Last weekend, the Colorado Buffaloes hosted more football talent than they have at any other point in the 21st century, as Coach Prime gets to work reviving the CU program.

We’ve already discussed the insane crop of offensive talent that the Buffaloes were targeting, so now it’s time to dissect who they’re bringing in on the defensive side of the ball.

Defensive recruits for the Colorado Buffaloes

Defensive line

Players Visiting: Nasir Wyatt (2025, California, 5-Star, 0.985 composite score, No. 5 EDGE); Brandon Davis-Swain (2024, Michigan, 4-Star, 0.953 composite score, No. 12 DL) Omar White (2024, Georgia, 4-Star, 0.948 composite score, No. 13 DL); Danny Okoye (2024, Oklahoma, 4-Star, 0.929 composite score, No. 14 EDGE); D’Antre Robinson (2024, Florida, 4-Star, 0.922 composite score, No. 20 DL); Eric Brantley Jr. (2024, Georgia, 3-Star, 0.884 composite score, No. 38 DL, CU commit) Shaun Scott (2026, California, Unrated, EDGE). 24 total stars, 0.937 average composite score.

The Colorado Buffaloes’ defensive front was one of the most desperate position groups on the roster last season, sneakily perhaps even more so than the paltry offensive line, but Coach Prime is making leaps and bounds toward remedying that squad.

In 2022, among the 131 qualified programs, the Buffs’ defensive line ranked 113th overall in the average line yards allowed (basically, how much push they’re allowing the offensive line to get off the snap), 127th in opportunity rate (how frequently they’re allowing opportunities for explosive runs), 89th in run-stuff rate, and 131st in sack rate.

There’s at least an argument to be made that they were the worst defensive line in all of the Power 5.

Fortunately, that could change in a hurry, as Coach Prime already has five upperclassman transfers signed along the defensive line, with one of those being an edge rusher from the SEC, and another, an edge rusher from the Michigan Wolverines.

On top of that, Prime is targeting a number of tantalizing recruits in the pipeline, as evidenced last weekend.

Colorado hosted two elite edge prospects, in Danny ‘Phantom’ Okoye and Nasir Wyatt, and three elite defensive line prospects, in D’Antre Robinson, Omar White, and Brandon Davis-Swain.

The biggest star in the 2024 class that the Buffaloes brought in, along the defensive line, was Davis-Swain, who’s a do-it-all athlete from Michigan whom Coach Prime will have to compete with Lincoln Reily, among several others, for.

Wyatt is the highest-rated prospect along the defensive line the Buffaloes brought in for a visit, and if they land him, he’d wind up being the school’s second-highest-rated defensive recruit ever, and fifth-highest-rated recruit overall for the program. Wyatt also comes from Mater Dei, where Prime is clearly attempting to build up a pipeline.

Omar White — who also boasts offers from Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Texas A&M, Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, and the rest of the blue blood programs — already committed to Colorado over his home-state Bulldogs, and projects to be a centerpiece of Boulder’s defensive front for years to come.

White also brings high school teammate Eric Brantley Jr., further shoring up the Colorado Buffaloes’ defensive line of the future.

Lastly, you have Robinson and Okoye, the lowest-rated of the top-tier recruits the Buffaloes brought in this past weekend, and yet they both still have offers from Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M and USC, while Okoye has offers from Alabama and Ohio State additionally. The fact those are the ‘low-wattage’ defensive line visits that the Colorado Buffaloes just hosted only further evidences the dramatic transformation the program has had under Coach Prime.

Linebacker

Players Visiting: Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (2024, California, 4-Star, 0.958 composite score, No. 7 LB); Nate Frazier (2024, California, 4-Star, 0.924 composite score, No. 26 ATH); Stacy Bey (2024, California, 3-Star, 0.873 composite score, No. 63 ATH). 11 total stars, 0.918 average composite score.

After the recent surprise addition of Demouy Kennedy, and transfer of former 4-Star Clemson recruit Vonta Bentley, linebacker isn’t as pressing a need for the Colorado Buffaloes as it once was, but they still need to load up for the future, because outside of a few 3-Star freshman additions, there’s no clear solutions for what the Buffaloes do after Kennedy and Bentley move on.

Those future plans could be upgraded in a hurry with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who currently ranks as the nation’s seventh-best inside linebacker and 10th-best player in the state of California, for 2024. Considering his pedigree, it’s unsurprising that Viliamu-Asa boasts offers from all the blue blood programs you would expect, but Coach Prime has already demonstrated to poach from those schools at the linebacker position.

Last, is Nate Frazier, who attends Mater Dei High School, the rival of Viliamu-Asa’s St. John Bosco, and a target that Coach Prime is pouring a lot of attention into. If Coach Prime can land a handful of kids from these high school powers, he could fortify a connection between the University of Colorado and a high school loaded with Division-1 talent.

Stacy Bey isn’t a clear upgrade on what the Buffaloes already have in the room, at linebacker, but would help improve the overall depth of the position group, either there, or at running back.

Defensive back

Players Visiting: Jett White (2025, California, 4-Star, 0.964 composite, No. 4 CB); Ju’Juan Johnson (2024, Louisiana, 4-Star, 0.917 composite score, No. 28 ATH); Boo Carter (2024, Tennessee, 4-Star, 0.908 composite score, No. 33 ATH); Miles Lockhart (2024, Arizona, 4-Star, 0.902 composite score, No. 37 ATH); Jadyn Hudson (2025, California, 4-Star, 0.900 score, No. 3 S); Therman “Boogie” Williams (2026, California, Unrated, CB)

As long as Coach Prime is the head coach in Boulder, the Colorado Buffaloes will have elite defensive back talent.

Write it in pen. Pull out a chisel, and etch it in granite. It doesn’t matter. This appears to be one of the universe’s inalienable truths.

After putting together an all-star cast in 2023, headlined by Travis Hunter, Cormani McClain, Myles Slusher and Kyndrich Breedlove — who should immediately make the Buffs’ secondary one of college football’s best — Prime is now setting the table for future years to come.

Jett White wouldn’t be able to join the team until two years from now, when three of those aforementioned four will likely be in the NFL, but is already becoming one of the nation’s most desired cornerbacks. White is currently ranked as the No. 4 cornerback, with offers from USC, Alabama, and Georgia, among many others, but, given Prime’s recent recruiting track record at the position, the Buffaloes could easily be considered the favorites in those sweepstakes

Ju’Juan Johnson’s future in Boulder might be as a quarterback, as we’ve previously discussed, but he’s also an amazing defensive back prospect, who has interest from several top SEC schools, and is considering going to either the Florida Gators or the LSU Tigers as a cornerback. So, it’s safe to say he’s pretty good on that side of the ball too.

Miles Lockhart and Boo Carter are two other ‘athletes’ with defensive back backgrounds that Colorado would love to land. Carter might project better as a running back, and has already been discussed as such, though his athletic traits would translate well to defense, and he could be a top-notch safety.

Lockhart is more of a pure DB and has a ton of Pac-12 schools competing for his services. If the Buffaloes land him, it wouldn’t just represent a victory for the program, but a loss for Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, and Utah, as well.

Jadyn Hudson would also be a big add, as much of the Colorado Buffaloes’ defensive back talent has centered around the cornerback room. That’s a wise team-building philosophy, as cornerback is a much more valuable position, but in order to have a truly elite secondary, the safety talent has to be there too. Hudson, who would be the school’s highest-rated safety recruit ever (narrowly edging out projected first-round pick Christian Gonzalez), would certainly help the outlook of Colorado’s safety talent.

Lastly, Therman ‘Boogie’ Williams is a long way from playing college football, but pursuing him only continues to strengthen Prime’s Mater Dei pipeline.