Whoever takes the first shift for Colorado along the defensive line might not be there for the next series.
Individually, some players might not get the number of game reps they’d prefer. Yet for the Buffaloes, shuffling the big men up front might be whatap needed to finally form a path of most resistance.
CU featured one of the worst run defenses in the nation last year, but the bulk of the players and even the coordinator behind those struggles have moved on. In their place is a transfer-heavy cast of newcomers whose sum might ultimately be greater than their individual parts.
“I’d say the gap from whoever are our top guys to our sixth, seventh guys, itap (thin),” said defensive end Toby Anene, a fifth-year transfer from North Dakota State. “There’s so many talented guys in that room and so many hard-working guys. Itap great to see. You can send anybody out with the ones and they’ll get the job done.”
Defensive line coaches George Helow and Dante Carter met the local media this week to offer a preseason update on their position group. Both coaches were part of last year’s defensive struggles, although Carter was promoted during the offseason from a graduate assistant to a full-time assistant.
CU surrendered a whopping 222.5 rushing yards per game last year, a number topped only by Eastern Michigan (232.1) among 134 Division I teams.
“I’m a big fan of, when you coach the defensive line, you gotta rotate guys,” Helow said. “Thatap just probably me being from the South, and that because of humidity and not knowing how games are going to go. We don’t know whatap going to happen the first drive of the game, if our offense is going to take the ball down and get a score. Or if itap going to be a three-and-out series where we’re not on the bench as much.
“If you’re on the field a lot, you definitely have to rotate guys on the defensive line position to keep guys fresh.”
The goal, of course, is for CU’s defense to not be on the field a lot, ideally behind a ball-controlling offense with a defense that consistently gets stops. The latter part of that equation ideally will be achieved via a committee.
Anene has actually played at Folsom Field once before, recording a pair of tackles when in the 2024 season opener. That, however, accounts for a significant portion of CU’s power conference experience along the defensive line.
On the interior, Santana Hopper was a decorated run-stopper at his previous stops, earning all-conference recognition at Tulane and Appalachian State, but he checks in at just 265 pounds. Another former Appalachian State player, Dylan Manuel, brings the heft at 300 pounds, but he’s yet another player making a significant jump in competition to the power conference level.
Anene is one of several players along the edge who enjoyed solid seasons at their previous stops. When the Buffs finally hit the field in two weeks to open the season at Georgia Tech, Helow and first-year defensive coordinator Chris Marve likely will be shuffling the deck up front.
“I think there’s a lot of mature guys that understand not everybody in the room is going to play,” Anene said. “We have guys embracing their roles on special teams. Guys finding out they might be on scout team, so they’re just embracing their role and buying in and doing everything they can to help this team win.”
