Following the Black & Gold spring game on Saturday at Folsom Field, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders gave a glowing assessment of the offensive line.
“Protection, commitment,” he said of the group. “We’re able to run the ball, throw the ball, but, you know, that’s against our own players. No one loses in the spring. Everyone wins. You’re playing against one another, you gotta win. So I know what I want and I know what I desire and those guys are really close, and not just the starters.”
The depth, he said, was on campus visiting and committing.
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“Have we released the commits?” he asked a CU staffer. “There’s been several that’s committed. I think it’s a couple more here right now. Well, I think it’s about five more here right now that’s committed. I don’t know if we’ve released it yet, but you’ll hear about it really soon.”
On Thursday, one was announced, as former Michigan State tackle Ethan Boyd has verbally committed to play for Coach Prime and the Buffs.
Boyd is the second offensive lineman to announce since Saturday’s spring game and the fourth to announce in the past two weeks.
A 6-foot-7, 325-pound junior with two seasons of eligibility remaining, Boyd played in 12 games with three starts last season for the Spartans, seeing all of his time at right tackle. He played 313 snaps, giving up two sacks, nine hurries and 13 quarterback pressures.
An East Lansing, Mich., native, he played three years with the Spartans. He redshirted in 2021 and played in 10 games – mostly on special teams – in 2022.
A three-star prospect coming out of East Lansing High School in 2021, Boyd had 14 scholarship offers, including from Indiana, Iowa State and Minnesota.
Overall, Boyd is the ninth transfer offensive lineman to join the Buffs this offseason as they have almost completely overhauled that room since last season. Of the 14 projected scholarship linemen, 11 were not with the Buffs last season.
Transfers Justin Mayers (UTEP) and Kahlil Benson (Indiana) were both in the starting lineup throughout the spring. Three other transfers – Phillip Houston (Florida International), Tyler Johnson (Houston) and Yakiri Walker (Connecticut) – all participated in the spring, as well, mainly with the second team.
The Buffs also brought in the nation’s No. 1-rated high school offensive line recruit this offseason in Jordan Seaton, who is projected to be the starter at left tackle. Projected starting left guard Tyler Brown came to CU a year ago from Jackson State, but was unable to play in games due to a now-outdated NCAA transfer rule.
Sophomore center Hank Zilinskas is the only returning player from last year projected to be a starter. Another returner, Kareem Harden, has provided depth.
Since April 21, CU has added four more transfers, including Boyd. The others are: Wyatt Hummel (Villanova, 6-6, 315); Payton Kirkland (Texas; 6-6, 350); and Zack Owens (Clemson, 6-6, 375).