SPRING ROSTER 2025 OVERANALYSIS (PT. 1 OF 2): THE FRESHMEN AND TRANSFERS

The CU football staff finally put out the new spring roster (or, as we call it, the PHONEBOOK) and we here at BuffsBlog couldn’t be more excited….because it’s good stuff, yes, but almost equally importantly — it gives us a chance to shout out The Jerk!

Now, for a few quick notes on how this works:

Any player that has lost weight is now much faster and more athletic and has retained, or even gained, in strength.  Any player that has gained weight is now much stronger and yet has retained, or even gained, in speed.  In other words, all weight loss is good and all weight gain is good.

See how we do things around here?  

Also — for player size comparisons, we’re using the recruiting day roster provided by CU for the true freshmen and transfers in December. The recruiting day roster is presumaby comprised of player height/weight as measured on the player’s official visit to CU.

So without further ado, let’s jump in:

TL/DR: Chauncey Gooden and Jay Gardehire are both coming in materially heavier than advertised. Corbin Leisure has put on some needed weight. London Merritt has a badass number. And Reginald Hughes is down 15 pounds and is FAST. Particularly notable size changes are highlighted in bold below.

Freshman have weights!

Player	Ht.	Wt.	Weight Change	Notes
JuJu Lewis	6’1″	190	0	Great sign; concerns he was lighter
Quanell “X” Farrakhan Jr.	6’1″	180	+10	X has buzz; good weight gain
Quentin Gibson	5’9″	155	-10	Down 10 pounds and too small to have big role this year?
Adrian Wilson	6’2″	165	-5	Needs 15+ pounds
TJ Branch	6’3″	170	-10	170 is too small for modern safety
Mantrez Walker	6’1″	230	+5	That’s playing weight
London Merritt	6’3”	250	-5	Making plays in practice; not hard to envision 270 pound player in 1 year.
Chauncey Gooden	6’3”	380	+20	Probably not positive weight gain.
Carde Smith	6’5”	300	+10	Good weight gain.  Nearing weight where he can play.
Jay Gardenhire	6’8”	380	+50	Probably not positive weight gain.
Corbin Laisure	6’5”	250	+25	Good sign – added size needed to help improve blocking.
Christian Hudson	6’1”	300	+10	Can play at this size.
Alexander McPherson	6’6”	240	-10	Weight loss not ideal – probably too skinny to get material minutes this year

The only incoming true freshman that is not listed on the spring roster is TE Zayne DeSouza. DeSouza is not an early enrollee and is instead finishing up his senior year at Loveland High after playing basketball this winter. For a profile on DeSouza, check out:

HELLO! ZAYNE DESOUZA – WELCOME TO THE BLACK AND GOLD

The biggest weight gain is by Jay Gardenhire. Gardenhire is up 50 pounds from 330 to to 380 athough, to be fair, he was listed much larger than 330 pounds on some recruiting websites. This almost ensures a redshirt year for Gardenhire as he’ll need to retool his body.

Corbin Leisure’s weight gain of 25 pounds to 255 is a positive — Leisure was primariy a receiving tight end in high school and needs to work on run blocking. Adding 25 pounds to his frame should help so long as he maintains his atleticism.

Chauncey Gooden is also up 20 pounds to 380 pounds. This is probably too big for him to play effectively at this level and may signal a redshirt year. Time with Andreu Swasey and the strength and conditoning team will be key for his (and Gardenhire’s) development.

One other disappointment was Alexander McPherson. He weighed in at 240 pounds, which is too light for a 6’6″ defensive end. There’s been positive buzz about McPherson, but he’ll need to put on weight to play effectively at this level. A redshirt season wouldn’t shock me for him, either.

Newcomers have numbers!

What do we think? Drop us a comment with your thoughts here.

JuJu Lewis is #10. This is the same number he wore in high school and also the same number as Kurt Warner and Fran Tarkenton. Coincidence?

Quanell “X” Farrakhan Jr. is #14. He’s been getting buzz this spring — could he step into the shoes of last year’s #14, Will Sheppard?

Quentin Gibson is #15, stepping into the shoes of “Mate,” punter Mark Vassett. Presumably Q can run faster, but did anyone else see Vassett put up a 4.65 second 40-yard dash at the CU Pro Day? Who said punters aren’t athletes? Guys that wear #15 can fly.

Adrian Wilson is #20. He was #8 in high school, but that number was already taken by DJ McKinney.

TJ Branch is #22, the same number as former CU great Nelson Spruce. He was #3 in high school, but that’s QB Kaidon Salter’s number in Boulder. Maybe next year, TJ?

Mantrez Walker is #38. I think #38 looks good on a LB — sleeker than a number in the 40s. With one exception…

London Merritt is #44. The best number for a LB/DE hybrid. Think Brian Bosworth, Ray Lewis, Chris Spielman. Well played, London.

Chauney Gooden is #51. He’s also 110 pounds heavier than last year’s #51, offensive lineman Yakiri Walker.

Carde Smith is #65. This also happens to be the same number as CU assistant offensive line coach, and defensive line lawn mower, Andre Gurode. Hopefully Smith can have the same kind of career at Andre.

Jay Gardenshire is #71. Last year’s #71 was Peyton Kirkland, another enormous human being.

Corbin Leisure is #88. Very Clarence Kay of Corbin.

Christian Hudson is #97, which is fitting given that there is another player that has the exact same size as Hudson and also wears #97 — Geno Atkins. There’s a role model for you, Christian!

Alexander McPherson is #98, replacing last year’s #98 — placekicker Christian “Enrico” Palazzo.

Colorado is going to heavily rely on transfer tight end Zach Atkins this fall.

Transfers have weights!

Player	Ht.	Wt.	Weight Change	Notes
Zach Atkins	6’4”	240	–	Atkins’ health critical to TEs; not a big TE
Boomin’ Buck Buchanan     (Triple B)	5’11″	185	+5	Was listed at 6’3” and now 5’11 – damn altitude shrinkage!
Tawfiq Byard	6’1″	195	-5	Running with the 1s.
Tavian Coleman	6’1”	300	–	One of our smaller DTs (!)
Zyon Crisler	6’7″	340	-10	Big man – just not as big as last year as down 10 lbs.
Martavius French	6’2”	225	0	Do we call a big hit a French kiss?
Damon Greaves	6’1″	190	+5	5 pound weight gain, all in left leg.
Reginald Hughes	6’2”	225	-15	Down 15 pounds; CU’s LBs are all light
Gavriel Lightfoot	6’3”	310	+10	Gavriel is light compared to some of our DTs
Zarian McGill	6’2”	320	+10	Big for center but can also play guard.
Jaheim Oatis	6’5”	325	+5	CU’s interior is BIG
Aki Ogunbiyi	6’4”	340	+25	Weight gain might be concerning for 5th year player
Kaidon Salter	6’1”	190	-10	Same size as JuJu!
Kylan Salter	6’2”	230	+5	Good size and athleticism
Makari Vickers	6’1”	190	0	Hope he gets healthy
Mana Taimani	6’5”	340	-5	Down 5 pounds and now running with 1s. Coincidence?
Joseph Williams	6’2”	200	+5	Williams is showing out this spring

The two biggest suprirses here are Aki Ogunbiyi and Reginald Hughes.

Aki Ogunbiyi gaining 25 pounds (from 315 to 340) as a 5th year player is a surprise. I do note that Ogunbiyi’s weight at A&M fluctuated and that he was as high as 330 pounds at one point, so the “glass half full” view is that he’ll be playing at CU only about 10 pounds heavier than his heaviest weight at A&M.

Another surprise is that LB Reginald Hughes is down 15 pounds to 225. CU’s inside linebackers are all in that 220-230 pound range. The massive size of CU’s interior defensive line will make it difficult for interior offensive lineman to get to the second level and block CU’s linebackers. Therefore, trotting out lighter, sideline-to-sideline inside LBs probably makes sense for this defense.

Transfers have numbers, too!

No pressure, Kaidon.

Kaidon Salter is #3, the same number as all-time CU great QB Darian Hagan. That’s got to be a positive omen, right?

Joseph Williams is #8, meaning that one of the most dynamic players on offense will wears the same number as one of the most dynamic players on defense — DJ McKinney.

Marari Vickers is #10, the same number as JuJu.

Tawfiq Boyd is #11, which is a very slimming number. Maybe some of our offensive linemen should petition for a number switch with Boyd.

Damon Greaves is #35, which is an odd number for a punter. This is a fullback’s number. Hopefully Damon Greaves wears a neck roll.

Kylan Salter wears #41. He was #30 at TCU.

Booming Buck Buchanan wears #43, also an odd number for a kicker. I fully expect BBB and Damon Greaves to lay the hit stick on several players this season on kickoff / punt coverage.

Reginald Hughes is #50. He was #5 at Jacksonville State, so maybe he thought #50 is the closest thing to his old number….

Mana Taimani is #57. He was #53 at Wyoming and #59 at Ole Miss, so he’s a big fan of the 1950s.

Zarian McGill is #58, which was Tyler Brown’s number last year. Brown has since switched to #56.

Zyon Crisler is #72, which was the same number he wore at Illinois. It’s also fitting because all 1972 Chryslers (Crisler, get it?) are giant boat-like cars.

Aki Ogunbiyi is #74, which is the same number he wore at Texas A&M.

Zach Atkins is #85. He was #46 at NW Missouri State.

Jaheim Oatis is #92. Oatis was #91 at Alabama but Brandon Davis-Swain had already claimed #91 at CU. Stay tuned for part 2 of the roster over-analysis where we’ll note Brandon Davis-Swain’s body transformation into a 3-tech defensive tackle.

Tavian Coleman is #94, the same number as former CU great Alfred Williams. No pressure, Tavian.

Gavriel Lightfoot is #99. A great number for a defensive tackle.