It was a rollercoaster of a week for Colorado football. On Monday, they lost five players to the transfer portal, with another five portalling on Tuesday, including former five-star super prospect Cormani McClain. The next three days saw another six players transfer, yet coach Deion Sanders preached patience, believing the program would replace the departing talent ten-fold via incoming transfers. Sanders backed up his claim with a wave of high-end talent committing to the Colorado football program over the weekend.
Colorado and Coach Prime made significant moves last weekend, securing three major transfers, two of whom are defensive linemen. The team is set to welcome former Pittsburgh Panthers standout Dayon Hayes and Ohio Bobcats transfer Rayyan Buell to Boulder next fall. However, the fallout resulted in a player leaving the program as the Buffaloes bid farewell to fellow first-level defender J.J. Hawkins, who entered the transfer portal on Monday.
J.J. Hawkins: Leaving Colorado Football Program
Defensive lineman J.J. Hawkins announced his intent to transfer on Monday, per Matt Zenitz of 247SPorts. Hawkins becomes the third defensive lineman to join the transfer portal during the spring window, joining Chazz Wallace and Zach Blackwood. A three-star recruit in the class of 2021, Hawkins attended Discovery High School in Georgia before joining the Ole Miss Rebels. After seeing little action across his first two seasons, Hawkins entered the portal, heading to Colorado under first-year head coach Deion Sanders.
Colorado defensive lineman J.J. Hawkins has entered the transfer portal, @chris_hummer and I have learned for @247sports.
Transferred to the Buffaloes from Ole Miss. Had five tackles last year.https://t.co/6Cw7NKmknb pic.twitter.com/at9A1Ewt2N
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 22, 2024
However, despite consistent struggles on defense, Hawkins saw little action with his newest program. He tallied five tackles and no sacks across ten games. Colorado finished the season allowing 34.8 points per game, the 124th-worst average in the nation.
Colorado Football: Bringing In New Defensive Line
After posting brutal numbers on defense during the 2023 season, the Colorado football program will have a new identity in the trenches in 2024. Colorado has five new defensive linemen arriving via the transfer portal, all expected to play a significant role next year. Dayon Hayes, Rayyan Buell, Quency Wiggins, Chidozie Nwankwo, Anquin Barnes, and Taurean Carter are all newcomers to the Buffaloes.
Hayes had 45 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, and four sacks with the Pitt Panthers last season, while Buell, formerly of the Ohio Bobcats, also had double-digit TFLs. Wiggins is a former high-end prospect from the LSU Tigers, while Nwankwo racked up 94 tackles, 11 TFLs, and three sacks in four years with the Houston Cougars. Meanwhile, Barnes comes from the juggernaut Alabama Crimson Tide, while Carter spent three seasons as a rotational piece with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
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