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CU 2025 Roster: First Look – Offense
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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?
Here’s a first look at CU’s offense (defense preview coming on Sunday) …
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 …
Quarterbacks …
- Seniors … Kaiden Salter (TR)
- Juniors …
- Sophomores … Ryan Staub
- Redshirt freshmen …
- True freshmen … Julian Lewis
Comment … Barring injury, the question as to whether Liberty transfer quarterback Kaiden Salter or five-star freshman Julian Lewis will be the starter against Georgia Tech is not one which will be answered until August and CU’s Fall Camp. Salter didn’t come to Boulder for his final season of eligibility to sit, but Lewis is among the highest-rated recruits in CU history. Two potential quality starters is a nice problem for CU to have, and the battle for playing time might well carry over into the season.
The real question for April and the second Transfer Portal window may be whether Ryan Staub decides to stay. A one-game starter (v. Utah in the 2023 finale), Staub has demonstrated he can be a serviceable backup, but will he want more? And, if Staub decides to leave for a better opportunity, can CU find another proven starter willing to be a part of the quarterback room?
There are two walk-ons currently on the roster, junior Colton Allen and sophomore Dominiq Ponder, but CU will want to have at least three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster come August.
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Running backs …
- Seniors … Charlie Offerdahl
- Juniors … Isaiah Augustave … Dallan Hayden
- Sophomores … Micah Welch
- Redshirt freshmen … Brandon Hood
- True freshmen …
Comment … Glass half full? CU returns all five of its scholarship running backs for the 2025 season.
Glass half empty? CU returns all five of its scholarship running backs for the 2025 season.
In 2024, there were 133 teams playing at the FBS level. Colorado finished dead last in rushing offense – 133rd in the country – averaging only 65.2 yards per game. Yes, there were many yards lost to sacks, but, even if you added back in all 364 yards CU lost to sacks (an improbable supposition, but let’s pretend), CU’s rushing average would rise to 93.1 yards rushing per game.
That average would have moved the Buffs up to … 126th in the nation in rushing.
Isaiah Augustave showed flashes; Dallan Hayden showed flashes; Micah Welch showed flashes … but none of the CU running backs were able to sustain anything close to consistency during the 2024 campaign.
CU will have a new running backs coach, and a new offensive line coach. The Buffs will have the same offensive coordinator in Pat Shurmur, but, without Shedeur Sanders behind center, with a proven ability to improvise offensive success, a new game plan will surely be in the works for the fall.
Outwardly, the running backs room projects stability, with no turnover from the 2024 campaign. However, between the new running backs coach, the clear need to improve the running game, and the open question as to whether the present group can deliver … it would be a surprise if the same five names were on the roster come August.
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Wide receivers …
- Seniors … Terrell Timmons, Jr.
- Juniors … Omarion Miller
- Sophomores … Drelon Miller … Joseph Williams (TR)
- Redshirt freshmen … Kamron Mikell
- True freshmen … Adrian Wilson … Quanell X Farrakhan Jr. … Quentin Gibson
Comment … In a few years, when Travis Hunter, LaJohntay Wester, Will Sheppard and Jimmy Horn, Jr., have all made names for themselves in the NFL, Buff fans may look back at the 2024 wide receiver roster as one of the best, if not the best, in CU history.
It’s a stretch to say that the current lineup will be as good as the 2024 group, but there is undeniable talent. Both Millers have shown the Buff Nation that they belong, and the incoming players have impressive resumes. These are not necessarily NFL Draft ready players, but that may be a good thing … if the Buffs can keep and develop these potential stars.
Coach Prime & Co. are always on the lookout for skill position talent, so another addition to the room this April would not be a shock, but, if the Buffs can keep the roster they have into the fall, and spend the spring developing relationships between the new quarterbacks and the new receiving stars, it would not be an altogether bad thing.
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Tight ends …
- Seniors … Sav’ell Smalls … Sam Hart
- Juniors … Zach Atkins (TR)
- Sophomores …
- Redshirt freshmen …
- True freshmen … Corbin Laisure … Zayne DeSouza
Comment … Sigh.
CU’s tight end numbers from 2024: Nine catches for a grand total of 65 yards.
So … CU is bringing in Zach Atkins, who recorded 18 catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns for Northwest Missouri State last season, together with two promising freshmen recruits.
Nice, but the signings have been met with a collective shrug from the Buff Nation.
The past two springs, Coach Prime has brought in potential starters for spring practices – Seydou Traore in 2023; Chamon Metayer in 2024 – only to have both of them leave in during the Spring Transfer Portal season. So, in that sense, if CU can get through the spring without losing any of its current tight end roster, it would be progress.
Assuming, though, that the tight ends will be valuable contributors to the CU offense in 2025?
I wouldn’t bet my lunch money, much less the farm, on that one.
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Offensive linemen …
- Seniors … Tyler Brown … Phillip Houston … Kareem Harden … Zarian McGill (TR) … Aki Ogunbiyi (TR) … Zy Crisler (TR)
- Juniors … Mana Taimani (TR)
- Sophomores … Jordan Seaton … Zack Owens … Cash Cleveland
- Redshirt freshmen … Yahya Attia … Vertis Shelby …
- True freshmen …
Comment …
The CU starting offensive line for the 2023 season finale against Utah:
- Tackle – Savion Washington
- Guard – Jack Bailey
- Center – Van Wells
- Guard – Landon Bebee
- Tackle – Gerad Christian- Lichtenhan
The CU starting offensive line for the 2024 season opener against North Dakota State:
- Tackle – Tyler Brown
- Guard – Justin Mayers
- Center – Hank Zilinskas
- Guard – Kahlil Benson
- Tackle – Jordan Seaton
It was no surprise, after the CU roster purge after spring practices in 2023, that the starting offensive line would bear no resemblance to the starting lineup for the offensive line at the end of the woeful 2022 season.
It was not a huge surprise, after the 2023 offensive line set a school record for sacks allowed, that there would be turnover in the starting lineup for the start of the 2024 season.
For 2025, though, the Buff Nation could have reasonably thought that there might start to be some semblance of continuity along the offensive line for Year Three of the Coach Prime era.
Well, sort of.
Jordan Seaton (12 starts) and Tyler Brown (two starts at tackle; seven starts at guard) return, as do Phillip Houston (ten starts at tackle), Kareem Harden (five starts at guard), and Cash Cleveland (three starts at center).
That’s a good start, assuming these players stick around for the fall. Five of the 19 Buffs from last season who have entered the Transfer Portal since the end of the season are offensive lineman, including Kahlil Benson (now at Indiana), Hank Zilinskas (Rutgers), and Tyler Johnson. If CU had been able to hang on to these players, the depth of the offensive line could have made the unit a strength of the team.
There are four transfers coming in, with varying degrees of starting experience. Between the returning players and the new blood, there is reason to believe that there is a combo of talent which can make the new non-Shedeur, non-Travis, non-LaJohntay, non-Will, non-Jimmy offense run.
Of course, naming a new offensive line coach would be a good first step in that direction …
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Overall … Only six Buffs return on offense who had six or more starts during the 2024 season, including four offensive linemen. Otherwise, CU will have a new quarterback, a new set of wide receivers, and a full room of returning running backs who have much to prove.
There is enough talent currently on the roster to field a Power Four team, a statement which CU hasn’t always been able to make many springs over the past 20 years. What players may still be lost, and what transfers may still be added, will keep the Buff Nation paying attention for the next few months.
At least, for the first time in years, there is a solid base of returning talent.
Which is a nice place to be in February …
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Coming Sunday … CU 2025 Roster: First Look – Defense and Special Teams
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One Reply to “CU 2025 Roster: First Look – Offense”
I am not putting an ounce of blame on the running backs. With Shurmur’s lack of scheme and the O line’s inability to open a hole it was like running into brick wall every single time. Insanity by any measure. You see more QB’s like Salter who, during a pass play, find everyone covered but also find a seam in the pass rush to exploit to run for a big gain. Unless there is a massive improvement in the O line play (by players or coaching) Salter may wind up wishing he had not arrived here. Even if Lewis is the starter who can come close to maintaining the success level of Shedeur I dont know if he can withstand the beating.