Deion Sanders and Colorado football once again made plenty of movement in the transfer portal in the first window post the regular season. The portal opened up on Dec. 4, and since the Buffaloes didn't have to worry about any postseason bowl game, the sole focus could be put on sifting through the portal so that wouldn't be the case in 2024.
Colorado football finished the first window with the 5th ranked transfer portal class, according to 247sports. In the top-50 rankings, they do bring in the most transfers at 24 commits, although they also have 13 outgoing transfers.
Sanders and the Buffaloes made waves, not to mention upsetting the established order of the college football landscape once they arrived in Boulder, CO. That was partly because of Sanders' use of the transfer portal, to which he overhauled the entire roster. It was definitely a different group with different results in 2023 for the Buffaloes; however, just not nearly enough good results.
Sanders took Colorado football from 1-11 in 2022 to 4-8 in 2023 in his first season. Though that might not look that great, getting four wins was a massive improvement if you had realized just how bad the Colorado football program was before Sanders' arrival.
So, while there was success, that won't live up to Sanders' standards in 2024. One area of improvement that Sanders and his staff had to put notice towards was their offensive line. In fact, both lines were a point of weakness, but if there was one area for sure that had to be fixed, it was the one that was to protect his talented quarterback and son, Shedeur Sanders.
Finding valuable offensive lineman in the transfer portal is not an easy get. That made many doubt that even Sanders could pull off any sort of magic in that area via the portal. But Sanders seems to have proved doubters wrong, as he typically does, and found five — two tackles and three interior linemen. Out of those five, former Texas Longhorn and Houston Cougar Tyler Johnson may be the best out of the group.
Tyler Johnson commits to Colorado football
Tyler Johnson will be coming into Boulder as a four-star transfer ranked No. 114 transfer in the nation and No. 3 interior offensive lineman, per 247sports. He was a former four-star prospect that ranked No. 87 overall in the nation, No. 9 offensive tackle, and No. 13 in the state of Texas in the Class of 2019. In his final season, Johnson is said to be a first-rounder with comparisons to San Francisco left tackle Trent Williams.
In his two years at Houston, Johnson had pass-blocking grades of 87.6 and 77.2, allowing just two sacks, one QB hit, and 12 hurries in 23 games, per PFF. He has experience at both left and right guard.
Johnson should be an automatic upgrade for the Buffaloes football team's offensive line, and much welcomed by Shedeur Sanders, who was sacked 52 times, which was the most in the country. The fact that Sanders was able to pull off such an impressive pull and gain one of the few top offensive lineman makes him the sneakiest and best of this class.
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