What are the Colorado Buffaloes’ strongest position groups for 2023?

In a handful of months, Coach Prime has completely overhauled the Colorado Buffaloes football program and roster, by bringing in mobs of top transfer talent.

As a result, the makeup of CU’s roster is dramatically different now — boasting new strengths and different weaknesses.

What exactly are those foundational strong points? Let’s take a look.

No. 5: Inside Linebacker

Linebacker manages to be one of the strongest position groups on the Colorado Buffaloes by combining some holdover talent from the Dorrell era that’s outperforming expectations with a trio of dynamic transfers from blue-blood programs.

In the Pac-12, the Colorado Buffaloes should run their defense primarily out of dime or nickel packages, meaning they’ll rarely have more than two inside linebackers out there at the same time. Yet, the team seemingly goes five deep at the position.

Clemson transfer LaVonta Bentley was the best linebacker throughout spring ball and quickly asserted himself as a vocal leader for the defense. He seems destined to snag one of the two starting spots.

Though, who will be starting next to him and who will slide down into the role of luxury backup, remains a mystery.

Both Demouy Kennedy and Brendan Gant have appealing cases.

Kennedy was a star for Alabama’s special teams and entered college as the third-highest-rated prospect in his recruiting class. The Buffs could give him a chance to finally shine.

Meanwhile, Gant has already operated a larger role, appearing on defense for all 12 games for the Seminoles last season, though he might not offer the same potential ceiling as Kennedy, considering some of the physical limitations Gant has as a result of starting his career as a safety.

But, to win the starting job, both Kennedy and Gant will have to climb past Marvin Ham II and Isaac Hurtado, who were impressive enough this spring to earn their numbers. Plus, Ham started in the spring game for the Colorado Buffaloes’ first-team defense and arguably had the best defensive showing of anyone.

Here, CU appears to have top-end talent and quality depth to insulate them from injury. The only problem is the unproven nature of their projected starters and top-end talent.

No. 4: Safety

The Buffs have so much talent at the safety position that it almost feels like they’re too loaded.

Currently, playing with three safeties, with one dropped down into the spot of a nickel cornerback, is in vogue, but even with that in mind, it will be nearly impossible to get everyone playing time, as the Colorado Buffaloes appear to go seven deep at the safety position.

Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig has been the ultimate ‘Coach Prime guy’ and, as a result, was one of the very first players to pick his jersey number and maintained a stranglehold on one of the team’s starting safety spots throughout the spring. Meanwhile, Trevor Woods has been the ultimate ‘CU holdover’, and also got to pick his jersey number and hold onto his starting job throughout camp.

Arkansas transfer Myles Slusher also regularly stood out and is currently the leader in the clubhouse for that third safety/nickel corner role.

That meant that the Colorado Buffaloes were already pretty set at safety at the time of the spring game, and then Colorado added four more top transfers. Of those four, three have Power-5 experience and the one that hasn’t played in the Power-5 is the most experienced and awarded member of the bunch.

While the depth is so immaculate that it leaves the Buffs in the awkward position of not having enough starting jobs to go around, the safety group also lacks some of the dominant top-end talents that the other positions on this list boast. There’s no LaVonta Bentley, Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr., or Alton McCaskill here.

No. 3: Cornerback

Placing cornerback this low will surprise plenty of fans of the Colorado Buffaloes but for as amazing as the top-end talent projects to be — with Travis Hunter and Cormani McClain leading the way — the depth behind them is a serious concern.

Throughout the spring game, the second-team unit was burned and diced up by the opposing offense, fueling some concerns as to what happens if Hunter or McClain suffers an injury this season.

On top of that, the outlook for Hunter and McClain continues to be simply a projection. While it would be a surprise if the two No. 1 ranked cornerbacks don’t form a deadly pairing, it’s not out of the question, considering neither has ever played a snap of FBS football before.

The ceiling here is higher than it is with any other position group on the roster, but the floor is more uncertain than the rest of CU’s best position groupings.

Fortunately, easing some of those concerns about depth and experience are recent additions Jahquez Robinson and Omarion Cooper, from Alabama and Florida State, respectively.

Those two bolster the room a considerable amount, and, when paired with the depth at safety, give the Colorable Buffaloes excellent defensive versatility.

Ultimately, this could prove to be the nation’s best cornerback group, but the concerns raised throughout the spring can’t be ignored, even despite the additions of Robinson and Cooper.

No. 2: Running back

This might have been the Colorado Buffaloes’ second weakest position group at the time of the spring game, but the summer additions of Kavosiey Smoke (who was already committed) and Alton McCaskill changes everything.

Anthony Hankerson and Dylan Edwards were already starring as the team’s top two backs, and now, the offense will benefit by sliding them into more natural rotational roles. During the spring, both Hankerson and Edwards proved they can be dynamic players on this offense, but that Colorado would be better off with a different bell cow. Now, they have precisely that setup.

Of course, there’s potential for McCaskill to not be the same hyper-dynamic runner he was before his ACL tear when he won AAC Freshman of the Year, but that seems unlikely. Every report we have so far suggests that McCaskill’s rehab is trending in the right direction, and there’s also the fact that he’ll be 18 months removed from the injury by the time Week 1 kicks off.

Plus, even if he isn’t the same, CU has an excellent rotation set up behind him to help support the Buffs’ ground game.

Recent Jackson State transfer Sy’veon Wilkerson, who tallied over 1,300 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns last season for Coach Prime, and will now support McCaskill along with Smoke, Edwards, and Hankerson.

That’s enough talent to ensure that everyone can stay fresh all season long.

No. 1: Wide Receiver

Every time it seems like Coach Prime has filled the Colorado Buffaloes’ wide receiver room to capacity, he dips back into the transfer portal, only to emerge with another freak athlete in tow.

USF transfer Jimmy Horn Jr. immediately stood out as one of the team’s most elite talents in spring camp, and yet still, he was outperformed by Travis Hunter, and a season ago, there was no denying that fellow USF transfer Xavier Weaver was the leader in that receiving room.

It’s not to imagine a world where Jimmy Horn Jr. is a top-five player on the team, and still the third-best wide receiver.

The loss of Montana Lemonious-Craig hurts the standing of this room some, considering his immense talent, but the Buffs have plenty of options to take his place.

Kaleb Mathis has already demonstrated a natural connection with Shedeur Sanders and could be a plug-n-play solution, while Chernet Estes made some of the most impressive plays of any receiver this spring. Jaylen Ellis and Tarvarish Dawson are Power-5 transfers. Javon Antonio is one of the freakiest athletes on the entire roster and dominated lower levels of competition. Adam Hopkins and Omarion Miller are the third and fourth-highest-rated freshmen in Colorado’s recruiting class and were ranked as top-40 receivers in their class.

And that’s only scratching the surface.

The combination of proven high-level talent and ludicrous amounts of depth makes wide receiver the Colorado Buffaloes’ most loaded position group.