Colorado football forced to unexpectedly rebuild again in 2020
The Buffaloes have key questions on their offense
Colorado hired a long-time offensive position coach in Karl Dorrell to bring some much-needed spark to this side of the ball. He promoted Darrin Chiaverini, who spent the last four seasons as the Buffaloes’ receivers coach. From 2016-18, Chiaverini spent time as co-offensive coordinator. He has seen three head coaches in his time with the Buffaloes. That much shifting around causes instability and inconsistent with the program, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Last season, the Buffaloes was ranked 100th in the nation (10th in the Pac-12) in points per game (23.5) and 83rd (ninth in the Pac-12) in total yards per game (388.5).
The Buffaloes could not find a way to consistently drive the ball down the field even though they had great NFL-caliber talent in quarterback Steven Montez and wide receiver Laviska Shenault. Dorrell and Chiaverini have the pressure to develop an offense that is inexperienced and will need the patience to develop. Most of the projected starters for the Buffaloes’ offense in 2020 are young as there are only two projected starters that are seniors.
The Buffaloes have a difficult decision to make at the quarterback position as to who the starter will be for Week 1.
Last season, they were ranked 61st (10th in the Pac-12) in passing yards per game (238.2). Both Tyler Lytle and Sam Noyer have spent time as backup quarterbacks behind Montez throughout through time with Colorado. Noyer played safety in four games this past season to help contribute. He was third in the depth chart by the end of spring in 2019. Lytle went into the 2019 season as the No. 2 quarterback behind Montez. He saw limited action as the backup quarterback but learned well.
It’s highly likely that the Buffaloes start their four-star dual-threat true freshman Brendon Lewis in 2020. He has more long-term potential as long as he is developed properly.
Colorado returns its top two rushers from this past season in Alex Fontenot and Jaren Mangham. The experience and reliability in these tailbacks are crucial for the Buffaloes’ offense as they will need them to help ease the transition of the new starting quarterback.
In 10 games as a starter he played in last season, Fontenot rushed for 874 yards and five touchdowns on 185 carries. He also caught 27 passes for 122 yards last season. He would be a great weapon for Lewis as a dual-threat playmaker.
What hurts the offense is the loss of their top two receivers from last season in Shenault and Tony Brown. Top returning playmaker in the receiving corps is KD Nixon, who had 35 receptions for 465 yards and three touchdowns (all third on the team). His impact in the receiving and leadership in the receiving corps will be crucial for most of these inexperienced receivers.
Returning starters in Dimitri Stanley and tight end Brady Russell will also see his roles increases in 2020.
The offensive line for the Buffaloes will have some of the most struggles with the transition of another head coach. The Buffaloes return two starters from last year in left tackle William Sherman and left guard Kary Kutsch. Sherman has started the last 20 games for the Buffaloes going back to his early true freshman year in 2018. He was named to the Athlon Sports preseason All-Pac-12 second team.
The rest of the positions are in a tight battle for the starting spot. Frank Fillip is projected to start at right tackle and Colby Pursell is projected to start at center. The right guard position is up for grabs between Kanan Ray and Casey Roddick. The loss of spring ball has severely halted the competition for the starting spot.