Colorado DC Charles Kelly has ‘a lot of work to do’ with DL: Analyst

First-year Colorado football defensive coordinator Charles Kelly has “a lot of work to do” with the team’s defensive line according to Buffaloes Wire’s Matt Wadleigh — who pointed out that at least the unit’s drive hasn’t been beaten out of them like the entire 2022 team under Karl Dorrell was.

“The defensive line has a ton of new faces, including Dartmouth transfer Shane Cokes, Sav’ell Smalls, Taijh Alston, JJ Hawkins, Chazz Wallace, Leonard Payne Jr. and many more,” Wadleigh prefaced before saying, “The intensity is evident, although defensive coordinator Charles Kelly has a lot of work to do with so many new faces on that side of the ball.”

CU’s 2023 high school recruiting class includes just two defensive linemen in total: Cherry Creek two-way lineman Hank Zilinskas and Putnam City EDGE Taje McCoy. It will be the work of the 14 transfers from across the SEC (mostly), the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the Group of Five, and the FCS to help Kelly have his side of the ball — along with defensive-minded NFL/college football legend Deion Sanders, that is — covered during the upcoming campaign.

Colorado football center: Buffaloes DL ‘gonna be hard for teams’

Colorado football center Van Wells, one of the 10 players to stick in Boulder following the coaching change to Sanders, had strong praise for the Buffaloes’ defensive line; one he’s been battling through fall camp and dating back to the program’s spring game.

“The whole D-line is good,” Wells said on August 18 (h/t DNVR Buffs). “They have depth. Everybody can play. It’s gonna be hard for teams.”

You’re rarely going to hear players putting down their teammates, but Wells shouting out the team’s depth shows that he has respect for everyone on the DL. Considering how heated practice has been in fall camp, that respect was earned by walking through fire.