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CU Starting Lineups: Offense – Mid-Spring Edition
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It is impossible to predict in March who will be CU’s starters on September 2nd in Atlanta against Georgia Tech.
What’s more, you really don’t want to have anointed starters in the early stages of spring practices. Competition for every starting position should be up for grabs … Iron sharpens iron, and all that. Even the most likely starter for the Buffs this fall – quarterback Julian Lewis – needs to feel pressure from his backups to get better.
That being said, CU is likely to have between 18-20 new faces in its starting 22 this fall, so it’s not too early to start wondering how the roster is filling out. With the lack of a second Transfer Portal this April, the 85 or so scholarship players in the Champions Center today are going to comprise the vast majority of CU’s personnel this fall.
That being the case, let’s dive in, and put in some guesstimates as who Coach Prime will be depending upon to be on the field this fall …
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Quarterback
Projected Starter – Julian Lewis
Backups … Isaac Wilson; Kaneal Sweetwyne
Lewis appeared in four games during the 2025 season, making two starts and showcasing the poise that made him one of the most decorated quarterback prospects in the country. He finished the year completing 52-of-94 passes for 589 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Wilson brings Power Four starting experience after appearing in 10 career games at Utah, including seven starts as a true freshman. In 2024, he threw for 1,510 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing 127-of-225 passes.
Barring injury, this is Lewis’ job to lose. It would be a shock if Lewis isn’t announced as the starter come mid-August, but it’s nice to have a backup with Power Four starting experience in Wilson. Sweetwyne has potential, but is a true freshman. The tragic loss of Dominique Ponder in a car accident leaves the room short, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if CU went shopping for another experienced backup from the Transfer Portal remnants this April.
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Running Backs
Projected Starters – Micah Welch; DeKalon Taylor
Backups … Damion Henderson; Bryce Hicks, Jaquail Smith; Richard Young
The CU running back room blends power between the tackles, runners with perimeter speed threats, fitting the tempo and spacing principles of the go-go offense. The competition will be fun to watch.
The good news? CU has multiple backs who can play for Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go” offense. Other than in the Covid season of 2020, CU hasn’t had a rushing attack ranked in the top half of the nation’s stats since 2016 … but that may change this year.
The bad news? There are no clear workhorses on the roster. CU has several good running backs, but no great ones.
While CU will likely use all of their backs in rotation, I’m going with the returning backs as the starters for now. Micah Welch leads the group after appearing in 21 career games with 11 starts. He has rushed for 570 career yards and eight touchdowns, earning Doak Walker Award Watch List recognition last season. In 2025, Welch started the first eight games and finished with a team leading 384 rushing yards and four touchdowns. His physical style and experience provide stability.
DeKalon Taylor, meanwhile, seems to have caught the eye of new CU running backs coach Johnnie Mack. “(The Go-Go offense) is the perfect fit for him,” Mack said. “It is more like a duo where he gets the opportunity to read several keys on defense, and it does not dictate to him to go one way. He can go either way with his type of speed.”
That being said, Damion Henderson and Jaquil Smith both played for offensive coordinator Brennan Marion at Sacramento State last season, and are already familiar with the offense.
If Buff fans aren’t impressed with CU’s rushing attack this fall, the season will not be a good one. “I told my guys, ‘if you’re not excited for this (the Go-Go offense) I don’t know what to tell you,'” Mack said. “This Go-Go offense is built for running backs; it is built for running backs to have success. We know it runs through us.”
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Wide Receivers
Projected Starters – Danny Scudero; Deandre Moore
Backups … Kam Perry, Quanell Farrakhan, Joseph Williams, Hykeem Williams, Quentin Gibson, Carson Westbrook, Christian Ward, Carson Westbrook, Tagert Bardin, Ernest Cambell, Kaleb Mathis
Talent and depth. Two words you can’t use with many of CU’s units this fall, but it applies to the Buff wide receivers room. The wide receivers represent arguably the best group on the team.
“That receiver room is deep,” Coach Prime said in his first spring press conference. “We’ve got guys that have played big time football, and we’ve got young guys that are hungry. Competition in that room is real.”
Picking the starters (and there could often be three on the field), is like picking your favorite ice cream. It’s hard, though, to go against the production of Dann Scudero and the potential of Deandre Moore.
In 2025, Scudero started all 12 games at San Jose State, finishing with 88 receptions for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning multiple All-America honors and First Team All-Mountain West recognition. Scudero led the nation in receiving yards during the regular season, averaging 108.1 yards per game. (the last CU wide receiver with more than 1,297 yards receiving in a season? Paul Richardson in 2013, with 1,343).
I’m putting Deandre Moore due to his potential, but it’s not as if Moore has been lacking in production. Across three seasons with the Longhorns, Moore appeared in 37 games with 18 starts, totaling 77 receptions for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2025, he recorded 38 receptions for 532 yards and four touchdowns, while starting multiple games in the Texas offense. As one of the featured wideouts in the CU offense, Moore could become a fan favorite in short order.
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Tight Ends
Projected Starter – Zach Atkins
Backups … Fisher Clements; Zayne DeSouza; Charlie Williams; Corbin Laisure; Brady Kopetz
While most Buff fans would rather see three wide receivers on the field on offense, offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s offense has a place for tight ends as well.
“In this offense you’ve got to have a good skill set,” tight ends coach John Niblett said of his room. “You’ve got to be able to split out and run routes, win one on one matchups, but also play in the core and block.”
Senior tight end Zack Atkins said the system has allowed the room to expand its role within the offense.
“It’s every pass catching tight end’s dream,” Atkins said. “I can line up at No. 1, in the slot or in the core. Having that ability in this offense is awesome.”
Atkins led the tight ends in receptions last season, with 20 catches going for 149 yards. There isn’t much in the way of competition for Atkins this fall, with the additions being three freshman and transfer Fisher Clemens, who had four catches for 27 yards last season … at Northern Colorado.
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Offensive Line
Starters … Left tackle: Bo Hughley … Left guard: Yahya Attia … Center: Demetrius Hunter … Right guard: Jose Soto … Right tackle: Taj White
Backups … Chauncey Gooden; Phillip Houston; Larry Johnson; Andre Royer; Hudson Steber; Leon Bell; Ben Gula; Sean Kinney; Jayvon McFadden; Xavier Payne; Jayven Richardson
The Colorado offense struggled last season, finishing 103rd in rushing offense, 112th in total offense, and 114th in scoring offense … and, believe it or not, the offensive line was not the main problem. Scheme, play-calling, and a general malaise contributed to a poor offense in 2025. The offensive line, though, for the most part held up.
This season, though, the offensive line must get even better if the Go-Go offense is to succeed.
And the Buffs are off to a good start.
Across the board, this group is bigger. Multiple linemen weigh 320 pounds or more. Several stand 6’6″ or taller. Length on the edge and interior mass inside give Colorado a front that looks physically different from a year ago.
Experience at tackle will also be a big help.
Veterans Taj White, Andre Royer Jr., Jayven Richardson, Bo Hughley and Leon Bell bring meaningful Power Four experience. White started 11 games at right tackle at Rutgers last season, giving him a leg up to earn that role at CU.
Left tackle was supposed to be set for the next two years, but that all important position was left open when Jordan Seaton abandoned the Buffs for a big payday at LSU.
So, who will take over at left tackle? Bo Hughley comes to CU by way of Georgia, where he played in ten games last fall for the Bulldogs, so for now we’ll hope Hughley will live up to his name. Royer (seven starts at Maryland) and Richardson (two starts at Missouri) both have Power Four starting experience at tackle, while Bell adds length at 6’8″ and experiences across multiple programs. Meanwhile, returning Buffs Phillip Houston and Larry Johnson provide additional starting experience and depth.
On the interior, let’s pencil in Sacramento State transfer Jose Soto at one guard position. Soto played for offensive coordinator Brennan Marion last season, starting 11 games at right guard and helping power one of the top rushing attacks in the Big Sky. According to PFF, Soto did not allow a sack or quarterback hit in Big Sky play and helped power an offense that led the conference with 262.6 rushing yards per game.
At the other guard, I like Yahya Attia, one of the few returning Buffs who could earn a starting position. At 6’4″, 340-pounds, Attia, played four positions along the offensive front while allowing zero sacks and earning PFF Big 12 Left Guard of the Week honors.
Your center may well be Demetrius Hunter, who starting every game at center for Houston last season, and who has 25 starts at center in his four seasons with the Cougars.
As a group, the offensive line may be as deep and as talented as any in Coach Prime’s four years in Boulder … but it seems like we say that every year.
And it’s hard look at the offensive line roster and wonder how much better it would have been if Jordan Seaton was still in Boulder …
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Overall
Who knows?
Coach Prime believes this offense is going to be at least 50% better than last season.
“Everybody interviewed, they averaged over 30 points per game (at previous stops),” Sanders said of his new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion. “And 30 points per game is our threshold. When we score 30 points per game, we win. When we don’t, we lose.”
Sanders is 16-21 in three seasons at CU, and he’s right about that threshold. The Buffs are 13-3 when they score 30 or more points, 3-18 when they don’t.
After hitting the 30-point mark 14 times in his first two years, Sanders’ team reached that mark just twice last year and zero times in 10 games against Power Four conference opponents. For the season, CU averaged just over 20 points per game.
There are more questions than answers this spring … Will Julian Lewis live up to his five-star billing in the Go-Go offense? … Can the good but not great running back room double CU’s rushing output? … Can the talented wide receiver room spread the ball around enough to keep everyone happy? … Will CU actually use their tight ends? … Can the Buff offensive line, sans Jordan Seaton, actually be an improved unit in 2026?
We’ll see … but, with no spring Transfer Portal, Buff fans at least know that the majority of the roster in is the Champions Center, giving the coaching staff the opportunity to start formulating a starting lineup.
Fingers crossed …
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