Takeaways from Colorado football's Black and Gold spring game

USA Today

20-04-2025

Takeaways from Colorado football's Black and Gold spring game
While the pre-game festivities honored Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders with their respective jersey retirements, the Colorado Buffaloes geared up to play in their annual spring game.
Colorado is facing position overhauls in multiple spots with the departure of Sanders and Hunter. With spring football wrapping up, Colorado's scrimmage put a bow on an eventful spring for the program. It's difficult to judge too much based on the spring game, which was mainly a 45-minute scrimmage followed by seven-on-seven drills.
However, it was good to see 5-star freshman Julian Lewis and Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter hit the field, although they were not the story of the day. That would go to safety Tawfiq Byard, wide receiver Joseph Williams and edge rusher Arden Walker.
Here are five takeaways from Colorado's Black & Gold spring game:
Passing game struggled
It's hard to assess how good the passing game will be in 2025 based on a 45-minute scrimmage, but the QBs had more downs than ups. True freshman Julian "JuJu" Lewis played in his first collegiate scrimmage, and the nerves showed as most of his completions came from checkdowns. He also had some overthrown passes and miscues offensively.
Kaidon Salter had some of the same struggles, particularly in the option game, where he and running back Christian Sarem struggled to decide where to get the ball. Salter threw the best passes of the day, but the quarterback battle will still be decided this summer as neither signal caller showed their cards.
Defense should not take a step back
The defense was the most prominent bright spot in today's scrimmage, with several tackles for loss and a couple of sacks. Arden Walker highlighted the defense's first series, "sacking" (not able to hit the quarterback) Lewis on the opening drive of the scrimmage.
The defense picked up several pass interference penalties, but overall, it looked good against a new-look offense missing Sanders and Hunter. Once again, it's difficult to glean from the spring scrimmage, but the defense did perform well.
Wide receiver might be the strongest unit
Head coach Deion Sanders said it best after the game, "I like what they bring to the table," and the wide-outs brought it today. Tulsa transfer Joseph Williams showed his athleticism with an athletic grab for a touchdown in seven-on-seven play after the scrimmage.
Williams wasn't the only one to shine, however, as Isaiah Hardge and Quenton Gibson showed off their route-running skills even when the ball wasn't coming their way. Quanell Farrakhan Jr. showed off his deep route running skills as Lewis and Salter both threw him 50/50 balls, but he was interfered with each time.
Special teams will be a lot better
To start the day, kicker Buck Buchanan kicked it out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a touchback; a feat that Buffs fans have been waiting for. While it is overlooked, kickoffs resulting in touchbacks are one of the most essential facets of football, and Coach Prime preached it all last season.
The rest of the special teams performed in their period before the scrimmage, with Alejandro Mata not missing a kick and punter Damon Greaves showing off his leg with a punt that would pin the opposing offense inside the 10-yard line.
Ben Finneseth receives his flowers
Like Charlie Offerdahl last season, walk-on Ben Finneseth earned a scholarship with the program before the game. Coach Prime calls him an O.B. (Original Buff) and gave him his respect and credit after the game.
"He works hard, he don't take days off, smart as a whip," Sanders said. "Rewarding him for what he's brought to us in being consistent…Ben is what this team is, who we are. He exemplifies all those points."
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