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Although the main acquisition of the offseason has yet to practice this month, the Colorado Buffaloes are starting to see their offensive line come together. On Saturday, head coach Karl Dorrell said he's pleased with the progress of the line as the Sept. 2 opener against TCU quickly approaches - despite Alabama transfer Tommy Brown sitting out the first 16 practices of preseason camp to this point as he recovers from a knee injury. "We've created enough depth and versatility I would say," Dorrell said.

Dorrell has spent much of his coaching career in the NFL, while first-year offensive line coach Kyle DeVan has played and coached in the league in the recent past. Both are familiar with an NFL roster that has limited numbers, making position flexibility vital. "That's something Kyle and I share a background with … creating versatility within your system," Dorrell said. "The NFL carries normally seven offensive linemen into games on Sunday, so there's a lot of guys that have to play a lot of positions. Kyle has trained a lot of our guys to play multiple positions so it gives us a lot of flexibility, so whenever there are injuries, we can be able to quickly make an adjustment." - Daily Camera

(DS#999 OG) rSr/2023

OG Tommy Brown, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/25/22 - Guy Thomas, rSr/2023, Colorado, 6-3, 232 (DS#67 OLB) + More +

The 2021 season certainly didn't end the way Guy Thomas wanted it to end, with him on the injured list. However, he did enough in the games he played to gain quite a bit of confidence as he prepares for his final year with the Colorado football team. Before a foot injury cut his season short, Thomas was one of CU's better defenders in 2021. He finished with 36 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks in seven games - the most extensive playing time he's had since his senior year of high school in 2016. "I feel like going into my sixth year, I'm definitely experienced," he said. "I've seen a lot and I'm just ready for kickoff. I'm just ready to get out there and compete with the top teams in our conference and to compete against TCU, Minnesota and Air Force." This season, the Buffs have good depth at outside linebacker, but Thomas might be the best of the bunch. After playing sparingly in two years at Nebraska, Thomas played six games at Coahoma (Miss.) Community College in 2019 before transferring to CU. He played just 80 snaps in 2020 before breaking out last year. - Denver Post

(DS#67 OLB) rSr/2023

OLB Guy Thomas, Colorado
News Source: Denver Post
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08/22/22 - Jayle Stacks, rJr/2025, Colorado, 5-11, 235 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Going into the season, there is no question Alex Fontenot and Deion Smith are the leaders of Colorado's running backs room. Yet, watching Jayle Stacks move his 5-foot-11, 235-pound frame downfield before leaping into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown run at the Buffaloes' scrimmage last Saturday provided a glimpse into the potential he has to impact the offense. "Jayle is doing a really good job," running backs coach Darian Hagan said. "He's a multi-dimensional running back that can do a lot of different things and he's doing everything we ask of him. He's buying into it." A third-year sophomore from Cherry Creek High School, Stacks is hoping this can be the year he finally busts loose for CU. After rushing for nearly 3,000 yards during his prep career, Stacks has played just 40 offensive snaps in his first two seasons at CU. He has carried the ball once, gaining four yards late in a 34-0 rout of Arizona last season.

Stacks' potential to impact the offense has been there since he arrived, though, and he's often displayed a knack for big runs or catching the ball out of the backfield during practice. He's now hoping that leads to more opportunities on game day. "Oh for sure," he said. "I talked to Hagan and (offensive coordinator Mike) Sanford and they want me to do that. But what really matters is that Deion and Fontenot, the guys that have been here, I have no problem (being behind them). They've been here longer than me, so whenever my number's called, I'll be ready to get it done." Stacks has put himself in a better position to produce when his number is called. "He's a guy that we wanted to lose weight," Hagan said. "He attacked that head on. He lost weight...He's doing a really good job for us." - Daily Camera

(DS#999 RB) rJr/2025

RB Jayle Stacks, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/20/22 - Isaiah Lewis, rSr/2023, Colorado, 5-11, 190 (DS#61 SS) + More +

Safety Isaiah Lewis, is healthy and stepping up as a leader for the Buffs. The only returning starter in the secondary, Lewis missed spring practices after offseason surgery, but is healthy and making a difference during preseason camp. "Now that he's back up to speed and he's on the field, it gives our defense a comfortable peace of knowing that there's experience back there," CU head coach Karl Dorrell said. "He helps out the safeties that are still kind of learning the trade back there. He's been a really good leader from that standpoint, but we're also asking for him to elevate his game, too." Lewis led the Buffs with 79 tackles last season and also intercepted two passes, but didn't have any pass breakups. He had 27 tackles and eight pass breakups during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. "He's made a couple of nice plays (in camp)," Dorrell said. "He had an interception (Monday), so he's doing some really good things, too." - Daily Camera

(DS#61 SS) rSr/2023

SS Isaiah Lewis, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/19/22 - Travis Hunter, Jr/2025, Colorado, 6-0, 188 (DS#1 CB) + More +

FRESHMEN WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS TO WATCH IN 2022: TRAVIS HUNTER, WR/CB, Jackson State,...Generally regarded as the nation's top recruit, Hunter's flashy debut, albeit against his own team, has some looking into the HBCU history books. Among the alums are former Tigers running back and NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice of Mississippi Valley State and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Doug Williams, who played at Grambling. Hunter is not shying away from the expectations. "I want to get everything that's there for me. I want to accomplish everything that everybody said I could. I want to be the best receiver. I want to be the best corner. Pretty much I want to take everything," he said at SWAC Media Day. - AP College Football

(DS#1 CB) Jr/2025

CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
News Source: AP College Football
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08/17/22 - Jaylen Striker, rSr/2024, Colorado, 6-2, 200 (DS#999 SS) + More +

Junior Jaylen Striker is entering his third season with the Buffs but hasn't seen much time on the field. That could change this season. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder has moved from cornerback to safety and is making plays during practice this month. "He had a pretty good scrimmage (on Saturday)," Dorrell said. "He had a couple nice tackles in the scrimmage and right now, he's running with our top two groups and he's having a good camp. We're hopeful that he continues that because he really hasn't had a chance to do that, in terms of being a factor in our defense." Striker played his first two seasons of college football (2018-19) at Independence Community College before transferring to CU.

In 2020, he got a chance to play in two games on the punt return unit but missed the entire 2021 season with an injury. "He's had shoulder surgeries and stuff, but it's good that he's over all of those things and he's having a good camp and he's made a few plays," Dorrell said. "He's definitely in a position to help us this year, probably better than any of the years before." Outside of senior Isaiah Lewis, the Buffs don't have much experience at safety, so Striker could provide some quality depth in the back of the defense. - Daily Camera

(DS#999 SS) rSr/2024

SS Jaylen Striker, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/16/22 - Maurice Bell, rSr/2024, Colorado, 6-0, 185 (DS#999 WR) + More +

As a sixth-year senior, Maurice Bell is one of the oldest players on the Colorado football team. He is, however, fighting once again to make a name for himself in CU's talented receiver room. During a scrimmage on Saturday at Folsom Field, Bell was one of the more impressive players on offense and proved he is fully healthy from the torn Achilles' tendon that cost him the entire 2021 season. "I was pleasantly surprised," CU head coach Karl Dorrell said. "He's back to his old self and actually looks better to me than he was before his injury. I'm really proud of him for what he's come back to and what he is now and we're hoping he continues that." Bell, from Murrieta, Calif., played in only three games during his first two seasons at CU (2017-18) and caught only two passes for six yards in 2019.

In 2020, Bell earned a bigger role, finishing with 10 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown in the pandemic-shortened season. He also ranked sixth in the Pac-12 with a 21.57-yard average on kickoff returns. Bell is hoping to have an even bigger role this year as he's battled back from a devastating injury. "Usually you do lose a step or two (after an Achilles' injury), or you're not as fast as you were prior to the injury, things like that," Dorrell said. "But lately, if you do the rehab correctly and really stay up on doing everything, you can get back to close to 100% and that's where I think Maurice is. I've been very encouraged. Plus, physically he looks better. He's more developed. He's put a lot of work in the weight room, too." - Daily Camera

(DS#999 WR) rSr/2024

WR Maurice Bell, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/14/22 - Josh Chandler-Semedo, rSr/2023, Colorado, 5-11, 223 (DS#38 ILB) + More +

Throughout his five seasons in Boulder, Nate Landman was one of the best linebackers to wear a Colorado uniform over the past two decades. Replacing Landman, who graduated after last season, won't be easy. Yet even without him, the Buffaloes feel they might be better overall at inside linebacker. "We have so much more depth and talent there than we've had," head coach Karl Dorrell said. "I feel really good about first- and second-team linebackers. I think there's hardly any drop-off." Senior Quinn Perry is back as a returning starter and has had a strong start to preseason camp. The Buffs also return senior Robert Barnes, who got better as last year went along and had a good offseason.

The summer addition of Josh Chandler-Semedo boosted the group even more. A transfer from West Virginia, he led the Mountaineers in tackles a year ago and has been what the Buffs hoped he would be when they recruited him. "It popped on tape really quickly how smart he was, how he played both an inside linebacker position and an outside linebacker position and he did both of them very proficiently," Dorrell said of recruiting Chandler-Semedo. "And he's able to do that here. It's been a seamless transition for him because his football IQ is really, really strong. "His confidence as a leader … he's able to kind of feel comfortable doing it because he knows football and I think he's been a great addition for us." - Daily Camera

(DS#38 ILB) rSr/2023

ILB Josh Chandler-Semedo, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/14/22 - Isaiah Lewis, rSr/2023, Colorado, 5-11, 190 (DS#61 SS) + More +

Like a lot of young players, Isaiah Lewis had to wait for his turn. Had the transfer portal and the one-time transfer exemption been an option early in his career at Colorado, perhaps he would not have been so patient. But, now entering his sixth and final season of college football, Lewis is grateful for the journey he's taken and the lessons learned. "I've always talked about just trusting the journey, sticking to the script, working hard, no matter what the circumstances," said Lewis, a returning starter at safety for the Buffaloes. "If I had advice to give to someone it's just put your head down and work. And at the end of the day, it's gonna go to who works the hardest. And as one of my coaches out of the Bay Area, Nate Kenion, told me, 'The cream will rise." A Sacramento native who graduated from Granite Bay (Calif.) High School in 2017, Lewis spent three years waiting.

He redshirted in 2017 and played a total of 29 defensive snaps from 2018-19. "(Transferring) was definitely in my mind," he said. "But for me, I didn't really see the benefits of what leaving could really do. I was just now getting into the system here, I was finally getting integrated in the playbook. I felt like I was mastering the playbook, as well. I didn't really see (transferring) as something that I needed to do, especially because I know that the guys who stick around here are the ones who are going to be fighting for each other and we could create a super strong bond over that. So I took that approach." Transferring was always an option, but before the spring of 2021, players who transferred had to sit out a full season at their next school or apply for an NCAA waiver. An NCAA rule change in 2021 now allows players to transfer one time without sitting out. Lewis said he's never seriously considered leaving CU, and he's glad he didn't. - Daily Camera

(DS#61 SS) rSr/2023

SS Isaiah Lewis, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/13/22 - LaVonta Bentley, rSr/2025, Colorado, 5-11, 225 (DS#27 ILB) + More +

LaVonta Bentley has, through the years, earned a reputation as one of the Tigers' hardest workers. The Birmingham, Ala., native has stayed after practice to work on his pass-rush technique with defensive linemen Kevin Swint and Tyler Davis. He took up yoga in recent months to feel the burn of a well-held Downward Dog, but it also mentally centers him ahead of an important season. It's not certain how many snaps Bentley will receive in Clemson's tag-team, but he has set the bar high. He wants 45 tackles in his first three games, which is 15 more than he had all of last year.

"Everyone has a why. My why is to help my mom out, be that guy in the household that they look up to, my nephews, nieces, and everyone," Bentley said. "Just to put that work in over here and, hopefully, I can make it to the NFL and set my family up. Just to have that, be self-driven, all about the process." There is a feeling, if Clemson's linebackers play up to their potential, there will be ample opportunity to make plays. They roam behind one of the nation's best defensive lines, which should make it difficult for blockers to reach the second level. So there is no excuse for the Tigers not to fly to the ball. "I want us to be around the ball no matter what, be relentless, be on the ball," Bentley said. "Even if you wasn't on the tackle, a solo tackle, make sure you're around that ball and get there." - Charleston Post Courier

(DS#27 ILB) rSr/2025

ILB LaVonta Bentley, Colorado
News Source: Charleston Post Courier
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08/13/22 - Tyas Martin, rSo/2026, Colorado, 6-3, 340 (DS#999 DT) + More +

With a mix of proven veterans and young players developing, the Colorado football team likes its depth at defensive line. If Tyas Martin can also play, that would be a major bonus and boost the group even more. A redshirt freshman from Helena, Ark., Martin is working his way back onto the field after dealing with back issues the past two years. "He's been a very pleasant surprise for us because we were concerned whether he would be ready to play this year and he had a really good summer," CU head coach Karl Dorrell said. "He had to kind of retrain some things just because of the things that he's been dealing with. He's able to do that and he's functioning well."

Martin, listed at 6-foot-4, 345 pounds a year ago, is down to 320 and feeling great through the first week of preseason camp. "The trainers, coach (Shannon) Turley and the staff, they just kept the confidence, building up my core and stuff like that so I'm more flexible and I'm feeling good," said. As a junior at Jacksonville (Ark.) High School in 2019, Martin earned all-conference honors after posting 70 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and six sacks. He missed his senior year, however, because of an L5 fracture in his lower back. Last year, he played five snaps against Minnesota, but didn't appear in any other games. Then, he tweaked his back in the winter and missed spring drills. - Daily Camera

(DS#999 DT) rSo/2026

DT Tyas Martin, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/12/22 - Alex Fontenot, rSr/2023, Colorado, 5-11, 200 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Alex Fontenot, who finished with 326 yards and five touchdowns last year, missed the end of spring with an injury, but is back and shining during the first week of CU's preseason camp. "He's having an outstanding camp right now," Dorrell said. "He's kind of got a business attitude, gets the work in, doesn't say boo. But you notice him on the field whenever he gets a rep. "I just see his confidence in his movement skills and the things he's doing right now just reminds me where it was a couple of years ago." Never lacking in confidence, Fontenot is even more so after adding weight and muscle in the offseason. "When I'm in practice, I lower my shoulder and I don't feel like I'm getting bounced," he said. "I don't feel like I'm bouncing; I feel like I'm delivering the blow and just keep moving forward." Fontenot is typically looking ahead but said he's enjoyed his journey at CU and is eager to make his final year his best year. "Definitely it's been a weird journey," he said. "But if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would. I had the opportunity to be behind some great backs, such as Phil Lindsay and also Travon. "(Being at CU) has taught me a lot of life lessons, which I'm grateful for." - Daily Camera

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2023

RB Alex Fontenot, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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08/12/22 - Jaheim Oatis, rJr/2027, Colorado, 6-5, 325 (DS#21 DT) + More +

One of the largest recruits ever to be recruited by Nick Saban is still pretty large, but not quite as large as he was. Freshman defensive lineman Jaheim Oatis has lost 74 pounds in advance of his first season in Tuscaloosa, tweeting days before fall camp started that he weighed 342 pounds after previously tipping the scales at 416. The Columbia, Mississippi native had been listed at 370 pounds by Alabama, or 27 pounds heavier than the next-heaviest player in defensive lineman Tim Keenan at 343 pounds. And at 6-foot-5, Oatis is tied with a couple of others as the tallest among his position group.

"A lot of big guys, they would complain about being that big and having to lose that type of weight," outside linebacker Will Anderson said Monday. "But he came here, head down, worked hard, lost the weight." There might have been a time in the past when a defensive lineman weighing 370 pounds -- or even 400 -- had a place in college football as an immovable run-stuffer. But the proliferation of spread-passing attacks has shifted the role of defensive lineman from clogging the line of scrimmage to more often providing disruption to the pocket as pass rushers. And despite his still-impressive size, Oatis could provide some of that for Alabama. "Believe it or not, I think Jaheim has got a lot more wiggle than you guys think he's got," defensive coordinator Pete Golding said Sunday. "So he's a guy internally [on the offensive line] that if you leave one guy on him, good luck." - Birmingham News

(DS#21 DT) rJr/2027

DT Jaheim Oatis, Colorado
News Source: Birmingham News
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08/10/22 - Shedeur Sanders, Sr/2025, Colorado, 6-2, 212 (DS#2 QB) + More +

2022 PHIL STEELE/DRAFT SCOUT SWAC PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: QB Shedeur Sanders, Jackson St, Soph.,...Sanders, who was named 2022 SWAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year as well as a first-team All-SWAC selection, led the conference in completions (272) and completion percentage (65.9) ranked second in passing yards (3,231) and passing touchdowns (30). Sanders posted nine multi-TD passing games (two 2-TD, five 3-TD, two 4-TD) and three 300+ yard passing games as he led JSU to a school-record 11 wins. - Jackson State Football

(DS#2 QB) Sr/2025

QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
News Source: Jackson State Football
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08/10/22 - Robert Barnes, rSr/2023, Colorado, 6-3, 221 (DS#68 ILB) + More +

Two years ago, Robert Barnes was playing safety at Oklahoma, with Lincoln Riley as his head coach. Last week in Los Angeles, both participated in Pac-12 media day, with Barnes representing Colorado and Riley as the new head coach at Southern California. Riley did a bit of a double-take when he saw Barnes, who is now a 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker. "It's fun to see him now," Riley said. "He's developed so much physically. You can tell later in his career, he's put on some weight...We always thought he probably would eventually grow into that. It's good to see that it feels like it's kind of all coming together for him here at the end. I would expect he'd be one of the top linebackers in the league." The Buffaloes are certainly hoping so. Coming off a 4-8 season (3-6 Pac-12), the Buffs are banking on Barnes and other veterans to lead them on and off the field.

Entering his second season at CU and his second season as a linebacker, Barnes feels ready to take a big step forward. "I think the adjustment (last year) came from safety to linebacker," Barnes said. "I think it was learning how to play a different position, learning how to play that close to the ball, and just understanding tendencies of what a linebacker is looking for. "Towards the end of the season, I caught that confidence, and I was able to go play the level of football that I was capable of playing, but it just took slowing down the game and being able to obtain that confidence I had at safety and flying around and making those plays that I knew I was capable of making. It was just, the game was so fast at one point that I had to just slow it down." - Daily Camera

(DS#68 ILB) rSr/2023

ILB Robert Barnes, Colorado
News Source: Daily Camera
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