Football: Young players seizing opportunities with CU Buffs

Posted by Admin October 3, 2024 Football

After a full offseason of practices and figuring out a pecking order at running back, the Colorado Buffaloes opened the season on Aug. 29 with a twist.

Freshmen receiver Drelon Miller lined up in the backfield for the first snaps of the season and actually got the ball on the first two offensive plays in the opener against North Dakota State.

While Miller hasn’t made a significant impact this season, he represents a talented group of youth that has earned playing time for the Buffaloes (4-1, 2-0 Big 12), who are on a bye this week.

“We have a few freshmen playing and doing a phenomenal job right now,” CU head coach Deion Sanders said last week before his Buffaloes defeated Central Florida 48-21. “I think I gave you a statistic one week of how many freshmen we played last year, even freshman walk-ons. They got in there and got some experience. So I think we’re doing a good job with the guys from high school, but also the guys from the portal.”

It’s been well documented how much Sanders has utilized the transfer portal to build the Buffs’ roster during his two seasons. This season, there are 44 newcomers who joined the team from the transfer portal.

Colorado’s Drelon Miller, left, escapes Marcus Gulley of North Dakota State during a college football game on Aug. 29, 2024, at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)

While the Buffs haven’t signed a lot of high school players (there are 11 true freshmen on scholarship this season), they’ve found some gems from the prep ranks.

The young group is led, of course, by left tackle Jordan Seaton, a five-star recruit from IMG Academy in Florida who was the No. 1-rated offensive lineman in the 2024 class. Seaton had played every offensive snap this season until the Buffs put in a backup group to run out the clock at the end of Saturday’s game at UCF.

After a bumpy start, Seaton has played well in each of the last three games and is CU’s highest rated pass blocker among the regular starters on the line, according to Pro Football Focus.

Micah Welch is CU’s second-leading rusher through five games, with 113 yards. He also leads the team with three rushing touchdowns and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Welch, a three-star recruit this past year, scored twice in a 38-31 overtime win against Baylor, including the game-winner.

“Coming from Milledgeville, Ga., a small town, nobody really comes from there,” he said, “so I had opportunity to come up here and play with Coach Prime, and I took advantage of it.”

Miller, meanwhile, continues to impress in what is a crowded receiver room. A four-star recruit from Silsbee, Texas, Miller has made two starts this season – both at running back.

Although Miller has played only 47 snaps, CU has tried to find ways to get him the ball. He has eight catches for 33 yards and three rushing attempts for 11 yards. One of his catches went for a key first down in overtime against Baylor.

“Drelon is a young player, and we’re fond of saying he’s really good at football,” CU offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur joked this week. “We’ve used him as a wide out. We’ve used him as a running back. And I think it makes sense for him to get a couple touches a game, and as the flow of the game dictates, sometimes more than that.”

Another true freshman, walk-on Alexander Stoyanovich, handled kickoff duties last week at UCF, and walk-on linebacker Gage Goldberg played one game on special teams.

In 2023, 14 true freshmen saw the field for the Buffs, including center Hank Zilinskas (now the Buffs’ full-time starter), dynamic receiver Omarion Miller and pass rusher Taje McCoy.

The Buffs likely won’t reach that same number this year, but there’s no question there are impact players among the youngsters on CU’s veteran roster.

“I can describe it as special,” Welch said of the freshman class. “It’s a lot of hidden gems. You got a lot, like Jordan Seaton, Drelon Miller, myself. We came in to play right off rip, so I knew it was going to be a great class.”