When Deion Sanders first arrived in Boulder back in December of 2022, one of his first moves was to clean house, advising most of the roster to “hit the portal.” Coming off a 1-11 season, Sanders deemed most of the very young roster expendable, and promised to bring in a higher caliber of football player to his new Colorado Buffaloes program.
To some extent he did just that, bringing future Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Deion’s quarterback son Shedeur – now starting for the Cleveland Browns – with him to Colorado. The Buffs started hot the following season, winning their first three games and capturing the imagination of the college football world. But Sanders first team struggled down the stretch, finishing 4-8, Still, with his stars coming back, the stage was set for a bigger year in 2024.
Not only did two-way star Hunter win the Heisman that season, but Shedeur set numerous school passing records as the Buffs went 9-4 and earned a bowl bid. Things looked bright.
A year later, not so much.
Losing Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders Proved to be a Significant Blow
Losing Hunter and Shedeur to the NFL left a hole that Deion and his coaching staff were unable to fill. The result was a 3-9 mark in 2025 and a whole lot of questions heading into 2026. One of the questions – perhaps the biggest one – was how the Transfer Portal would impact the roster of players eligible to return. CU fans got some answers immediately after the portal officially opened.
Disgruntled fans are probably not too concerned about losing most of the 30 names on the list of departures …so far. But when the name of star cornerback D.J. McKinney popped up, suddenly things started looking a little bleak. Add McKinney and running back Dallan Hayden to the list that already includes standout receiver Omarion Miller, versatile wide out/running back Dre’Lon Miller, safety Tawfig Byard and highly touted edge rusher London Merritt and suddenly another “house cleaning” roster purge isn’t looking like such a great thing.
Buffs QB Room is Suddenly Very Sparce
One other name on the list that is probably surprising to those who follow the program closely is back up quarterback Ryan Staub. Deion has been very open about his admiration for Staub – who played sparingly but did start one game last season – and how much he valued the experience and savvy Staub brought to the quarterback room.
Going into next season, only Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis will return and bring any playing experience with the Buffs at all. Lewis played in four games, with three starts, last season, so he will return as a redshirt freshman for the 2026 season. Sanders will need to find an experienced back up – or perhaps two – in the portal.
The CU offense will need to replace both Miller’s and add playmakers around Lewis. New Offensive Coordinator Brennan Marion is bringing a new, faster paced offensive attack to the program, and with Hayden leaving will need reinforcements in the backfield as well.
The Buffs defense – which was experienced but suspect overall last year – will need to be almost completely rebuilt after graduation and portal losses.
So the question is, will Deion be able to have the kind of portal success he enjoyed during his very first off season at Colorado? How quickly can the coaching staff, with a new OC – be able to get the newbies up to speed?
The team’s immediate on the field fortunes are riding on it.
Colorado travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech in the season opener next September.
Transfer Portal Season Off to a Rough Start for the Colorado Buffaloes