Can the Colorado Buffaloes emulate the elite passing attack from 2024?

The Colorado Buffaloes were one of the country's best passing attacks in 2024, and a reloaded unit is looking to continue the trend for the Buffs this season

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Jul 18, 2025, 9:53 AM

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The Colorado Buffaloes had the sixth-best passing attack in the nation in 2024 with 318 yards per game in the air. Thanks to Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Shedeur Sanders, Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, and NFL draft picks Jimmy Horn Jr. and Lajohntay Wester, the Buffs were tough to stop in the air in 2024. Heading into 2025, the passing attack is going to look a lot different with new faces attempting to fill the holes left behind from the 2024 squad.

Sanders had the second-most completions and passing touchdowns in the nation last year to go along with the fourth-most yards. He completed 74% of his passes, the best mark in the country and the sixth-best mark of all time (Broncos quarterback Bo Nix holds the record with 77.4%). He set numerous Colorado records in his two seasons in Boulder as well.

How is the passing game shaping up to be heading into 2025? Do the Buffs have the same lethal weapons as last year? Let’s dive in and see what Coach Prime, Pat Shurmur and the rest of the Buffs’ staff is working with.

FILLING THE QB VOID

With Sanders gone for the NFL and competing for a spot on the Cleveland Browns roster, the Buffs have two good candidates to fill his shoes in Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis. Salter, the experienced transfer from liberty, is likely to be the Week 1 starter, but Coach Prime recently said that the battle is still ongoing. Both are viable options, and while they might not be as surgical as college quarterbacks as Sanders was, they have the tools to lead an elite attack.

Check out the analysis of the two quarterbacks here.

THE TIGHT END ROOM

The tight end situation has been a plague for Colorado so far to start the Prime era. When Chamon Metayer committed in December of 2023 just to leave in the spring and become a stud for the Arizona State Sun Devils, that was a sign that something needed to change, either with recruiting at the position or scheming.

In the transfer portal, Colorado went out and picked up Zach Atkins, a 6-foot-4 three-star recruit from Northwest Missouri State. He had 30 catches for 360 yards and four touchdowns in three years at the Division II level. He was the No. 12 tight end in the portal, but still has a lot to prove in his final two years of eligibility.

The Buffs also snagged two tight ends in their high school recruiting class in Corbin Laisure and Zayne DeSouza, who is a local kid that played at Loveland High School. Both players have big frames and were both three-star recruits, with Laisure standing at 6-foot-5 and DeSouza at 6-foot-6. DeSouza has the mass to line up on the end of the line of scrimmage and block some people at 260 pounds, while Laisure only weighs 225 pounds.

Here’s is DeSouza’s senior year tape from Loveland.

Here’s Laisure’s senior year tape from Science Hill.

Both seem to have the tools to be weapons in the pass game and should be able to add another element to Colorado’s offense with Pat Shurmur calling plays.

The Buffs still have Sav’ell Smalls and Brady Kopetz on the roster from last year, but those two didn’t have an impact on the room. The three aforementioned players are the tight ends who can make a difference this season.

No matter who gets the bid, the Buffs are deeper at tight end this year than they were a season ago, when tight ends accounted for just 10 of Colorado’s 353 receptions.

THE WIDE RECEIVER ROOM

This unit is the make-or-break group for the black and gold. The top-four receivers from last year are all gone, but there are plenty of talented guys who are ready to step up. The top option is Omarion Miller, who has shown in limited action that he has the tools to be one of the best wide receivers in the country, but a gruesome ankle injury after a heroic performance against Kansas State cut his season short in 2024. He had just 10 catches last year, but had 216 yards and a touchdown.

Omarion is about to be a problem next szn. 😮‍💨@OmarionMiller19 x #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/vHyuRvgvXc

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) June 26, 2025

The other guy in the room who contributed a lot last year and is poised to take on a bigger role is Drelon Miller. As a true freshman last year, he caught 32 balls for 277 yards and three touchdowns, with his best performance coming late in the season against the Utah Utes — a 108-yard performance highlighted by a Herculean effort on a 47-yard touchdown. He is more of a slot weapon, but has immense strength and agility to make plays underneath and down the field.

Drelon is coming for it all. 💣@DrelonMiller x #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/O68YvBN9BB

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) June 28, 2025

After the Millers, who’s next for Colorado?

Joseph Williams, the transfer from Tulsa, should be the other guy on the outside opposite of Omarion Miller. Standing at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Williams is a transfer from Tulsa that was named the American Conference Freshman of the Year thanks to his 30 receptions, 588 yards and five touchdowns. For anyone who was a fan of Will Sheppard a season ago, Williams is another big body who can be a threat down the field and in the red zone with his contested catch ability.

Tulsa Transfer WR Joseph Williams will be a very sought after player for a TON of P4 schools. The True-Freshman tallied 30 receptions for 588 yards and 5 TDs this season.

If CU could get in on Williams, he would be an amazing addition to Colorado's offense.👀🦬 @JosephWQB1 pic.twitter.com/K0DPGk8mwc

— Let’s Talk Buffs (@LetsTalkBuffs) December 8, 2024

What made the Buffs’ pass attack great a season ago was the depth, and they’ve still got plenty this year in Quentin Gibson, Terrell Timmons Jr., Hykeem Williams, Jack Hestera, Quanell Farrakhan Jr. and Sincere Brown.

Gibson and Farrakhan are the two freshmen in the room who can be dynamic playmakers in the return game and in the open field. Gibson, standing at 5-foot-9, 165 pounds was named the 2024 MaxPreps National Player of the Year with his lightning speed, while the 6-foot-2 Farrakhan took three punt returns to the house. These are two guys who have the tools to compete right off the bat.

Timmons is the only other receiver in the room returning from last season, but didn’t see much action in 2024. He knows the system, which is a plus, but is going to have to put a lot of work in to see more action this year.

Hestera is sort of a returning player, as he played for the Buffs in 2021 and 2022 before transferring to Charlotte and then Utah State. He’s more of a slot guy who can move the sticks, but hasn’t put up big numbers in his three years of action (2021 was a redshirt year). The traits he lacks physically, he makes up with his ability to utilize leverage and his sticky hands from the slot.

Williams is the most interesting new face in Colorado’s room. A former five-star recruit at Florida State, Williams struggled to stay on the field for his first two seasons of college ball due to injury, but if he’s able to find his stride, he could be another big-bodied weapon on the outside.

Brown is the last receiver on the board who transferred to Colorado this offseason. His 40-yard dash time sits at 4.41, but he also stands at 6-foot-5, creating an interesting combination of size and speed for deep balls. He spent last season at the FCS level with Campbell, totaling 61 receptions for 1028 yards and 12 total touchdowns. Just like Williams, he can be another valuable depth piece for the Buffs to plug and play in certain scenarios when they need some chunk plays.

PROJECTED LINEUP

WR1: Omarion Miller
WR2: Joseph Williams
SLOT: Drelon Miller
TE1: Zach Atkins

Shurmur’s offense will likely feature much more 11 (one running back, one tight end) and 12 (one running back, two tight ends) personnel this year thanks to the added depth at tight end, and in an effort to run the ball more. The high-flying offense of 2024 that featured nothing but four receiver sets spread out wide shouldn’t be as prevalent in 2025, but should still be around from time to time to utilize all this talent in the receiver room.

While all of these guys are talented players, none of them are Travis Hunter (which is not a diss, but everyone saw that he was a different breed at Colorado). The Millers and Williams should be the top dogs for Colorado this season, but if they get injured or just aren’t the players the staff thought they would be this year, the Buffs have plenty of depth to hold the line.

Colorado’s receiver room looks pretty on paper, but if the line can’t hold up and they can’t run the ball, there will be issues. Salter and Lewis are talented quarterbacks, but they can’t carry a one-dimensional offense like Shedeur Sanders did the last two years. The recipe for success for Colorado’s offense is balance with explosive plays coming from this talented, new-look receiver crew.