The college football transfer portal is, as of today, officially open.
It’s now silly season, folks.
By latest count there are north of 3,500 FBS/FCS entries swirling around the carousel. Colorado needs to grab —- deep breath, John — about 40–45 of them. Yes, that’s an entire side of the ball plus a special teams unit and a couple of long snappers for luck.
[Have I mentioned how much I dislike how Deion Sanders puts a roster together? Yes, John, over and over…]
Roster Math
- Outgoing: 25 transfers + 38 graduates = 63 departing players.
- Incoming: about 14 true freshmen (and one juco) already committed/signed.
- Needed: About 45-50 spots to backfill, which puts the portal shopping list at about 45 (plus a few more freshmen commits before February’s signing day) to get back to a normal-sized roster.
Phew.
The defense will need to be rebuilt entirely. The only returning players on defense that ranked in the top 20 of total snaps are safeties Carter Stoutmire (ranked 8th in total defensive snaps last year) and Ben Finneseth (ranked 18th in total defensive snaps last year.). Ouch.
On offense, things look a bit better. There are arguably about 7 returning starters, including Juju Lewis, so the offense is more of a “big remodel” vs. total gut job.
Buckle up. Let’s dive in.
A Better Approach to the Transfer Market
By now, we all know how Deion Sanders is going to construct a roster. Despite many fans wishes (mine included), he’s going to largely ignore high school recruiting.
Last off-season, Sanders hit the transfer portal aggressively to improve the roster. The biggest addition was Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter, but there were others that CU’s staff was excited about – including defensive lineman Jeheim Oatis (Alabama), offensive linemen Mana Taimani (Ole Miss) and Aki Ogunbiyi (Texas A&M), wide receivers Hykeem Williams (Florida State), and defensive backs Terrance Love (Auburn) and Makari Vickers (Oklahoma) — that have disappointed.
“If you take a look at a lot of the guys that they brought in, there wasn’t a ton of production,” a Big 12 general manager recently told The Athletic. “They took a bunch of Power 4 big names, big (recruiting) star guys, and they put them in with the expectation that they were going to have big jumps. And they just didn’t.”
Another Big 12 personnel staffer told the Athletic: “We say it all the time at our place: If a player can’t develop at a place like Alabama or Georgia, where they have every resource, why are they going to come here and be any better or different?”
CU’s transfer portal wins haven’t come from the usual formula: blue-chip kid who signed with a powerhouse, got buried on the depth chart, and bolted when the dream didn’t match the snaps. No, Colorado’s true impact guys have been climbers, players who up-transferred because they were dominating at their previous stops and were ready for a bigger stage.
Examples include DeKalon Taylor (Incarnate Word), Xavier Hill (Memphis), Zarian McGill (Louisiana Tech), Joseph Williams (Tulsa), Tawfiq Byard (South Florida), LaJohntay Wester (FAU), and Preston Hodge (Liberty). These are hungry players that weren’t escaping disappointment – they were chasing opportunity.
Deion Sanders needs to learn this lesson in this portal. More climbers, fewer down-transfers.
See the list of transfers that CU is talking to below to see that perhaps Deion Sanders has learned this lesson.
State of the Roster Today
Quarterback
Needs to add: at least 3
Current Roster: Julian Lewis
Running Back
Needs to add: 2-3
Current Roster: DeKalon Taylor, Micah Welch, Simeon Price, Kam Mikell
Wide Receiver
Needs to add: at least 4
Current Roster: Joseph Williams, Quanell Farrakhan Jr., Quentin Gibson, Hykeem Williams, Terrell Timmons, true freshman Alexander Ward, true freshman Xavier McDonald
Tight End
Needs to add: at least 3
Current Roster: Zach Atkins, Corbin Laisure, Zayne DeSouza
Offensive Line
Needs to add: at least 7
Current Roster: Jordan Seaton (LT), Chauncey Gooden (G), Yahya Attia (G), Andre Roye Jr. (T), Larry Johnson (T), true freshman Ben Gula (C), true freshman Xavier Payne (LT), true freshman Josiah Manu (T)
Defensive Line
Needs to add: at least 8
Current Roster: Quency Wiggins, true freshman Joseph Peko, junior college transfer Domato Peko Jr.
Linebacker
Needs to add: at least 4
Current Roster: Kylan Salter, true freshman Carson Crawford, true freshman Rodney Colton Jr., true freshman Colby Johnson
Defensive Back
Needs to add: at least 7
Corner: Isaiah Hardge, Makari Vickers, RJ Johnson, true freshman Maurice Williams, true freshman Preston Ashley
Safety: Ben Finneseth, Carter Stoutmire, true freshman Alexander Ward, true freshman Braylon Edwawrds
Potential Incoming Transfers
I’ve been on the phones for the last couple of days trying to figure out who CU is targeting in the tranfser portal. The list below is part sourced information and part educated guessing. Names will be flying around over the next 10 days but these are players that, at a minimum, I know CU has shown interest in and that there has been at least some reciprocal interest from the players’ end.
Also, there will be many, many more names added during the next 2 weeks.
Offensive Players:
Rutgers WR Ian Strong.
Alabama RB Richard Young. Young has posted 234 yards and 5 TDs in his career. He was ranked the #7 RB nationally in the 2023 class. Young finished the saeson with a 65.2 PFF ranking but, intriguingly for the Go-Go offense (which requires lead blocking by running backs), a 78.3 run block ranking.
Louisiana RB Bill Davis. Davis, with the most generic name on this list, had 158 carries for 767 yards last season for the Ragin’ Cajuns. The 5’9″ 235-pound human bowling ball had a 76 PFF grade last season.
Sacramento State RB Damian Henderson. The junior-to-be Henderson has Colorado ties, having transferred from CSU to Sacramento State last year. At Sacramento State this past season, Henderson rushed for 565 yards and 5 TDs, averaging 6+ yards per carry. Henderson is a power back at 6’2” 215 pounds. Henderson’s PFF grade of 73.5 last season was materially above average.
Texas WR Deandre Moore. The 6′ 192 pound Moore is a proven WR that has averaged over 500 yards receiving for Texas the last two seasons. This past season he had 38 ceptions for 532 yards and 4 TDs, averaging 14 yards per catch. Moore had a 71.8 PFF ranking last year, the highest PFF grade among Texas’ wide receivers. He could be a difference maker for the Buffs.
Sacramento State WR Ernest Campbell. If Campbell joins CU’s team, he’ll probably become the 2nd fastest player in CU football history (behind Cliff Branch, who ran a 10.0 second 100-meter dash in 1972.) The 5’9, 145 pound Campbell ran track at Texas A&M during his freshman year and ran a 10.02 100-meter dash at the NCAA West First Round meet. That is world class track speed, and he was named an All-American in track. At Sacramento State last year, the jitterbug Campbell had 37 catches for 755 yards and 8 TDs (an average of over 20 yards per catch). Campbell had the 2nd highest PFF grade last season among offensive regulars for the Hornets (with an overall grade of 84.1). His pass catching PFF grade of 89.6 is elite. Campbell was named to the FCS Football Central Freshman All-American Team this year.
Rutgers WR Ian Strong. The 6’3″ Strong totaled 95 recemptions for 1,438 yards over the last 2 seasons for Rutgers. Strong will have 1 season of eligibility remaining. Strong finished with a 78.6 PFF ranking this past season.
Northern Colorado WR Carver Cheeks. The 6’2″ 205 pound Cheeks combines a first class name with first class playing ability. The 1st team Big-Sky player had 71 receptions for 929 yards and 6 touchdowns for the Bears this past season. His 71 catches ranked 3rd in program history. Has one year of eligibility remaining.
Sacamento State TE Bear Tenney. 6’6″ 250 pound Tenney originaly committed to Utah (over CU) before transferring to Sacramento State. This past season he didn’t put up big numbers but he has prototype size and finished the season with a 71.2 PFF grade despite only playing limited snaps
Nevada OT Zach Cochnauer. The 6’5″ 306-pound Cochnauer started every game for Nevada and recorded a 79 PFF grade (top 25 nationally). He has allowed only 3 sacks in 1,278 career snaps. He has 1 year of eligibility remaining.
Western Carolina OG Manasseh Ripert. The 6’4″ 300 pound Ripert has an 82″ wingspan and finished the season with a 70 PFF pass blocking grade (but only a 59 PFF grade overall). Ripert has 2 years of eligibility remaining.
Defensive Players:
James Madison DB Justin Eaglin.
Monmouth DL Lamont Lester Jr. Lester Jr. dominated at Monmouth, where he had 9.5 sacks and 11.5 TFLs last season. His PFF ranking of 91.4 is among the highest PFF rankings of the season. He did strugge a bit against better teams (he had a season low 65.2 PFF grade against Delaware State) but the 6’2″ 230-pound edge would be a nice addition for the Buffs. VISITING 1/6.
New Mexico State DL Ezra Christensen. The 6’2″ 280-pound Christensen had the 3rd highest PFF score among interior DL in the FBS this season with an 88 grade. A very strong pass rusher from the interior defensive line, he finished with 27 QB hurries and 6 sacks. He has one year of elibiility remaining and started his career at Fresno State before transferring to New Mexico State. VISITING 1/6.
Appalachian State DL Dylan Manuel. Manuel is a 6’1″ 300 pounder that had 37 tackles, 3 sacks and 12 QB hurries last year for Appalachian State. Finished the season with a 73 PFF grade. VISITING 1/3.
UMass DL David Onuohu. Onouhu had 42 tackles last season for the Minutement. The 6’1″ 235-pounder had a 75.6 PFF grade last season for the 0-12 Umass football team. VISITING TBD.
Mercer DL Andrew Zock. Zook was an FCS All-American last year for Mercer, finishing the season with 20 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. Completely dominant at FCS level, and finished the season with a 90.4 PFF grade. VISITING 1/6.
Notre Dame DL Armel Mukam. The 6’3″ 305-pound Mukam only played 69 snaps on Notre Dame’s defense this past season. However, he was relatively productive in his limited snaps and had a 72.8 PFF ranking. He has one year of eligibility remaining and had 11 career tackles at Notre Dame.
Miami, OH DL Adam Trick. Trick finished the season with 8.5 sacks on the season and 66 (!) QB pressures. He had a 91.2 PFF grade on the season. The 6’4″ 250-pound Trick is a superior pass rusher and a future NFL player. He will have one season of elinibility remaining. Academic All-MAC, too.
Sacramento State DL DeSean Watts. The 6’2, 318-pound Watts earned first team All-Big-Sky this past season. He ranked 4th overall among interior defensive lineman (with an 89.4 PFF grade!) and was tired for first against the rush (with a 91.6 PFF grade!). A real run stuffer.
Sacramento State DL Dylan Hampsten. Hampsten was named 2nd team All-Big-Sky this past season and led the team with 13 TFLs and 8 sacks. He had a 76.2 PFF grade. Prior to his time at Sacramento State, Hampsten spent 2 seasons at San Jose State. Hampsten has 2 years of eligibility remaining.
Tulane DE Jordan Norman. Norman posted 28 tackles, incluidng 8 TFLs, and 6 sacks this past season for the Green Wave. The 6’4″ 250 pound Norman had a 72.1 PFF grade last season for Tulane, the 2nd highest among Tulane’s edge players. VISITING TBD.
Georgia Southern DL MJ Stroud. The 6’2″ 235 pound edge earned first team All-Sun Belt this past season and finished with 15.5 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. Had a 73.7 PFF grade for the season, the 2nd highest on Georgia Southern’s team last year. VISITING 1/6.
Sacramento State DL Jayland McGlothen. The 6’2″ 292 pound McGlothen earned 2nd team All-Big-Sky this past season, finishing the season with 31 tackles, 9.5 TFLs and sacks. McGlothen has 2 years of eligibility remaining.
Bowling Green LB Gideon Lampron. Lampron had 119 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks last season. He was a first team All-MAC selection last year, and is widely considered one of top 2-3 linebackers in the transfer portal. Lampron has one year of eligibility remaining. VISITING TBD.
Kansas State DL Chiddi Obiazor. The 6’6″ 280 pound DE had 28 tackles and 2 sacks for Kansas State in 2025. Finished with a 68 PFF grade on the season.
James Madison CB Justin Eaglin. The 6’1″ 175-pound Eaglin earned All-Sun-Belt honors and had 5 interceptions last year. Finished the year with a 75.1 PFF grade and 31 tackles.
Louiasina Tech safety Michael Richard. The 5’11” 185-pound Richard finished last season — his sophomore year — with 33 tackles while battling injuries (he missed 3 games). He had a 69.6 PFF grade last year. However, his freshman year he was named a freshman All-American while leading CUSA freshman in pass breakups.
Sacramento State CB Jason Oliver. Oliver was a CU Buff and part of the “Louis Vitton” purge in 2023. This past season, the 6’ 175-pound Oliver had 36 tackles and 2 interceptions this year and earned First Team All-Big Sky honors. He recorded an 81.4 PFF grade and held WRs to a 41.9% catch rate. [As a point of reference, last year’s best defensive back for the Buffs, Tawfiq Byard, had a 74.9 PFF grade.]
Northern Colorado safety Cam Chapa. Chapa stared 11 games at safety for the Bears, and was named 1st team All-Big Sky this past season. He led the Big Sky in solo tackles (with 63) and totaled 4 intecerceptions. The Eaglecrest HS product would be a good add for the Buffs in the defensive secondary.
New Mexico State safety Naeten Mitchell. Mitchell led NM State with 58 tackles last season. The 5’10” safety prospect had a 67.8 PFF grade last year. He has 2 years of eligibility remaining. VISITING 1/3.
What to Read/Watch
I read/watch stuff other than sports (well, sometimes). Here’s some of the best stuff I’ve seen and read in the last couple of days.
–A fascinating review of Travis Kelce and Pat Mahomes’ steakhouse in Kansas City. This is how to write a restaurant review.
https://defector.com/two-nights-playing-with-fire-at-patrick-mahomes-and-travis-kelces-steakhouse
–The biggest and fastest new roller coaster in the world just debuted. It’s certifiably insane…..take a ride.
–One of my favorite TV shows of the last few years is Shrinking. I’m getting excited for season 3. Check out the trailer at:
–A fantastic essay on the transformative art of….walking. This is worth your time.
https://www.thesunmagazine.org/articles/600-on-walking
–An interesting look at football expenses at the lower level of college football. Curious if/when North Dakota State and South Dakota State make the move to FBS football — the MWC has a need for new teams.
https://herosports.com/fcs-ndsu-financial-data-stacks-up-fbs-ksks
CU Whispers (and what I’m hearing but can’t fully source)
–I’ve heard CU has about $22m to spend on the football roster this year. That’s about $17m of the $20m revenue share (the other $3m is being spent on basketball and non-revenue sports), with about $5-6m of NIL on top of the revenue share. This places CU in the 3rd-5th range of the Big 12, squarely behind Texas Tech and BYU.
–In other words, money is always a factor with adding tranfsers but CU has enough money to bring in good players.
–Deion Sanders losing out on nearly all of his younger recruits on defense is a failure. It’s ok to see it that way, folks.
–I’ve heard we will get positive news this weekend from several portal commitments.
–There are only about 6 guys in-house at CU doing the real recruiting legwork at this time. One was just hired, folks, and several of these are GAs. We need the assistant coaches to be more involved. Also, there is growing frustration with Deion Sanders as he has been out of Boulder for large chunks over the past month.
Yes, I know there’s a lot here. But if you want to read MORE from BuffsBlog, check out this piece on CU’s new AD and what changes to expect in the gameday experience as a result of his hiring:
As an alternative, here’s a proposed new way for Deion Sanders to assemble CU’s roster that will let him maintain his transfer-heavy approach while creating more continuity and culture within the program. As one reader said, it’s dumb enough it just might work.
This is fantastic stuff, John. Better coverage than is available anywhere and it’s free. Thanks – seriously.
Thanks Erich. I really appreciate the kind words!
Long list of potential incoming defensive players, but a shorter list on the offensive side of the ball. Why do you think that is?
It probably has to do with the fact that I talked to more folks that scout the defensive side of the ball than I did folks at CU that scout the offensive side of the ball — lol. I wouldn’t read too much into that.
I just stumbled upon this blog today and have spent the last hour reading old posts. This is a great blog – well done.
The news regarding Deion Sanders is not good. I heard that there was an effort to buy him out this past offseason but that it required to much $$$$ and that no one trusted Rick George to hire a new football coach after 3 busts in a row and prematurely extending MacIntyre. Earlier donors didn’t have enough visibility into the dysfunction of the program, but this past season revealed it. I think the CU admin wants him out ASAP.
Thanks Dave.
And you’re going to get me in trouble.
All I can say is that I have NOT heard from any sources inside CU that Deion was a buyout candidate this past off-season. Frankly, I’d be surprised if that was the case. With that being said, however, I have heard from one person (a donor) the same thing that you’re claiming. Again, I’d be surprised. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that there was at least a small amount of smoke.
I just keep getting the feeling that Coach Prime has this concept that he can treat college football like Moneyball. I also believe that he feels players on a 3-9 team, even the couple of highlights are worth the money they are asking for. He was disappointed by the effort, especially in mid season when things went south and so when they all started asking for serious money he thinks he can upgrade. He believes he can evaluate talent and production and bring in a team that is largely journeymen with maybe a few stars that will produce. Last years struggles really came down to linebackers that could not execute Livingston’s defense and a qb and wr that could not execute Shurmer’s offense. Have significantly better production in either area and we go bowling, in both and we are likely back to 8-9 wins. Play in that position was that bad. Hart and Shurmer who are the primary evaluators at linebacker and qb are gone. Phillips, who has put 4 guys into the league appears to be given a second chance. The expectation is that CU will build a 1 year roster year to year I don’t believe is really possible and I don’t think that Coach Prime actually believes he can but he is not willing to devote the money to any of the players that left they are asking for becuase he needs it to execute the money ball concept. Looking at the list you have provided it is clear they are going for proven guys who want to step up from a lower league. They believe they can evaluate talent better. One thing I think this fan base better be ready for. Expect a team around 70 kids or less after this signing period. I think they are going to try and stretch the money as far as possible and unless the portal totally collapses during it they are going to try and find the Simeon Prices of the world that get overlooked for jumping in the portal and getting no power 4 offers. I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of these kids. The money these kids are asking for just does not stack up. If CU really is top 5 in big 12 then the stars are likely to get paid by teams with 30 mm to spend but the good players are going to take a lot less than than they are hoping for.
Man that was a mouthful. Sorry for the paragraph everyone.
Hi Rob. A lot of good thoughts here.
I do agree that LB was a real weakness last season, although to be honest the entire defense was pretty terrible.
The roster building plan is lacking. I thought my idea of bringing in 20-25 “glue players” (MWC-level recruits) to provide depth and continuity was a good one, but it’s clear that isn’t the path forward for Deion. The big concern I have is that the talent evaluation team at CU is very unproven, so relying on them to dig up diamonds in the rought could be an uphill battle. This would be different if the player development team had the bona fidefs of Utah’s or BYU’s player development group, for example.
Neon Deion spent the bye week riding his pony in tx, now you’re telling me he’s been gone most of the month. We made him one of the higher paid coaches in cfb and this is what we get. I was a huge supporter of him until he went pony riding. If he and his staff ain’t gonna do the work he needs to man up and resign. But we all know he’s gonna keep cashing his checks. 6 assistants recruiting? With a couple being ga’s and a newbie, wtf! Neon is certainly living up to his name, all flash and no substance. When your staff is hall of famers and pro bowlers, guys who dominate on talent you end up with a staff that’s allergic to work. Neon scammed us
(ducks for cover)
Thank you for this! I was refreshing my browser today wondering when to expect any transfer announcements. This is even better !
Thanks Adam!
The decision to ignore or at least to not prioritize high school recruiting in terms of bringing in only kids who can compete for playing time right away is dangerous but defensible if the kids you bring in remain in the program. How many highly regarded freshman from the ‘25 class already are in the portal? Merritt and McPherson jump to mind.
Do we really believe the great egress of kids is due to all of them “chasing the bag”? Any chance it has to do with them not getting coached up properly? I get it that Warren Sapp was a HOF-worthy player. Can he actually coach?
Sorry, old man (Class of ‘89) rant. Don’t get how you build a program with 50 plus kids thru the portal every year. It’s a perpetual state of rebuilding, it seems to me. Here’s to hoping it works better in ‘26 than it did in ‘25.
Love all the information you provide. Thanks for doing it!
I agree that building a program with 65-70% new players every year is not sustainable. More HS recruiting is needed, although retention is an issue as you note.
Thanks for the kind words!