Four things we learned from Colorado’s Black and Gold Day

The new-look Colorado football’s spring game was held on Saturday afternoon in front of a sold out crowd at Folsom Field. 

The 47,277 fans in attendance exceeded the total from the last nine CU spring games combined, and they were all there to see one thing: how would Coach Prime and his remodeled squad look in their first real showcase?

Here’s four main takeaways from Black and Gold Day.

The Buffs want to go fast

The thing that stood out from the opening snap of the spring game was the Buffs’ tempo that they want to play with offensively. 

Led by new offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, it’s no secret that the Buffs want to spread defenses out and push the pace. Lewis orchestrated plenty of high-octane offenses during his time at Kent State, and he put that on display early on Saturday.

“We’re going to go fast,” said Lewis shortly after his hiring in an interview with Thee Pregame Show.

He wasn’t lying.

For the majority of the day on offense, the Buffs hustled up to the line after plays, not huddling, and playing with the kind of speed that will make opponents huff and puff in the Colorado altitude. 

The Buffs also did a good job of mixing up their playcalling. Despite playing almost exclusively out of spread formations (they didn’t take a single snap under center the entire afternoon), they didn’t stray from the run game. 

Additionally, new quarterback Shadeur Sanders showed great timing and precision on quick throws while also showing a willingness to push the ball down the field and stretch the defense vertically.

Now, all of this is easy to say during an intrasquad scrimmage, so we’ll have to see how the new-look offense fares when the fall season comes around, but Saturday was a good start.

The Buffs will need to beef up on the lines

One common retort to the Colorado hype train in recent weeks has been their lack of size on the interior. A majority of the newcomers on this current Buffs roster are skill players.

Now, line play is tough to judge in a spring game because, well, everyone is on the same team, but there were a few instances of missed blocking assignments, quick pressure on the quarterback, or big holes in the running game that were left exposed. 

Again, these could be just as much a product of one side executing flawlessly as it could be the other side messing up, but it’s no secret that the Buffs are still looking for reinforcements on the roster, especially up front.

“You all know that we’re gonna move on from some of the team members,” said Prime postgame. “And we’re gonna reload and get some kids that we really identify with. This process is gonna be quick, it’s gonna be fast, but we’re gonna get it done.”

There were a few bright spots on the Buffs’ front lines yesterday. Dartmouth transfer Shane Cokes, one of the first Buffs to earn his jersey number in spring practice, made a few nice run stuffs on the interior. Incoming freshman defensive end Taje McCoy also flashed a ton of potential. 

CU’s special teams needs some work

Coach Prime said it himself.

“Special teams, as far as the extra point, field goal, that was horrible,” said Prime. “I mean, that was hot garbage. So I got tired of that, I didn’t even wanna see that anymore.”

The kicking game was, in fact, horrible. 

The Buffs had two kicks blocked throughout the afternoon, both resulting in long returns. Kicker Jace Feely pushed a short field goal wide to the right.

The Buffs have some time to get the kicking game in order, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

Buffs’ holdovers show out

The story of the offseason in Boulder has been change.

New coaches and a ton of new players were all on display on Saturday, but a few holdovers from last season’s team showed that they are going to be a big part of the squad going forward.

With South Florida transfer Jimmy Horn Jr. sitting out, wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig showed out, scoring two touchdowns and repeatedly making his presence felt opposite Travis Hunter. 

Lemonious-Craig showcased the whole skillset on Saturday, getting open with crisp routes and going up over the top of defenders to make tough, contested catches. He even burst free for a 98-yard touchdown reception off of a blown coverage.

Returning running back Anthony Hankerson got a solid workload, getting a majority of the first team reps in the backfield, but splitting some of them with freshman speedster Dylan Edwards. Hankerson showcased the same downhill, barrelling running style that made him a fan-favorite a season ago.

Trevor Woods was back at safety as the lynchpin of the Colorado defense, flying around as he did all of last year. Towards the end of the exhibition, Woods electrified the crowd with a massive, punishing hit.

The next step for this Buffs team is to finalize the roster. With the transfer portal still open, only time will tell what the final Buffs roster will look like when they take the field against TCU on Sept. 2. But Saturday provided just a taste of what CU will look like heading into next year, and they made sure to put on a show.