Colorado football had one of the worst defenses in all of college football last season.
No, seriously.
The Buffaloes allowed 34.8 points per game, which ranked 121st among FBS teams, worse than schools like Louisiana Tech, Tulsa and Kent State. Opponents scored at least 35 points in six of Colorado's 12 games last year.
Although the Big 12 is historically known for its high-octane offenses, Deion Sanders' Buffs must improve on the defensive side of the ball in 2024 to survive their transition from the Pac-12. It shouldn't be too difficult to upgrade a unit that allowed 276.9 passing yards (third worst in Pac-12) and 176.4 rushing yards per game (second worst in Pac-12) last season.
In fact, defensive improvement should be the bare minimum. The real question is just how good can Colorado's defense be?
Experienced and productive additions via the transfer portal give the group a chance to go from a team weakness to a strength in just one offseason. Here's why:
More: Projecting Colorado football's starting defense: Transfers give Buffs a new look for 2024
Elite returning production
There will be a handful of new faces on Colorado's defense this fall, but that doesn't mean they're new to college football.
The Buffs are returning 71% of last year's production as of mid-May, which ranks 17th in FBS and fourth in the Big 12, according to ESPN's Bill Connelly. That figure includes Colorado players who are back with the Buffs in 2024 (like Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter) and incoming transfers who produced elsewhere last season.
Last year's top four teams in returning production (Kansas, Missouri, Florida State and Michigan) jumped from a combined record of 35-18 to 48-7, making it a good indicator of improvement.
The defensive side of the ball is where the majority of Colorado's returning production (75%, which ranks 18th, vs. 67% on offense, which ranks 48th) stems from.
Sure, the return of players like Hunter, Shilo Sanders, Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig, LaVonta Bentley and Trevor Woods contributes to that 75%, but a strong transfer portal class is what really gives the Buffs the chance to have a strong defense.
This offseason, Colorado added two of Pro Football Focus' 10 highest-graded transfer linebackers: former FAU LB Jaylen Wester and former Charlotte/Michigan linebacker Nikhai-Hill Green. That duo combined for 128 total tackles (80 solo) and 16.5 tackles for loss in 2023.
Another productive duo was added to the Buffs' secondary this offseason in the form of Oklahoma State transfer D.J. McKinney and Liberty transfer Preston Hodge. They combined for 86 tackles and 13 pass breakups last season, giving Deion Sanders a pair of lockdown cornerbacks to play alongside Hunter.
"When you're talking about bringing (Preston) Hodge and (DJ) McKinney in, these guys are unbelievable and you can put Travis (Hunter) at the nickel," Deion Sanders said on April 18. "All of those guys are versatile. They can play the slot, they can play the dime, they can play corner, they can play whatever you desire them to play."
Colorado added productive playmakers to its linebacker corps and secondary, but up front is where the Buffs have improved the most.
More: Colorado football X-factors: 10 Buffaloes who will matter most this season
Pass-rush prowess
Colorado struggled to consistently rush the quarterback in 2023, resulting in just 27 sacks (seventh in Pac-12).
It's now safe to project the Buffs will have a top-five pass rush in the Big 12 this fall.
Perhaps the biggest reason for that would be Arizona State transfer B.J. Green. TheNo. 7-ranked DLin the transfer portal set career highs in tackles (39), tackles for loss (11.5) and sacks (six) last season for the Sun Devils.
More importantly, Green has the most career QB pressures (107) among active Power Five players, according to PFF.
Colorado also added two of the top 10 spring transfer portal commits in the Big 12 to its defense, according to On3.
Former Pitt edge Dayon Hayes was slated to be one of the Panthers' top returning players this fall but left a lucrative NIL deal on the table to join his former teammate, Samuel Okunlola, in Boulder. Hayes, On3's No. 3-ranked spring transfer commit, led Pitt in tackles for loss (10.5) last season while Okunlola notched a team-high five sacks as a redshirt freshman.
Either Hayes or Okunlola will likely start at edge opposite of Green for Colorado in 2024, but all three will be impactful pass rushers.
Rayyan Buell, On3's No. 8-ranked spring transfer commit, has flown under the radar since committing to the Buffs in late April. The 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive lineman is a disruptive force who racked up 12.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2023 at Ohio. He anchored a Bobcats defense that ranked sixth in scoring last season, smack dab in the middle of Georgia and Notre Dame.
Houston transfer Chidozie Nwankwo, LSU transfer Quency Wiggins, Alabama transfer Anquin Barnes, Buell and others will give Colorado's pass rush a chance to be dominant.
More: Colorado football's 2024 win total line is 5.5. Will the Buffs go over or under?
Travis Hunter
Travis Hunter isn't a transfer, but he's on the cover of the EA Sports College Football 25 video game for a reason.
The 2023 Paul Hornung Award winner, given to the most versatile player in college football, is a transcendent talent and a projected top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Thanks to his innate ability to track the ball in the air, Hunter can dominate at receiver —where he had 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns last season —or change the complexion of a game at cornerback —where he held opponents to a 57% completion rate, intercepted three passes and deflected five more.
The talent level of Colorado's wide receiver room has grown significantly this offseason with the additions of transfers (former FAU WR LaJohntay Wester, former Vanderbilt WR Will Sheppard) and the development of Omarion Miller. It should allow Hunter to take a bit of a backseat at times on offense and be fresher for his defensive reps, something NFL scouts would probably like to see anyway.
That's a scary proposition for opposing offenses. What's even scarier is the fact that Hunter should be surrounded by much more talent than he was last season.
How can a disruptive defensive line and pass rush help a ball-hawking cornerback like Hunter? It could cause a QB to throw under duress or earlier than he wants to, leading to an interception.
Hunter did enough last season to find himself in the first round of NFL mock drafts, but what if he's even better in 2024 with an improved supporting cast and full health for the entire season (missed three games with a lacerated liver)?
If he is, not only will there be discussions of Hunter being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Colorado's defense will have transformed from a weakness to a strength.
Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter onX.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Why Colorado's defense will be a strength under Deion Sanders in 2024
