Nobody will be happier than Shedeur Sanders to see the team’s offensive line step onto the gridiron since he’ll have faith in those guys to protect him from getting tackled constantly. A new wave of change has swept over the Colorado Buffaloes and with the revamping that Coach Prime has done to the roster, the fans are raising their hopes for them once again after a disastrous 2023 season.

Back during last season, it was almost a picnic for the other teams to sack Shedeur as the star QB kept hitting the green every other game. The 6-2 inch, 215-pound quarterback faced merciless pressure from the rival defenses and was tackled over 50 times, setting a national record. Now, Deion Sanders and new offensive line coach Phil Loadholt have analyzed the flaws very well and brought in impressive new additions that will ensure Shedeur is well-guarded. Additionally, the former guard for the Colorado Buffaloes, Matt McChesney, presented his observations on the O-line, which will be music to the fans’ concerns.

Matt McChesney talks about why Colorado is different this season

On the 21st July episode of the ‘Zero 2 Sixty Podcast’, Matt McChesney made another appearance and broke down the reasons why Colorado will be drastically different from last season. He later went on to iterate his experience of visiting the Colorado camp and was dumbfounded by the state of the O-line players that joined the team this year.

McChesney weighed in with his opinion on players like Zillinskas and compared the O-line to the likes of NFL’s Andre Gurode and Victor Rodgers. He said, “I saw the offensive linemen they brought in this year and all these f*** dudes, they are huge, dog. They’re so big, they’re super athletic and they are they’re pretty f** nasty, they’re long, they’re just it.”

He further added, “They just look different than they have in the past and I’m not trying to say that when I was there blah blah blah, but when I was there bro, I had to go against guys like Andre Gurode and Victor Rogers every day and Dan Graham at tight end and if you didn’t bring your f** lunch pail to practice, you were getting Molly Whopped, just motherf*** by a pro and that’s now what’s in Boulder on the offensive line.” Thus, the Buffaloes are finally ready to lead by the horns and if need be, to demolish the opposition if they come in their way. With that being said, here’s a brief look at the revamped roster that Coach Prime has constructed to prepare for this season.

The new and stronger Colorado Buffaloes

“The big picture is you get new linemen. That’s the picture and I’m going to paint it perfectly.”- These are the words that Deion Sanders had to utter after their loss on October 28th at the hands of the UCLA Bruins. As a coach, it is hard to see any player of yours suffering with harsh pain but when he saw Shedeur suffering from all the tackles and taking painkillers, Deion’s paternal instincts took over as a natural tendency. That’s what motivated him to make the drastic changes to the roster as the squad looks extremely promising this season.

Justin Mayers, the former guard for UTEP, is most probably the biggest addition to the team this season. He was the fourth highest-graded interior OL for 2024 and Mayers made a bold decision when he chose to come to Colorado despite having offers from teams like Texas Tech, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, and Mississippi State.

Next, Tyler Johnson, the former guard for the Cougars, was the number 5 interior offensive lineman in the transfer portal. Coach Prime cast his magic and eventually brought in this valuable addition to Colorado. Additionally, Johnson is the only player from Colorado to make it onto On3’s preseason all-transfer portal team.

Other names that will be vital for the team this season are- Kahlil Benson, Jordan Seaton, Tyler Brown, and many others. Hopefully, all these efforts of his father will protect Shedeur and lead the team to a CFP spot this season as the Buffs look to redeem themselves.