The Colorado Buffaloes’ defensive line is looking even scarier in 2025

The Colorado Buffaloes defensive line was great at rushing the passer last year, and has added some new faces that can make the unit look even better in 2025

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Aug 1, 2025, 12:40 PM

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The biggest surprise for the Colorado Buffaloes in 2024 was how much of a leap the defense made from 2023. They were the laughing stock of the Pac-12 in Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’ first year as the program’s head coach as they couldn’t stop a peewee team, but made a massive leap in year two.

The Buffs ranked sixth in the Big 12 in total defense last year after they finished the 2023 season in 11th place. After allowing 34.8 points per game, they locked down on that side of the ball, giving up just 23.1 points per game in year two. A big part of that was the efforts of the defensive line, especially in the pass game. Warren Sapp, an NFL Hall of Famer and one of the best defensive linemen of all time, joined the staff last year and has now had his title changed to Defensive Pass Rush Coordinator. Now that he’s settled into Boulder, this pass rush could take off even more with another year of his leadership.

Colorado led the conference in sacks a season ago with 39 as the defensive line tore through every opponent in their nine wins. This year, they have a good mix of new talent to go with the guys who made a statement a season ago, but defensive coordinator Robert Livingston said that the defense might not be the same this time around.

“We’ll do some things defensively that are drastically different from what we did last year,” Livingston said after Buffs practice on Wednesday.

Does that mean the defensive line? Or the pass coverage on the back end? Livingston didn’t specify, so only time will tell exactly what he meant by that.

While the pass rush was great, the Buffs ranked eighth in the conference in run defense, partly in thanks to Kansas’ Devin Neal and Kansas State’s DJ Giddens, who both tore them up. This unit needs to be better at holding their gaps in the run against the top teams in the conference, a task that should not be an issue.

Let’s take a look at how the defensive line unit is shaping up before the start of preseason camp. For those who have missed it, we have already looked at the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and offensive line.

KEY DEPARTURES

As with every other team in this unprecedented era of NIL and the transfer portal, the Buffs lost a couple of key players from the trenches in Dayon Hayes and Taje McCoy. Hayes, a transfer from Pitt in the 2024 cycle, had 16 total tackles and two sacks for the Buffs last season. He suffered an injury early on and was never able to find his footing in the rotation when he recovered. He transferred out to Texas A&M, a program that is good on paper and should be able to compete in a loaded SEC conference.

McCoy is the biggest loss. He had 23 total tackles and four sacks last season, and really came along as the Buffs got deeper into the season. The 6-foot-3 defensive end transferred to Oklahoma State, a move that’s likely going to cost him a chance at competing for a Big 12 Championship.

BJ Green II, Chidozie Nwankwo and Shane Cokes are three other key pieces from last year’s group that won’t be on the squad in 2025, but they just aged out of college football, no transfer portal complications. Green was tied for the second-most sacks in the conference last year with 7.5, while Cokes and Nwankwo’s efforts never showed up on the stat sheet as they ate up double teams on the inside to make life easier for the others. Nwankwo had 31 tackles and 2.5 sacks while Cokes tallied 19 tackles and one sack.

The beauty of college football is that when players leave the program, there is always new talent waiting at the door to fill their shoes, and the Buffs have plenty of that.

NEW FACES – TRANSFERS

Colorado brought in three portal additions to the defensive line this offseason: Jehiem Oatis, Gavriel Lightfoot and Tavian Coleman.

Oatis is the transfer with the most buzz surrounding him, as the four-star recruit from Alabama brings experience that no one else can to this unit. He was the No. 14 player in the portal this offseason, but was the top overall defensive lineman and defensive player. In 29 games (13 starts) for the Crimson Tide, he totaled 52 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and four pass breakups. He was named to the All-SEC Freshman team back in 2022.

Lightfoot and Coleman are two 300-pound three-star transfers that also bring good experience to Colorado’s front. Lightfoot is more of a run-stuffer, as he had 66 tackles and one sack in three seasons at Fresno State, while Coleman showed his ability to rush the passer from the inside in his previous two campaigns at Texas State, as he recorded 53 tackles, six sacks and 13 tackles for loss in two seasons with the Bobcats. These two will complement each other nicely, as Lightfoot should see more action on early downs while Coleman can come in third downs to hound the quarterback.

NEW FACES – RECRUITS

The Buffs brought in three more new talents in the 2025 freshman class in London Merritt, Christian Hudson and Alexander McPherson. Merritt was rated as a four-star edge rusher while the other two were marked as three-star talents.

Hudson is a 290-pound tackle who can be a good depth piece to help the interior guys stuff the run. McPherson, standing at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, needs to put on a little more weight, but has a long wingspan as a weapon off the edge to disrupt the quarterback. Coach Prime has always emphasized that he doesn’t go out and recruit a ton of freshmen because he wants guys who can compete on day one, so these two will likely get a chance to see some action.

Merritt, 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds, is the big name to watch. The fifth-best edge rushing recruit in the country dominated high school ball at both IMG Academy and the 6A level in Georgia, one of the top classes in the entire country. He should be on the field Week 1 against Georgia Tech and has already been making plays just days into camp.

London had D-Unit HYPE! 🤣@Merritt_London x #TheHerd pic.twitter.com/7hFdC0C3XM

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) July 30, 2025

Back in the spring, Arden Walker said that the freshmen will be ready, so don’t be surprised if they’re out there under the lights at Folsom Field on Aug. 29.

RETURNERS

On the outside, Keaten Wade, Samuel Okunlola, Arden Walker and Nikhil Webb Walker are returning to rush the passer. Wade burst onto the scene last year, as he was originally supposed to redshirt before the Buffs couldn’t let him because of how good he was playing. He played in the final six games of the regular season and recorded four sacks, but was a guy who was always noticeable on the field. He worked hard on every rep and never let an ounce of energy go to waste. He should be Colorado’s best pass rusher this year.

Okunlola and Arden Walker also had a solid impact last season. Walker, a product of Cherry Creek High School, had 4.5 sacks (second-most on the team) while Okunlola had 2.0. These two should get even more run this season to lead the pass rush in the wake of Green and McCoy’s departures.

In the depths of the trenches, Colorado will have three players back in Amari McNeill, Anquin Barnes Jr. and Tawfiq Thomas. McNeill has been with the program all throughout the Prime era and has played the most of the three, and is poised to play a big role alongside Oatis this year after putting up 25 tackles a season ago. Barnes started a handful of games last year and even recorded an interception in the Alamo Bowl, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished by a Colorado defensive lineman since 2008, and is a great guy at eating double team blocks at 340 pounds.

Interception by Anquin Barnes @AnquinBarnes x #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/SUFiEmnUhA

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) December 29, 2024

Just like McNeill, Thomas stands at 300 pounds. He appeared in every single game in 2024 as a backup, which is likely the same role he be in this season

Quency Wiggins, Tristan Marois, Brandon Davis-Swain and Taurean Carter II are all returning as well, but were depth pieces who didn’t see much action in 2024.

PROJECTED STARTERS

EDGE – Arden Walker
TACKLE – Jeheim Oatis
TACKLE – Amari McNeill
EDGE – Samuel Okunlola

gThis unit will rotate a ton, it’s not going to be the same handful of guys playing every single rep. That second EDGE spot could see other guys like Quency Wiggins, Keaten Wade and London Merritt get some run as well, which just shows the depth that this unit has.

Some of the losses from last season are tough blows, as Green and Nwankwo were dominant forces on the line last season. However, Colorado has the guys to step up and fill those shoes, and the right coach in Sapp to teach them how to do it. The biggest key will be improving in the run game and plugging the gaps to make life easier for the linebackers. They will be tested right off the bat, as Haynes King and Georgia Tech had the nation’s 32nd-best rush attack a season ago, and that game will say a lot about this unit.

The defensive line looks scarier on paper, but they will have plenty of tests throughout the season to see how much, if at all, they’ve improved from 2024.