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Spring Preview – Offense: Pat Shurmur’s Challenges
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This past week, ESPN writers were asked to identify “Teams which have the most to prove“. One writer chose Colorado, stating:
After finishing in last place in the Pac-12 in 2023, Colorado took a massive step forward last season. It was a tiebreak away from reaching the Big 12 title game and went 9-4. Now comes the hard part. Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner, and Shedeur Sanders, the possible No. 1 NFL draft pick, buoyed the team at a level that is hard to quantify. Without those two this year, we’ll have a better sense of what life in Boulder will be like for Deion Sanders.
Fair or not, the “Can CU win without Travis and Shedeur?” question is going to be the narrative for the 2025 off-season. While the influx of new players has gone well (CU is ranked No. 27 in overall recruiting/transfer class strength by 247 Sports; 2nd in the Big 12), and while there are significantly more returning players on the roster this spring than in either of Coach Prime’s first two seasons, much of the success – or failure – of the 2025 season will come down to how well the coaching staff adapts to the post-Shedeur/Travis world.
As with every team, there has been some turnover in the coaches room, but the two coordinators – offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston – return.
The retention of Robert Livingston, together with his contract extension and a hefty raise, is good news for the Buff Nation. The CU defense ranked in the Top 50 nationally in total defense and scoring defense for the first time in almost a decade, and Livingston has a number of quality players returning on his side of the ball. (More on the defense next weekend).
CU’s offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, meanwhile, did not get a raise, nor an extension. While the Colorado offense wasn’t bad last season (69th in total offense; 31st in scoring offense), there was plenty of criticism of Pat Shurmur’s play calling. The Buffs were dead last in the nation in rushing offense, and 124th (out of 133 FBS teams) in sacks allowed. The offensive scheme seemed to many fans to be nothing more than: run up the middle for no gain on first down; run a bubble screen for a few yards on second down; then have Shedeur scramble around on third down, trying to find Travis or another of CU’s elite wide receivers for enough yards to keep the drive alive.
Whether the blame for the poor/unimaginative/frustrating play calling falls on Coach Prime, Shedeur Sanders, or Pat Shurmur, the reality for the CU offense in 2025 remains the same: The reliance on Sanders and Hunter to make plays to win games is no longer an option.
There are several story lines to follow on offense this spring …
Identifying and Developing a New Quarterback
With Sanders’ departure, the immediate priority is to identify a successor who can effectively manage the offense. Shurmur’s extensive NFL experience, including head coaching roles with the New York Giants and offensive coordinator positions with multiple teams, equip him to mentor a new quarterback, emphasizing decision-making, accuracy, and adaptability.
But who will run the offense? Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter provides Shurmur with a true dual threat quarterback. In leading Liberty to a 13-0 regular season in 2023, Salter not only threw for over 2,800 yards (with 32 touchdowns), he also ran for over 1,000 yards (with a dozen rushing scores).
Incoming five-star prospect Julian Lewis, meanwhile, is coming to Boulder as an 18-year old freshmen in a 185-pound frame. Not that Lewis isn’t – or will become – a dual threat quarterback, but his skill set is not the same as Salter’s … and he may need a year or two in the weight room before being expected to carry the ball over 100 times a season.
Without Sanders’ established presence, Shurmur will have to modify the offensive strategy to align with the strengths of his new quarterback. This could involve simplifying the playbook to facilitate a smoother transition, incorporating more play-action passes to support the running game, and designing roll-out plays to reduce pressure on the quarterback. Flexibility in play-calling will be essential to accommodate the developing skill set of the new signal-caller.
Regardless of who takes over at quarterback, an improved rushing attack is paramount if the Buffs are to be successful this fall.
Will that happen?
Marshall Faulk Joins the staff as Running Backs Coach
In a headline-grabbing move, Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk was appointed as the running backs coach. Faulk’s illustrious career includes an NFL MVP award, three Offensive Player of the Year titles, and a Super Bowl victory with the St. Louis Rams. Faulk expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity, stating that he looks forward to contributing to the team’s success and mentoring young athletes.
Faulk, though, has no experience as a coach. Faulk appeared to be taking a position similar to that which fellow Hall-of-Famer, Warren Sapp, took last season, namely that of a motivator, while leaving the game planning to coaches with more experience.
Faulk was to be joining Tommie Robinson, who had been slated as CU’s running backs coach, but Robinson left shortly after the Faulk announcement to become the running backs coach at UTSA. Robinson, who most recently served as the director of quality control under Deion Sanders at Colorado, has had an extensive coaching career. Robinson, who was replacing Gary Harrell (who had been Coach Prime’s running backs coach both at Jackson State and at CU), was bringing 40 years of coaching experience to the running backs room. Having Robinson on staff would have made it easier for Marshall Faulk to ease into the coaching ranks, learning from Robinson while still passing on his own knowledge of the position.
Now? While it certainly can be argued that the running back position takes less coaching than almost any other position, there are still techniques, blocking reads, and game time adjustments required from the running backs coach.
For a team which ranked last in the nation in rushing in 2024 (and close to the bottom in that category in 2023), almost any change has to be considered an upgrade, right?
But, from the outside, it would seem that getting help for Marshall Faulk is still an open question as spring ball approaches.
Co-Assistant Offensive Line Coaches: George Hegamin and Gunnar White
Last year’s offensive line coach, Phil Loadholt, left the team in December to take on a new position at Mississippi State. The replacements named, at least initially, did not inspire confidence of improvement in a room which is perhaps the most in need of an upgrade from its performance during the 2024 season.
George Hegamin and Gunnar White were the names given early on as CU’s co-assistant offensive line coaches. Hegamin, who previously served as the director of leadership and engagement, had seven years of playing experience in the NFL, including time at the Dallas Cowboys playing alongside Coach Prime. White, an offensive analyst for the past two seasons, was also with Coach Prime at Jackson State, but also brings limited coaching experience to the table.
To say that the naming of Hegamin and White as co-assistant offensive line coaches was met with lukewarm enthusiasm by the Buff Nation would be an understatement.
The Buffs needed an overhaul from the underperforming offensive line … and all CU fans were rewarded with were two coaches whose main resume highlight seeming to be that they were longtime associates of Coach Prime.
Enter another successful NFL player in search of a coaching home.
Andre Gurode Added as Assistant Offensive Line Coach
Enhancing the offensive line’s coaching depth, former Buff and former Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode has been brought on as the assistant offensive line coach. Gurode’s impressive NFL career, highlighted by multiple Pro Bowl selections, equips him with the expertise to develop and mentor the Buffaloes’ offensive linemen. His firsthand experience in high-stakes games is anticipated to be a significant asset to the team’s offensive strategies.
Gurode, unlike Faulk, does at least have a modicum of coaching experience, with two years coaching for the Houston Roughnecks and San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL.
That being said, CU heads into the spring with three offensive line coaches … three coaches with a grand total of zero years of collegiate position coaching experience.
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Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has Coach Prime’s unwavering support. Full stop.
Said Coach Prime near the end of the 2024 season:
“Pat is unbelievable, maybe because he had a stint in Denver which – Jesus of Nazareth couldn’t have turned that around at that time, with what he had to work with. Pat has been incredible, and his relationship with our players, and the way he challenges them, the way he challenges the staff, in his preparation and his dialect during the game is unbelievable”.
This season, Shurmur will be without Shedeur or Travis (or LaJohntay Wester … or Jimmy Horn … or Will Sheppard). Two strong candidates are on the roster vying for the starting quarterback position, all five scholarship running backs return, and there is returning talent at wide receiver and along the offensive line.
What Coach Shurmur doesn’t have is a great deal of coaching experience in his 2025 offensive coaches room. The additions of Marshall Faulk and Andre Gurode bring sparkle to the staff, but whether they will also help create a dynamic – and balanced – offensive attack in 2025 remains to be seen.
The work begins March 11th, with the opening of spring practices.
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3 Replies to “Spring Preview – Offense: Pat Shurmur’s Challenges”
Opposing teams won’t know what the game plan is either, but that will only last for the first few games. But seriously, The new players on the O-line are going to be the biggest reason for improvement, that and the developing returning players, like Seaton & Cash. While quality coaching matters, and experience is a good thing, not all experiences are alike. A coach coming from a very successful playing career, who has been well coached and knows the game is going to have good information to give when coaching, so it’s a matter of how they translate and communicate the information to their players that will determine if they’re a good coach.
I think CU could have fine coaches in both Gurode & Faulk, Gurode does have some coaching experience and as stated RB’s coach need to teach, but also needs to motivate and Faulk may be a great motivator and a good teacher, who knows until we see?
Last year was about Shedeur running his offense, but it also resulted in a 9 win season a a few plays short of another win or two… Pretty good for a 4-8 team. This year the Buffs schedule should allow them to “play it close to the vest” for the first four games and keep it simple; saving much of the playbook for the tougher conference games.
Add in the first four out of five games are at home against the soft side of the schedule and the Buffs are set up for a good start. And, with seven home games to boot!
We’ll see what kind of offense they develop around which QB and will be able to judge if the OC can be the guy Prime says he can be. But the other two Gurode & Faulk could be good additions to the staff.
Tell me it wasn’t so. Tell me the primary purpose of the pass only scheme wasnt just to get Shedeur to the NFL. That being the case it worked wonderfully and took the Buffs to a game from the Big 12 championship. ….and the CFP. But how much further could they have gone with an even average running game?
With his primary mission accomplished, I will get off Shurmur’s back (like he cares, I know) and see what he comes up with this year.
I don’t have much faith in him