Coach Prime and new Colorado football offensive line coach Phil Loadholt's vaunted transfer portal haul -- which includes center Yakiri Walker (Connecticut), guards Tyler Johnson (Houston) and Justin Mayers (UTEP) and tackle Kahlil Benson (Indiana) -- won't lead to a significantly improved offensive line because of where they came from, says Mike Farrell of the Mike Farrell Sports brand.
"Coach Prime has landed four solid offensive linemen from the portal led by Tyler Johnson, and they are plug-and-play guys, but let’s be real," Farrell prefaced before saying, "Guys from Houston, UConn, Indiana, and UTEP aren’t going to immediately make a bad unit good again. Maybe Deion can add in some current players, or perhaps Jordan Seaton as a 5-star recruit can impact immediately, but excitement needs to be tempered here as the portal is not the solution for the OL immediately, and we learned that last year."
Talk about program-shaming...
Colorado football offensive line recruiting shouldn't be anywhere near done
Colorado's flurry of offensive line commits shouldn't be the end of the road for Deion Sanders and Co. Or anything close to the end of the line.
While there were some flashy additions to the unit -- none more so than the 2024 class's No. 1 offensive tackle, Jordan Seaton -- the lack of depth could ultimately lead to a repeat of 2023's protection-less sack-fest at CU that Shedeur Sanders had to suffer through for a full season.
Not addressing the entire depth chart for the offensive line, and doing a week's worth of work isn't going to help the Buffs deliver on any College Football Playoff expectations Coach Prime and players like Travis Hunter are generating.
Loadholt is to be trusted for what he brought to Colorado in his first week employed, though, so expect more additions to the OL this offseason.