Big Week For Buffs A Perfect Example Of Coach Prime's Strategy
December 06, 2024 | Football, Neill Woelk
Just two years after Coach Prime landed in Boulder and vowed to make the Colorado Buffaloes a winner, he has delivered — and then some.
Safe to say, it's been quite a week for the Buffs.
They finished the regular season with a 9-3 record and a 7-2 mark in the Big 12 — good enough to tie for the top spot in the final regular season standings and out of the conference title game only by virtue of tiebreakers.
That produced a top-20 national ranking in the final regular season poll and a top-25 finish in the most-recent College Football Playoff rankings.
Then came signing day, when the Buffs landed one of the nation's top-ranked prep quarterbacks, five-star signal caller Julian Lewis, along with eight four-star players. (More on this later)
And finally, the All-Big 12 team announced Wednesday featured a Colorado sweep of sorts, with two-way star Travis Hunter named the conference Defensive Player of the Year and Shedeur Sanders earning Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Hunter was a unanimous pick as a first-team defensive back and was also a first-team pick as a wide receiver. Meanwhile, edge rusher BJ Green II was named the Defensive Newcomer of the Year, linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green was named to the second team and nine other Buffs received honorable mention honors.
That's a sweet week — especially for a program that just two years ago finished 1-11 and was arguably among one of the worst teams in the nation.
Then came Coach Prime and an overnight landscape change in Boulder. The Hall of Famer marched into the UCHealth Champions Center, went to work and the nation tuned in. Everybody was watching.
Of course, there were plenty of critics. He wasted no time in rebuilding CU's roster via the transfer portal and the naysayers had a field day.
"Won't work," they sniffed. "No continuity, too much turnover …" Blah, blah, blah.
But three games into his first season in Boulder, Coach Prime had the critics scratching their heads. The Buffs knocked off defending national runner-up TCU, added Nebraska and Colorado State to the list, and found themselves ranked in the top 25.
But the naysayers did have their turn as the season progressed. Injuries and a lack of depth led to a Buffs tumble down the stretch and Colorado lost its last six to finish with a 4-8 record.
Cue the non-believers. The clamor started again.
Never mind that the 4-8 record was still a huge improvement over the previous year's 1-11 finish. Never mind that buried in the Buffs' season-ending skid was the fact that five of CU's six losses were by one score.
Didn't matter. What did matter was that the skeptics had their ammunition and continued to insist that Coach Prime's strategy wouldn't work.
Then came his second offseason. More transfers, a handful of outstanding high school recruits, some key coaching staff changes — and a preseason media poll that picked the Buffs to finish 11th in the Big 12.
But what the detractors didn't take into account was this: they were basing their analysis on conventional wisdom at a moment in college football when absolutely nothing was conventional.
The game had changed almost overnight with the transfer portal and NIL opportunities. Coach Prime took note and brought an NFL approach to college ball at the exact moment the college game became more like the NFL than ever before.
That's why he went the portal route to rebuild early. That gave the Buffs the opportunity to be competitive overnight — an almost unheard-of circumstance for a 1-11 team.
At the same time, he built around who he knew were two of the best players in the nation, Shedeur and Hunter.
He hired a defensive coordinator, Robert Livingston, who made the best use of Hunter in the secondary. He brought in a pair of pros, Warren Sapp and Damione Lewis, to spark his defensive line.
And, he gave the keys to the offense to veteran Pat Shurmur, who knew exactly how to work with Shedeur and make the most of his uncanny abilities.
Not that he ignored high school recruiting (although the doubters wanted you to believe that was the case). He signed five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, who became an immediate starter. Also in the class were Drelon Miller and Micah Welch, both big contributors this season.
And then the Buffs went to work.
There were bumps early. CU had to work to beat North Dakota State in the opener, then fell at Nebraska in the second week.
That was enough for the cynics to pounce. The Buffs were stamped "done" after just two weeks.
But the Buffs didn't blink. They knocked off a good Colorado State team before what might be the program-turning moment: Shedeur's Hail Mary touchdown throw to Lajohntay Wester at the end of regulation, giving the Buffs new life in overtime against Baylor.
The Buffs scored, Hunter forced a fumble at the goal line on the Bears' possession and CU was off and running.
It wasn't long before the nation began to understand that Hunter was the best player in college football and Shedeur was arguably the best quarterback.
But they weren't the only stars. Wester, Will Sheppard and Jimmy Horn Jr. were stars at wide receiver. CU's offensive line improved.
Meanwhile, the defense found its footing. CU led the Big 12 in sacks, fumbles recovered and red zone defense.
By season's end, Colorado was a legit top 25 team and a conference title contender with a potent offense and an attacking, opportunistic defense.
Now, as the Buffs await their bowl bid, the doubters aren't sure where to turn because Coach Prime continues to taunt conventional wisdom.
There are still some who will question his high school recruiting strategy. With just 14 players so far in the class, some will say that's not enough.
To that, we throw out these names: Eric Bieniemy, George Hemingway, Jay Leeuwenberg, Kanavis McGhee, Mike Pritchard, Joel Steed and Alfred Williams.
Those players were among a class of 12 signed by Bill McCartney in 1987. Critics then said the class didn't have enough players.
By the time that class finished at CU, it had produced four first-team All-Americans, a Butkus Award winner, two first-round NFL picks, two second rounders and a third rounder.
Oh, and two straight Big Eight titles and a tie for a third, along with a national championship.
Which brings us back to Coach Prime.
The doubters no longer have any real ammunition. They are grasping at straws, hoping for stumbles instead of admitting the obvious.
The Coach Prime plan is working.
He used the portal to become competitive right away. Now he's identifying high school recruits who can come in and contribute immediately. He won't over-sign classes simply for the sake of numbers because he knows how quickly players can leave.
Instead, he'll continue to use the portal to find immediate contributors and carefully develop the players he has.
Bottom line?
That old conventional wisdom that ruled college ball for so many years has flown the coop. Coach Prime knew it when he arrived and devised a strategy accordingly.
Now the only question in Boulder is whether the Buffs can take another step up the ladder next year.
Players Mentioned
