For two years, Colorado fans have been entertained with some of the best players to come through Boulder.
Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, and many others with the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3, 7-2 Big 12), will wrap up their collegiate careers with a bowl game later this month and turn their focus to the NFL.
Head coach Deion Sanders, his staff and Buff Nation, however, are already peeking ahead to 2025. On Wednesday, Coach Prime and his staff signed 14 high school players as the early, three-day signing period began.
In the ever-changing world of college football, this is the earliest the signing period has ever been, more than two weeks earlier than last year (Dec. 20). It’s the first step in reshaping a CU roster without Shedeur at quarterback and Hunter at cornerback and receiver.
According to 247Sports, the Buffs’ class, as of Wednesday, ranks 37th nationally and fourth in the Big 12 Conference. Class size plays a role in those rankings and Coach Prime has never been one to build up a large class of prep recruits. In terms of average player rating (or the quality of the recruits), the Buffs lead the Big 12 and rank 21st nationally.
The headliner of the class is Shedeur’s potential replacement, five-star quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis from Carrollton (Ga.) High School.
With a .9831 rating on 247Sports.com, Lewis is the highest-rated high school quarterback to ever sign with the Buffs. Lewis was verbally committed to USC for 15 months before flipping to CU last month.
Prior to Wednesday, Coach Prime could not talk about specific recruits. On Nov. 21, however, the day Lewis committed, Coach Prime had his coaches’ show and spoke about the newest commit, without mentioning his name.
“It’s a great thing for the program,” he said. “We know that’s been in the working for quite some time. Great kid, great talent. I like the qualities and the home structure. I like all of that and I can’t wait to be a part of his life and coach him.”
In recent years, Lewis has been close with former CU great quarterback Kordell Stewart, who is also a friend of Coach Prime.
While securing one of the top quarterbacks in the country, the Buffs also put an emphasis on protecting him. Of the 14 players in the class, three are offensive linemen and two are tight ends.
Two four-star linemen – Chauncey Gooden (Nashville, Tenn.) and Carde Smith (Mobile, Ala.) – lead the way up front. Combined, they had 73 scholarship offers. Smith, like Lewis, was committed to USC until recently, while Gooden was projected by some to go Clemson before committing to CU last summer.
Three-star Jay Gardenhire is also joining the class as a 6-foot-8, 330-pound tackle from West Bloomfield, Mich.
The Buffs also landed three receivers, all from Texas high schools: four-star prospects Quanell Farrakhan Jr. and Adrian Wilson and three-star Quentin Gibson.
Defensively, the Buffs have added two linemen, an edge rusher, a linebacker and a safety. The group is headlined by four-star edge London Merritt, who was committed to Ohio State before flipping to CU last week.
As a new crop of Buffs prepares to come to Boulder, the outgoing seniors have expressed confidence that even with them gone, success will continue.
“We definitely laid the foundation for the younger guys to come up and keep their foot on the gas pedal, keep going, keep playing, and just believe in coaching,” Hunter said recently.
Senior safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig said that when he comes back to Boulder in a few years, he expects to see more trophies on display.
“We’re gonna have 2025 trophies, 2026, 2027 trophies,” he said. “That’s the standard, to win, at the end of the day.”
Shedeur, projected as a top-five selection in the 2025 draft, even said he’ll do his part by donating money to the NIL collective to ensure the Buffs’ success will continue.
“My main thing is surround them and give them everything that I wish I could have had,” he said after the win against Oklahoma State. “So it’s basically set them up for success, and everything in my power, I personally could do, I’m gonna do. I’m gonna donate to the collective for sure.
“I’ll make sure you have a super team next year. I’m just happy for the new guys coming in and that we paved away for them. They just got to take control. They just got to take over. We’re gonna make sure everything is good, how they need it.”
Notable
CU did lose one commit on Wednesday, as four-star safety Alex Graham from Detroit flipped and signed with USC. He had been committed to CU since April. … CU signed one in-state recruit, tight end Zayne DeSouza from Loveland High School. He’s just the second in-state recruit signed by Coach Prime in three recruiting cycles, with the other being current sophomore center Hank Zilinskas from the 2023 class. … For decades, California was a recruiting hotbed for CU, but the Buffs haven’t signed any players from the Golden State in the last two classes.
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