As 2025 was getting ready to roll, the No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes got steamrolled 36-14 by the No. 17 BYU Cougars in Saturday’s Alamo Bowl. “That’s a wrap. It’s over,” Coach Prime declared, wrapping up a tough season in true no-nonsense style. For the players whose college careers are officially done—headlined by a Heisman Trophy-winning QB1—it’s already “on to the next,” as Sanders put it. The focus now shifts to the fresh crop of recruits, and it’s showtime for the newbies to prove their worth. One four-star defensive end is already turning heads, making it clear he’s ready to eat and earn his spot. And his elite teammates Julian Lewis and two-way lineman Christian Hudson made sure to make their voices heard.

While most people spent Christmas and New Year’s indulging in festivities and family time, Buffs, four-star DE commit London Merritt, took a different route. And to top that off, the standout recruit from IMG Academy, the one who committed to Coach Prime back in November, posted a training pic for the very first time from Boulder on his Instagram yesterday. The meaningful caption read, “New beginnings 🙏🏾 #scobuffs.” That’s all it took for his elite peers to light up the comments section. Among the first to chime in were fellow CU commits, Carrolton High’s five-star phenom QB, Lewis, and Mainland High School’s three-star recruit, Hudson.

The two players already seem ready to form the nucleus of Sanders’ next powerhouse team. JuJu kept it cryptic with “🧍🏽🧍🏽.” Meanwhile, his defensive buddy Hudson added, “💯👌🏾.” The brotherhood is strong, and Merritt’s move has their full stamp of approval.

But make no mistake, this Ohio State flip isn’t just here to post cool photos. The No. 25 EDGE player in the nation is the kind of prospect who could thrive in almost any defensive scheme. At 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, he’s a heavy-handed defender with the versatility to excel as a power end in a 3-4 or slide inside as a 3-technique in a 4-3.

London Merritt in his senior season at IMG was proof of his disruptive potential. He totaled 23 tackles, four tackles for loss, and a staggering 15 quarterback hurries in just eight games. Numbers like that don’t just jump off the stat sheet—they leap into the imaginations of defensive coordinators everywhere. CU’s Robert Livingston summed it up best: “You recruit kids that you hope will come in and play right away, and then they get thrown in the fire with guys that have been doing it for three or four years.”

The “fire” Livingston speaks of isn’t hyperbole. Colorado’s incoming recruits didn’t just sit on the sidelines during bowl preparations. They practiced alongside Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, and a roster brimming with talent and attitude. For someone like Merritt, the transition from high school stardom to competing with college-level studs is a trial by fire. But it’s exactly what Coach Prime envisioned when he said CU doesn’t recruit players it doesn’t expect to contribute immediately. Things seem to change drastically now.

Lewis and London Merritt are part of the same elite group of ten new Buffaloes. It’s a mix of high school signees and one college transfer who were in uniform at the Alamodome for the Alamo Bowl. The chance to practice with the team before officially enrolling in the spring wasn’t just a perk.

It’s clear that CU’s approach to recruiting is as bold as its head coach. This isn’t just about bringing in talent—it’s about building a culture where hunger and humility coexist with confidence and swagger. As the calendar flips to 2025, the Buffaloes find themselves at a crossroads. Last year’s highs and lows are in the rearview mirror, and the road ahead is paved with possibilities. The proof is in the work.

London Merritt trades Santa’s gifts for grind

While Julian Lewis and others were unwrapping gifts on Christmas, the bulldozer of an EDGE, London Merritt, took a different path. The IMG Academy standout and Colorado Buffaloes commit skipped the holiday festivities to put in some serious work on the field. Now that’s commitment, right?

Merritt, one of the top prospects in the 2025 recruiting class, let everyone know where his priorities lie. He shared an Instagram story captioned “Christmas practice,” set perfectly to Chris Brown’s, “This Christmas.” It was less about the holiday vibes and more about those grind-now-shine-later goals.

This move isn’t just a testament to Merritt’s own drive—it’s a reflection of the culture Coach Prime is building in Boulder. Forget eggnog and cozy sweaters; this young man is busy preparing to terrorize quarterbacks with his new beginnings.