Colorado head coach Deion Sanders promised an offensive line overhaul and he’s delivering.
On Saturday, two starters from FBS teams committed to the Buffaloes.
Former UConn center Yakiri Walker and former Houston guard Tyler Johnson both announced their verbal commitments to CU.
CU struggled up front all season, allowing a school-record 56 sacks, while also having the worst rushing offense in the country. At one point, Sanders expressed frustration by saying, “The big picture, you go get new linemen. That’s the picture and I’m gonna paint it perfectly.”
That process is well underway.
Johnson, listed at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, was a two-year starter at Houston. This past season, he started all 12 games for the Cougars at left guard, playing 661 total snaps. He had a total grade of 65.7 by Pro Football Focus, including a pass blocking grade of 80.0.
In 2022, he made 10 starts at right guard. His PFF pass blocking grade of 87.6 was sixth nationally among guards and he was named to PFF’s All-American Athletic Conference third team. His overall grade in 2022 was 69.4.
A four-star recruit coming out of Oak Ridge (Texas) High School in 2019, Johnson played for three seasons at Texas. He made just one appearance for the Longhorns, however, starting against CU in the Alamo Bowl and logging 61 snaps.
Walker, listed by UConn at 6-foot-2, 272 pounds, started all 12 games for the Huskies (3-9) at center, playing 797 snaps.
Walker, who is from DeSoto (Texas) High School, has played three seasons at UConn. He redshirted in 2021 and played 37 snaps in 2022 before winning a starting job this past season.
This season, Walker had a PFF grade of 65.5, which was the lowest among UConn’s five starting linemen, although PFF grades aren’t a perfect judge of a player, especially linemen.
On Thursday, CU landed a commitment from the No. 1 prep tackle prospect in the country, Jordan Seaton, from IMG Academy in Florida.
Also this week, Amari Ward, who played for Sanders at Jackson State, announced his commitment to the Buffs.
CU is losing just one primary lineman (guard Landon Bebee) to graduation, but starting left tackle Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan and center Van Wells have gone into the transfer portal to seek other opportunities.