As spring practices were coming to a close in April, Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was asked about the progress of the offensive line.
“It’s new again. It’s a new journey,” he said, before adding, “I’m really pleased with the direction we’re going. First steps of our journey, but the arrow’s up.”
Leading up to preseason camp, which opens Monday, BuffZone.com will preview each position group for the CU football team and in this installment, we look at the offensive line.
Every year for the past few years has looked quite different up front for the Buffs, and this year will bring dramatic change once again.
When head coach Deion Sanders was hired after the 2022 season, the offensive line was a big part of his overhaul of the entire roster. Only three of the 13 scholarship linemen from 2022 remained in 2023. In 2024, just three of the 14 scholarship linemen from 2023 were still on the roster.
This year, there’s slightly more continuity, as five of the 13 scholarship linemen from last year are back, but there are 11 newcomers, including nine transfers. And, for the fifth consecutive year, there will be new coaches leading the group.
Sanders hired a trio of line coaches this past offseason, led by Gunnar White. He will be assisted by George Hegamin and former Buffs great Andre Gurode.
“I think as a room they’re doing a really nice job of inspiring our players,” Shurmur said in the spring. “A couple of (players) that are here from last year are kind of taking the next step, and then they’re incorporating a great deal of new guys, and new guys that we think can be very productive.
“With the offensive line, it takes a group to work together. I think Gunnar’s doing an excellent job of working through that and developing runs and working on the pass protection.”
On the field, it starts with a player who isn’t new. Left tackle Jordan Seaton is just a sophomore, but is already widely regarded as one of the best linemen in the Big 12 Conference, if not the country. He earned preseason All-Big 12 honors earlier this month and is locked in as the Buffs’ starting left tackle.
Seaton was the only lineman to start all 13 games last year for the Buffs and he’s reshaped his body in preparation for this year.
Overall, 41 of the 65 offensive line starts from last year are back. Tyler Brown (12 starts) started at guard and tackle, Phillip Houston (nine) at right tackle and Kareem Harden (seven) at right guard.
It was a line, however, that, while better than in 2023, still struggled. CU’s given up the most sacks in the nation the past two years (99), while ranking last in the country in rushing both years. To fix that, CU went heavy into the transfer portal.
Brown, Harden and Houston (still recovering from a knee injury that ended his 2024 season prematurely) could win starting jobs, but they’ll be pushed heavily by veteran newcomers.
Xavier Hill was first-team All-American Athletic Conference at Memphis last year. He’s likely to start somewhere on the line. He has played every spot but center in the last two years, with 50.8% of his snaps (955 of 1,880) at right tackle and 35.7% of his snaps (672) at left guard.
Zy Crisler earned All-Big Ten honorable mention twice at Illinois and was a three-year starter for the Illini. Crisler has played 1,810 snaps at right guard over the past three years, so he’s a favorite to land a starting job at one of the guard spots.
Zarian McGill (Louisiana Tech transfer) has 1,941 career snaps under his belt, all at center, and could be the frontrunner for that spot. Others will push for that job, however, including Cooper Lovelace, who was a starting guard at Northwestern last year.
Aki Ogunbiyi (Texas A&M) and Andrew Roye Jr. (Maryland) also have starting experience, while Mana Taimani (Mississippi) and Larry Johnson III (Tennessee) are huge veterans with playing time under their belts.
The nine transfers added are not only experienced, but they have an average listed weight of 322.8 pounds.
“Some of the linemen are straight killers that we brought in,” Sanders said at Big 12 media day earlier this month.
If that’s the case, the biggest change of all for the offensive line could be in the results.
Position: Offensive line
Returners with 2024 starts: Tyler Brown, 6-3, 325, Sr. (12 starts); Kareem Harden, 6-5, 330, Sr. (seven starts); Phillip Houston, 6-5, 290, Sr. (nine starts); Jordan Seaton, 6-5, 310, So. (13 starts).
Other returners: Yahya Attia, 6-4, 340, R-Fr.
Transfers: Zy Crisler, 6-6, 340, Sr. (Illinois); Xavier Hill, 6-4, 318, Sr. (Memphis); Cooper Lovelace, 6-5, 315, Sr. (Northwestern); Zarian McGill, 6-2, 320, Sr. (Louisiana Tech); Aki Ogunbiyi, 6-4, 340, Sr. (Texas A&M); Mana Tainmani, 6-4, 340, Sr. (Mississippi); Larry Johnson III, 6-7, 348, Jr. (Tennessee); Andre Roye Jr., 6-6, 294, Jr. (Maryland); Walker Anderson, 6-5, 290, R-Fr. (UCLA).
True freshmen: Chauncey Gooden, 6-3, 380, Fr.; Carde Smith, 6-5, 300, Fr.
Key losses: Justin Mayers (graduated); Kahlil Benson (transferred to Indiana); Hank Zilinskas (transferred to Rutgers); Cash Cleveland (transferred to Texas Tech).
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