CU Buffs football: State of the offense

Last month, we broke down the offense position-by-position to see where the Colorado Buffaloes stood before fall camp starts. You can find each of those breakdowns listed below:

Quarterback
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Tight End 
Offensive Tackle
Interior Offensive Line

The Buffaloes’ offense will be going through quite the transition this year as they only have four to five solid starters back. Numerous players will be battling for those other starting spots while an influx of new coaches brings a few new philosophies and plays to Boulder.

Let’s now tie a bow on the offensive outlook for the 2022 season:

Most critical position group: Offensive Line

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The Buffaloes’ offense of yesteryear has always been built on a dominant offensive line and this year will be no different. Karl Dorrell and new offensive coordinator Mike Sanford have both historically utilized a pro-style offense that’s built on the line with tight ends being able to open running lanes and set up the play-action. Look for this to continue as the Buffs have built a sizeable line that should be able to exert its will on defenses.

An offensive system that I have always been a fan of is the Wisconsin power running game that has branched out to other Big Ten schools, like Minnesota. CU’s line averages about 6-foot-5, 315 pounds per player and could stack up decently against those bigger lines in the Big Ten. Let’s hope that new O-line coach Kyle DeVan can mold the big boys into a classic Colorado front.

Position I’m most excited about: Tight End

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Colorado’s tight end group is a young, dynamic, big group of underclassmen led by an elder-statesmen. Brady Russell enters his final year of a college career that has seen him grow from a walk-on into a leader of the next group of baby Buffaloes, though “baby” may be the wrong term to use there as the 2021 class…