An offseason of changes within the staff and roster
After a 4-8 finish to the 2021 season, some coaches and players looked toward other career options. Here’s who left and who joined the program.
The 2021 CU football season contained a range of challenges. The 4-8 record brought postseason questions as to what was next for the program.
The Buffaloes sought to return to their former glory of the 1990s and early 2000s, but have only appeared in one Pac-12 championship game since its expansion in 2011, a substantial 41-10 loss against Washington. In the following years, they have only appeared in two bowl games, a pair of Alamo Bowl blowout losses in 2016 and 2020.
Restructuring was (and is) necessary to enhance the program and accommodate for the coaches who left or were terminated. This offseason, Dorrell onboarded new coaches and new players and many new faces will take the field next season for the Buffs.
Coaching Changes
The largest absence to fill in the Buffaloes coaching staff was the offensive coordinator spot after former OC Darrin Chiaverini was relieved of his duties at the end of the 2021 season.
Head Coach Karl Dorrell decided to hire Mike Sanford as the new offensive coordinator Sanford has spent the previous two seasons as Minnesota’s OC, on top of his many other positions around the college football world. In 2021, he was the head of Minnesota’s offense, which was ranked 99th nationally out of 130 in total offense, compared to the Buffaloes, who were 129th in total offense.
“His journey through the profession has been solid, yet he is still a fairly young coach with great coaching experience at the Power 5 level,” Dorrell said in a press release on Dec. 17. “He has worked under some of the best in the business, has great knowledge of offensive football and in our discussions, has a great vision for Colorado football.”
Another main OC option was present in Brennan Marion, the WR coach at the University of Pittsburgh, but Dorrell decided to go with Sanford as his guy at the end of the day. Marion had spent the 2021 season coaching the Biletnikoff Award recipient, Pittsburgh’s Jordan Addison, to add to his blossoming young resume that makes him an attractive hire for some programs.
Demetrice Martin left the cornerbacks coach position for Oregon after two years with the Buffaloes to become Oregon’s new cornerbacks coach. This move started an unfortunate domino effect for the Buffs, as shortly after the move, multiple Colorado defensive backs put their name into the transfer portal. This move ended up working out to be a coaching swap, as Dorrell hired Oregon’s cornerbacks coach to his staff, Rod Chance.
Other coaches that will not be retained for the 2022 season are tight ends coach Bryan Cook, outside linebackers coach Brian Michalowski, and quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf according to a Jan. 9 press release.
Coach Dorrell has made three other additions to his staff during the offseason, hiring Kyle DeVan as the offensive line coach, Vic So’oto as the defensive line coach and Clay Patterson as the tight ends coach.
DeVan had the same role at Arizona previously and started on Peyton Manning’s offensive line in Super Bowl XLIV, So’oto also has NFL experience and had the same role previously at USC, and Patterson is coming from Minnesota, keeping his connection with Mike Sanford.
On Jan. 18 Dorrell hired Phil McGeoghan as the wide receivers coach for the Buffaloes, a great pick up for the program. McGeoghan’s most recent coaching stint was with the Los Angeles Chargers from 2018 to 2020 as their wide receivers coach, where he was able to work with big names like Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. He has known Dorrell for a while, so these two should be a collaborative duo.
Updated Jan. 22
Player Changes
Note: Information regarding the transfer portal is constantly changing. Info updated as of Jan. 22, 2022.
The transfer portal has been gaining popularity amongst collegiate players since its establishment in 2018, as more and more players are entering the portal to give themselves better opportunities.
The portal is taking college football by storm and has critically depleted Colorado’s roster, as many of the Buffs’ best players entered their names this offseason. Since Nov. 15, 2021, 16 Buffs have entered the portal.
Players Who Left CU
Brenden Rice (WR): USC
Jarek Broussard (RB): Undecided
Mark Perry (S): TCU
Mekhi Blackmon (CB): USC
Christian Gonzalez (DB): Oregon
Kanan Ray (OL): Undecided
Joshia Davis (RB): Undecided
Alec Pell (LB): Undecided
Jayden Simon (DL): Tulsa
Chris Carpenter (WR): UTSA
Trustin Oliver (S): Central Arkansas
Zephaniah Maea (LB): Undecided
Keith Miller (WR): Texas A&M Commerce
La’Vontae Shenault (WR): Alabama State
Ashaad Clayton (RB): Tulane
Joe Davis (RB): Undecided
Chance Lytle (OT): Undecided
Chris Miller (CB): Undecided
Josh Watts (P): Undecided
Dimitri Stanley (WR): Undecided
Players Who Came to CU
Tommy Brown (OT): Alabama
RJ Sneed (WR): Baylor
Chance Main (Edge): Incarnate
Maddox Kopp (QB): Houston
There is still hope that some of the players who are “undecided” in the portal can make a return to CU for the 2022 season, as sometimes the transfer portal ends up yielding no new opportunities for some players. As a supporter of CU football, to see so many great players leave the program is tough, but they need to do what is best for them.
Everyone has their reasons. I love CU and all my teammates, I PRAY AND HOPE THEY DO GREAT THINGS IN 22. But my situation isn’t fit for Boulder right now, I wish I could’ve finished my time there but things happen. I have my degree from there so I hope that stands for something. https://t.co/50fJ2ISIuo
— Candace Son. (@MekhiBlackmon) January 13, 2022
Still haven’t made a decision lol…
— B Rice (@BrendenRice) January 12, 2022
I’m excited as y’all
— jarek broussard (@jarekbroussard1) January 13, 2022
The list is headed by five of CU’s most important contributors. Broussard was the starting running back and the 2020 Pac-12 offensive player of the year, Rice was the Buffs’ WR1, and the trio of Blackmon, Perry and Gonzalez were all starters in the secondary.
In response to the departures, Dorrell selected a variety of young talent to fill these positions.
As 16 players left CU via the transfer portal, only one came to CU via the transfer portal. Former University of Houston QB Maddox Kopp will add depth to the QB room of Brendon Lewis, J.T. Shrout, and Drew Carter. Kopp was a three-star recruit coming out of high school in the class of 2021 and has a very good frame for a quarterback at 6’5”, 210 pounds. He will be competing with the three returning Buffs quarterbacks, which will be a very interesting battle leading up to the season.
The Buffaloes 2022 recruiting class is ranked 48th in the nation, and 5th in the Pac-12, both improvements from 2021 where they were ranked 64th in the nation and 10th in the Pac-12.
As of Jan. 11, CU has 20 recruits who have signed their letter of intent, all of whom are three-star recruits in 24/7 Sports’ recruiting database. Names to watch in the recruiting class are Boulder’s own Grant Page from Fairview High School, a very talented, 6’3” wide receiver. Also, Oakie Salave’a, a 6’2” athlete from American Samoa whose father used to play for the Buffaloes and has ties to the late, great Sal Aunese.
These new faces possess a wide array of talent on the field, and can really give a much-needed boost to this program that hasn’t seen postseason success in a long time.
On a celebratory note, former Buffs running back Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy recipient, was inducted into the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame class. The late Buffs legend is arguably the greatest player in program history, as he had 2,349 total yards from scrimmage and 24 touchdowns during his 1994 Heisman campaign, leading the Buffs to an 11-1 record.
With a new group of coaches and players, Dorrell hopes that this program can start trending upwards and winning more games.
“We feel like the first part of this [‘22] class is exactly what we’re looking for,” Dorrell said in a press conference on Dec. 15, 2021. “There’s still some targets for us to find both from a [transfer] portal standpoint or from a ‘22 class freshmen standpoint… [but] we feel like we’re off to a great start.”
