Colorado starting lineup for Week 1: Predicting Deion Sanders' starters for game against ND State
Colorado is preparing for Week 1 kickoff, which includes determining the Colorado starting lineup. The Buffs didn't release a standard depth chart this week, so here's an early prediction and a few comments about who will be Colorado's starting 22 against the North Dakota State Bison.
Predicted Colorado starting lineup for Week 1
Projected Colorado starting lineup on offense
QB: Shedeur Sanders
No mystery here. The incumbent starter who passed for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns will be the quarterback.
RB: Dallan Hayden
An Ohio State transfer who rushed for 665 yards over the past two seasons, Hayden is the most talented player at the position.
WR: Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn, LaJohntay Wester, Will Sheppard
Not a ton of questions here either. Hunter (57 catches, 721 yards, five TDs) was a mainstay last season. Horn is smaller and slighter, but still played well (58 catches, 567 yards, six TDs). Wester is a standout transfer from Florida Atlantic, where he had 1,168 yards last season. Sheppard had 684 yards last year at Vanderbilt.
OL: Jordan Seaton, Tyler Brown, Hank Zalinkskas, Justin Mayers, Kahlil Benson
This is essentially an overhaul. Seaton is a true freshman star in the making, while Brown played for Deion at Jackson State. Zalinkskas was a reserve last year, while Mayers (UTEP) and Benson (Indiana) are transfers who started at their former schools last year.
Projected Colorado starting lineup for defense
DL: BJ Green, Chidozie Nwankwo, Shane Cokes, Dayon Hayes
Cokes started for Colorado last year, but the other three guys in here are portal additions. Green was excellent at Arizona State, while Nwankwo comes in from Houston and Hayes from Pittsburgh.
LB: Trevor Woods, LaVonta Bentley
These two were two of the top three tacklers a season ago, with Bentley finishing with 68 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss. Woods had 56 stops and a pair of interceptions.
DB: Preston Hodge, DJ McKinney, Travis Hunter, Cam'ron Silmon Craig, Shilo Sanders
Not a ton of questions here either. Hodge is a transfer from Liberty, while McKinney is from Oklahoma State. They will play corner, with Hunter, the all-everything DB/WR who followed Coach Prime from Jackson State, as the nickel. Safeties will be Sanders' son, Shilo, who led the team in tackles with 69 a year ago and Silmon-Craig, who had 44 tackles and 3 picks last year.
Special Teams: K, Alejandro Mata, P Mark Vassett, Jimmy Horn on returns
Mata earned the kicking job midway through last season and was solid. Vassett is also competent and Colorado will experiment with a variety of players on returns, but Horn should be a mainstay.
What do you think about Coach Prime's projected Colorado starting lineup? Share your thoughts and predictions below in our comments section.