), but he is the only Buff returning in the back end with significant playing time as a Buff.
Tawfiq Byard is a transfer from South Florida, while Makari Vickers is a former four-star recruit who started his career at Oklahoma. Both will be counted on by the CU coaching staff to contribute this fall.
Overall, CU’s defensive backfield, with Hunter, Silmon-Craig, and Sanders, was one of the better secondaries in the Big 12 the past two seasons. Whether that trend will continue remains an open question.
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Special Teams …
- Seniors … Alejandro Mata (PK) … Jace Feely (PK)
- Juniors … Buck Buchanan (TR) (PK) … Damon Graves (TR) (P)
- Sophomores …
- Redshirt freshmen …
- True freshmen …
Comment … Alejandro Mata wasn’t “auto-mata-ic” last season, but he was fairly close. Mata hit on 12-of-14 attempts last fall, with one blocked kick and one miss. Mata did have one 47-yard make last season, but his relative lack of range forced CU’s hand on several occasions, with the Buff offense staying on the field on fourth down with the ball inside the opposition 40-yard line, rather than attempt a long field goal.
Kicking the ball through the end zone on kickoffs was another sore point for the Buff faithful last season, with CU kickers allowing 51 kickoff returns, including one for a touchdown by Baylor (CU, by comparison, had all of 14 kickoff returns in 2024).
Enter Buck Buchanan, Louisiana Tech transfer. Buchanan made two field goals from over 50 yards last season, with four makes of over 40 yards. He also kicked off 56 times last season, recording 51 touchbacks.
Problem solved.
Replacing Mark Vassett at punter will transfer Damon Graves. As Kansas’ primary punter last season, Graves punted 33 times for 1,395 yards, a 42.3 average (Vassett’s numbers from last fall: 49 punts for a 43.8 average).
With the return of Mata and Jace Feely (who was injured making a tackle early last season), and the additions of Buchanan and Graves, the CU kicking unit is likely in for a pretty quiet spring.
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Overall … The CU defense is going through a bit of a role reversal in 2024. In the first two seasons of the Coach Prime era, the strength of the defense was the backend, with the “skill positions” of cornerback and safety being the stronger units, with the defensive line and linebackers short on talent and depth.
Now, with graduation hitting the defensive backfield hard, and the Buffs loading up along the defensive line, the guys in the trenches are the most talented bunch, with there being some questions in the secondary – at least in terms of depth.
Meanwhile, the linebacker corps, which relied heavily on LaVonta Bentley and Nikhai Hill-Green in 2024, is again in search of both talent and depth.
The current Colorado defensive roster is good, but there are still a few holes to fill come April and the second Transfer Portal window …
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Previously Posted … CU 2025 Roster: First Look – Offense
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