Since Black Friday 2022, the CU Buffs have lost eight offensive linemen, six wide receivers, four quarterbacks, three running backs, three tight ends and a partridge in a pear tree.
OK, we’re fibbing on that last one — the partridge is still on scholarship. But Buffs offensive coordinator Sean Lewis has two words for CU faithful wringing their hands over the seismic makeover of the football roster since Deion Sanders’ arrival: Don’t panic. Because while the “returns” counter has been historically busy, Coach Prime’s shopping isn’t anywhere close to done yet.
“Yeah, it’s still (about) vetting through all the people that are in and making sure that it’s the right fit for the roles that we need to fill as we continue to go forward with it,” Lewis told The Denver Post at the Colorado Coaches For Charity gala, where he represented CU football this past Friday night at Empower Field. “Also, yeah, it is ‘under construction,’ still a ‘work-in-progress’ as we continue to finalize what we’re doing.”
After the Buffs became the talk of the college football world with the hiring of Sanders last December and the talk of the college football world (again) with a sold-out spring game at Folsom Field and an exclusive live audience on ESPN, the buzz nationally continues to circle around what’s going on in Boulder, especially with the transfer portal. And, in particular, how many former CU players have entered it: A count of 46 since New Year’s Day, per 247Sports.com’s tracker, and 30 since CU’s spring game wrapped up.
“If I’m (CU), I’m worried about chemistry,” Brandon Huffman, national recruiting director at 247Sports, told The Post recently. “A lot of the talented players coming in (to the program) from the portal missed spring ball. Will the practices in August be enough? That’s the big question.
“There is no question they’re more talented. But getting all that talent to mesh and gel in time for the season is going to be a big question moving forward.”
To that, Lewis, the 37-year-old play-caller who joined Sanders’ inaugural CU staff after leading Kent State to two bowls in five seasons as a head coach, told The Post he’s got more than a few answers coming down the pike.
“Whether it was when we got here, in spring ball, when we started installing the offense and (had) new people coming in, there’s always going to be that turnover, there’s always going to be guys that you’ve got to get caught up to speed,” Lewis countered.
“And you’ve got to take that personal ownership as a coach. Like, ‘This is my job. This is what I’m here to do to — help my position group to help our unit know what they need to do, how they need to do it and when they need to do it right and to the standards that coach (Prime has) set down.’
“So I think if you look at it the way everyone (outside the program) has from a 30,000-foot level, like, ‘Oh, it’s all this, it’s all that, all these numbers,’ I just look at it all (like), ‘Right, what’s the next thing that we’ve got to do the right way? And let’s do that one thing to the best of our ability, over and over and over again.’ As cliche as that is, that’s how it’s all going to happen.”
Since Jan. 1, the Buffs have added 12 players via the portal from Power 5 programs while, as of early this past Saturday, losing just four to Power 5 peers.
But that last number is expected to grow to five soon with the upcoming commitment of former CU wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who turned heads for the Buffs as a freshman last fall and raised eyebrows when he entered the portal April 24.
John Tyson, Jordyn’s father, inferred to The Post that his son’s departure from CU was not necessarily a mutual decision, a sentiment confirmed by Grant Page, a former Fairview standout and Buffs wideout who also entered the portal after the spring game.
“You really don’t know what anyone is going to do until they do it, right?” Lewis said of CU’s exodus, refuting any assertions that players were pushed out the door.
“And so again, we poured into all the kids that were on our roster and again, showed our values and what we’re doing and what coach (Sanders) is building, and people made their choices. And that’s fine. All good, you know, make your choice. We move forward and you own your choices and we’ll be all right.”
As for the critics who’ve accused Coach Prime of taking an NFL approach toward changing a collegiate roster?
“I learned a long time ago if you’re going to be in this profession as a coach and as a play-caller in particular, everyone’s going to have an opinion,” Lewis said. “And that’s fine. And they’re able to do that, that’s all good, right? So I’m going to put the blinders on. I don’t pay any attention to it whatsoever, in all honesty.”
Lewis is paying attention to the pieces he’s got to work with while hammering his up-tempo, no-huddle scheme into shape for the season opener at 2022 national runner-up TCU on Sept. 2. As of late Friday, CU had just three scholarship QBs, three scholarship running backs and three scholarship tight ends.
Chemistry will have to come on the fly. Shedeur Sanders, Coach Prime’s son and the Buffs’ expected starting signal-caller, will still have new faces at skill positions to get familiar with over the summer. And perhaps even more through the start of preseason camp.
“I think (the QBs) know that’s part of the situation that we’re in,” Lewis said. “And they also know that, because of the number of reps and the volume (of reps) that we get, as we get into training camp, they all experience how much of a workload that we get day-in and day-out. So in terms of, ‘Hey, we’ve got new guys, we’ve got to get time,’ and all this and all that, we’re going to be fine. We’re going to be able to do all those things and (I have) zero concerns about that.”
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.
