Coach Prime's star Colorado football offseason hiring nailing talent acquisition portion of his gig

Denver Sports' Jake Shapiro, like any sane analyst watching what Coach Prime's new Colorado football offensive line coach is doing on the recruiting trail, believes Phil Loadholt is nailing the talent acquisition portion of his gig.

"No offensive line in the country was worse than the Colorado Buffaloes this past year, but Deion Sanders has done a lot of work early in the offseason to correct the issue heading into 2024," Shapiro wrote.

"This week Sanders announced former NFL lineman Phil Loadholt will lead the unit, and the man in charge of the big boys has already nailed the talent acquisition portion of his gig. On Saturday alone, four starting offensive linemen from other FBS programs committed from the transfer portal to join Coach Prime in Boulder."

Colorado football identity re-shaped in one fell swoop following Phil Loadholt hiring

Loadholt's work with Colorado's offensive line is the stuff of legend. In his first week on the job, he and Coach Prime were able to land the No. 1 overall offensive tackle in the 2024 recruiting class, Jordan Seaton, then followed that up with the transfer portal additions of Center Yakiri Walker (Connecticut), guards Tyler Johnson (Houston) and Justin Mayers (UTEP) and tackle Kahlil Benson (Indiana).

In one fell swoop, the Buffs may have built the kind of offensive line that can facilitate a run-game, which will in turn open up the field more for Shedeur Sanders and the rest of CU's explosive offensive weapons.

Of course, the actual coaching portion of Loadholt's job will determine if the OL is as advertised. But if the talent acquisition portion is any indication, the six-year coaching veteran who spent six years with the Minnesota Vikings will hit the ground running.