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CU’s Spring Game – What to Watch For
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On Saturday, April 17th, at 2:30 p.m., MT, a national television audience will tune in to watch the third Spring Game of Coach Prime’s tenure at Colorado. The weather, for the first time in three years, will cooperate, with a forecast of partly cloudy skies and a high of 65 degrees.
There will be – or at least should be – a good crowd on hand for the event. Only about 10,000 tickets had been sold as of Friday, but it’s safe to say that the attendance will be one of the top five in CU Spring game history (47,277 for the 2023 Spring game; 28,424 last spring).
And Buff fans should take the opportunity the players … and the fact that they are invited to watch their team at all.
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Coach Prime was looking to expand the Spring game experience for the fans, offering to host another program for practices and a scrimmage. Syracuse head coach Fran Brown accepted the offer – and the challenge – of meeting for a Spring game, but the idea proved to be too late in coming for the NCAA, which denied the request of the two teams for a waiver.
At the other extreme, there are those looking to limit the Spring game even further, or even eliminate it all together. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, a favorite punching bag for CU fans, led the charge, calling on the Cornhusker Spring game.
Other schools have since followed suit. Ohio State, USC, and Texas are among the schools which will not host spring games. Other schools which will not be conducting Spring games this year include Michigan State, Oklahoma, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Missouri, Minnesota, Florida State, UCF and BYU.
If you need no other reason to go to the Spring game at Folsom next weekend … it would be to support the concept of allowing fans to watch their team, even if it’s just a scrimmage.
What to Watch For ...
Now, it will be difficult for anyone to draw any real conclusions about what the Buffs will look like this fall from watching the Spring game.
Full stop.
First and foremost, Coach Prime and his staff are not stupid. They do know that other teams will be watching, and they do know that their players will be on display with the spring Transfer Portal still open. The plays and schemes will be generic, the scrimmage itself will not be a showcase of what CU fans can expect to see against Georgia Tech on August 29th.
That being said, there will be plenty of fodder for the Buff Nation to chew on after the Saturday showcase …
— The quarterback race … No, the decision on CU’s starting quarterback will not be made this spring. That being said, this will be Buff fans’ first opportunity to see Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and freshman Julian Lewis in a CU uniform. Salter is the likely front-runner, and seeing that he has command of the offense, both in terms of play-calling and his huddle, would be welcome. Lewis, meanwhile, should be wrapping up studies of his junior year in high school. A star since his freshman year, playing at the highest levels of Georgia high school football, Lewis isn’t a stranger to crowds or pressure, but this is a different game. How he handle his introduction to the collegiate game will be interesting.
And then there is matter of Ryan Staub. The starter for CU in the 2023 finale against Utah, Staub went 0-4 in mop up duties in 2024. Where Staub stands in the pecking order, and what his plans might be for the fall, will be a topic of conversation.
“I think my approach is the same,” Staub said of his spring. “I’m trying to go out there and make every play the best play, but really just develop and take this time to grow as a player, grow as a teammate, and kind of whatever happens happens.”
Will Staub still be a Buff two weeks from now? We’ll see …
— Who is RB 1? … With the defection of Isaiah Augustave – last season’s leading rusher – to the Transfer Portal, there are only four scholarship running backs on the roster. Buff fans will looking to see if Dallan Hayden has taken charge of the room, or whether redshirt freshman Brandon Hood will remind everyone why he was a highly sought recruit a season ago.
— A fresh start for the wide receivers … CU’s four leading receivers from last season – Travis Hunter, LaJohntay Wester, Will Sheppard, and Jimmy Horn – were all on display at CU’s Pro Day “Showcase”, but none will be available for the 2025 season. The Miller boys – Drelon and Omarion – will be fan favorites, but don’t sleep on former four-star recruit Kam Mikell, who sat out last season with an injury.
— Sigh … another year without tight ends? … Colorado high school product – and Ohio State transfer – Sam Hart didn’t work out, with Hart entering the Transfer Portal this week. Will this be the year for former five-star recruit Sav’ell Smalls, or transfer Zach Atkins, or maybe another Buff tight end to make a significant contribution to the offense … ? Yeah, I’m not holding my breath, either.
— Offensive line depth … If there is one player on the roster on offense which you can go ahead and put in the roster in pen, it would be starting left tackle Jordan Seaton. After that, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will be out there on the line the first plays of the season.
If you are into reading tea leaves, the Well Off Media video of the first scrimmage had the following starting five along the offensive line:
- LT: #77 Jordan Seaton, 6’5, 310
- LG: #75 Zack Owens, 6’6, 340
- C: # 58 Zarian McGill, 6’2, 310
- RG: #72 Zy Crisler, 6’7, 330
- RT: #57 Mana Taimani, 6’5, 330
Will this be the starting five against Georgia Tech? Will this even be the starting lineup in the Spring game? No way to know for sure, but, after the Spring game, we will have some tape and some formations to discuss.
— Will the defensive line be among the best in the nation? … The casual CU fan will soon become familiar with the name Jehiem Oatis, perhaps as early as the Spring game. Colorado’s highest-rated incoming transfer according to 247Sports. Oatis is a nose guard from Alabama, and Buff fans will hopefully get a good look at what Oatis can accomplish this fall.
Other names looking to make a big impression this fall are already familiar to the Buff Nation – Arden Walker, Amari McNeill, and Samuel Okunlola. All three had flashes of brilliance last fall. If all three can stay healthy, the Buff defensive line could be a force.
If nothing else, it will be an interesting battle with CU’s refurbished offensive line on April 19th.
— Brother, can you spare a linebacker? … Here’s hoping Martavius French is all that and a bag of chips. The transfer from UTSA is going to be counted on to help bolster weak linebacker room. If French and Jaylen Wester can make good impressions in the Spring game, CU will be looking for added depth in the second Transfer Portal window (April 15th – 25th).
If French and Wester are not dominant … Buff fans will scouring the Transfer Portal options the next few weeks, hoping the CU coaching staff will get lucky, and bring in a diamond in the rough (or two) to the linebacker corps.
–– Will DJ McKinney make Buff fans forget Travis Hunter? … Probably not, but McKinney has been getting rave reviews this spring as CU’s next great cornerback. Starting opposite Hunter last year, McKinney was the target of most opposing offenses, and he held his own. McKinney was third on the team in total tackles (62) and pulled in the first three interceptions of his college career, most notably a pick-six against his former team, the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Despite losing Hunter, Shilo Sanders, and Cam’ron Silmon-Craig, there is still plenty of returning talent in the back end. Preston Hodge, Colton Hood, and Carter Stoutmire all return. This group should be a strength this fall … and they will have a chance to make names for themselves during the Spring scrimmage.
— Are you old enough to remember the name? … Buck Buchanan was a force along the defensive line for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1963-75, leaving the game as a member of the All-time AFL team and a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.
And now Buck Buchanan … is a kicker for the Buffs. A transfer from Louisiana Tech, Buchanan is being called upon to put kickoffs through the end zone, and to make long field goal attempts. Buff fans may not see many kickoffs on Saturday, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Coach Prime gives Buchanan a chance at a long field goal … just to whet our appetites for the fall.
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No one is pretending that CU’s Spring scrimmage will be a make-or-break afternoon for the Buffs as they prepare for the 2025 season. At the same time, it’s the only opportunity between December and August to see your team in pads, with the nation’s attention focused on Folsom Field.
Perhaps next spring the Spring Game will be a scrimmage with another program, bringing in that much more attention to Coach Prime and his Buffs.
In the meantime, let’s be glad that there is any opportunity at all to watch our Buffs.
After all, we could be in Lincoln …
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2 Replies to “CU’s Spring Game – What to Watch For”
If I lived within a 6 hour drive of Boulder I would be at the spring game and make a weekend of it, if for no other reason than to show up the corn cobblers. I can also see where the support would come in $ for the team and the school. Thanks Stu.
Stu, an easy mistake when talking about the 2 Miller’s would be including Kam, but he’s a Mikell. Typos happen and so will Kam, fastest on the team!
Keep up the great work