With a star quarterback, four NFL-bound receivers and a subpar offensive line, the Colorado Buffaloes put up some big numbers in the passing game last year, but not so much on the ground.
It was the formula that worked in 2024, as the Buffs went 9-4 and averaged 32.9 points per game – the most for a CU team since 2001.
“That’s one way to approach it and we were able to throw for a lot of yards and help us win nine games,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said Friday as the Buffaloes completed their fourth practice of preseason camp.
That same formula likely won’t work for the 2025 version of the Buffs, though, leading Shurmur, the staff and the players to adapt.
“For us to win more than nine, we got to do more things, I think,” Shurmur said. “Whether it’s using more personnel groupings – we’ve developed a tight end room, right? – or doing more things, we’ll just see how that reveals itself from the development.”
Behind quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Heisman Trophy-winning receiver Travis Hunter and three other top receivers from last year that are now in the NFL, the Buffs shattered school passing records.
However, they ranked last in the country in rushing for the second year in a row. Prior to 2023, the Buffs had averaged less than 93 rushing yards per game just once since World War II, with 59.9 yards per game in 1984. In 2023, CU averaged 68.9 and that dropped to 65.2 last year.
This year, senior Kaidon Salter or freshman JuJu Lewis will be at quarterback, and there is a stable of talented receivers once again.
There have also been significant upgrades on the offensive line, and head coach Deion Sanders and others in the program have repeatedly said the Buffs will run the ball better this year.
“I feel like we’re better suited, I think, this year to have a better running game,” Shurmur said. “And we’ll see how it reveals itself.”
A better run game starts with an improved offensive line.
CU’s best lineman a year ago was freshman Jordan Seaton, who is now a more chiseled and developed sophomore. Others with starts in 2024 (Tyler Brown, Kareem Harden and Phillip Houston) are back, but the Buffs loaded up on experienced transfers.
Xavier Hill (transfer from Memphis), Zy Crisler (Illinois), Zarian McGill (Louisiana Tech) and Larry Johnson III (Tennessee) have all joined Seaton on the first unit during the first week of preseason camp.
“Fortunately, our personnel people brought in a lot of really terrific players,” Shurmur said. “Plus some guys that weren’t starters last year that made huge improvements. I like where we’re going.
“We need physicality and buy-in and play hard together from all five of those guys. … They’re quickly starting to gel.”
At running back, Dallan Hayden is back and heathier than he was a year ago when he finished with just 196 yards. Micah Welch is back and more experienced after rushing for 186 yards as a freshman. And, the Buffs brought in transfers Simeon Price (Coastal Carolina) and Dekalon Taylor (Incarnate Word).
“Each guy is really a little bit different, from Dallan to Sim to DT, and some of the guys that were here last year,” Shurmur said. “Ideally, we put them in there and do the things that they’re best at.”
Of course, the Buffs will throw the ball a lot, too.
Salter is a running threat (2,013 career rushing yards at Liberty), but also has a good arm (5,887 career passing yards), while Lewis threw for more 11,000 yards in high school and was a five-star recruit.
“We try to do the things that they do well on a consistent basis,” Shurmur said. “So, that’s the challenge, to try to develop a package for both of those guys, and then make it seamless, so when I get it called they can go out and execute.”
Regardless of who plays at quarterback – or any other position – Shurmur is likely to call plays that had success last year, as well as a lot of plays that he hasn’t used in the past at CU.
The Buffs’ offense may not look like it did a year ago, but Shurmur is hoping a new formula can lead to similar success.
“I’m in love with plays that work well,” he said. “You keep working on the things you do well, and then you try to find new ideas, and they always go into a new plan.”
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