Pitt transfer a good bet to lead Colorado football in sacks this season

Pitt EDGE transfer Dayon Hayes was deemed the most likely sacks leader for Deion Sanders' Colorado football program this fall by The Coloradoan's Scott Procter. Hayes was also predicted to go to the NFL as one of the seven or eight NFL players Coach Prime believes he has on his Buffs defense.

"Hayes was virtually unblockable at the Buffs' open practice last week and is a good bet to lead Sanders' defense in sacks this fall," Procter prefaced before saying, "If that happens, he'll certainly find himself on NFL draft boards."

Sanders had previously thanked Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi, likely as a troll, for preparing Hayes and DL Samuel Okunlola to play in Boulder.

"I want to digress a bit and thank the head coach from Pittsburgh for really preparing those young men for us... they’re really great players and they’re gonna be pros," Sanders said back in April (h/t On SI).

Narduzzi had criticized Coach Prime for going about his Buffs roster-building in incorrect fashion. It's fair to say Sanders fully expects to hold Hayes and Okunlola; who Procter believes has the highest upside of any young player on the roster.

BJ Green expected to be star of Colorado football defensive front

Coach Prime predicts BJ Green becoming a first-round talent and Warren Sapp can't say enough good things about the ASU transfer DL. Green has star written all over him, and the coaches see that.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to lay Sapp out in practice and not have any consequences.

Colorado has several potential stars on their defensive front, and Green figures to shine the brightest on every given play -- even if Hayes or Okunlola could end up with the most counting stats.

Regardless of which players put up the most eye-popping numbers, first-year defensive coordinator Robert Livingston has far more talent than Charles Kelly had in 2023. Especially in the trenches.