In Week 9 of the college football season, the Colorado Buffaloes lost 28-16 on the road to the UCLA Bruins, and head coach Deion Sanders had some choice words about his offensive linemen following a question about keeping his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, healthy.
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Reporter: "In terms of the big picture, how do you keep Shedeur upright and healthy?"
Deion Sanders: "The big picture, you go get new lineman. That's the picture, and I'ma paint it perfectly." 😶
(via Buffs TV / YT)pic.twitter.com/cq1nnNVHNz
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 29, 2023
The reporter asked, "In terms of the big picture, how do you keep Shedeur upright and healthy?"
Sanders, the Buffaloes first-year head coach, responded, "The big picture, you go get new lineman. That's the picture, and I'ma paint it perfectly."
It's not too often you hear a head football coach at any level say something so transparent, but we're sure it's something most coaches think.
There's plenty of validity to what Sanders is saying, though. This season, the Buffaloes have allowed 107 pressures, 76 hurries, 11 quarterback hits, and 20 sacks. This is all through eight games of action. The most egregious offender along the offensive line is Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan.
He's allowed 24 pressures, 16 hurries, four hits, and four sacks. Of all the offensive linemen to play at least 300 pass-blocking snaps, only Savion Washington has yet to allow a sack. He's been solid this season, though he's allowed nine pressures that, fortunately, didn't result in any sacks.
Last season, in a different scheme and offense, the Buffaloes, who won just one game, allowed 12 sacks and 102 pressures all season. The numbers the Buffaloes have allowed this season have eclipsed that. Of course, there's a lot of context needed, including the type of offense, but there are some critical offensive linemen that did transfer, including Casey Roddick (Florida State), Jake Wiley (UCLA), and Austin Johnson (Purdue). The team retained Christian-Lichtenhan and Van Wells.
- Roddick: 425 pass-blocking snaps, has allowed six pressures, two hurries, three hits, and one sack.
- Wiley: 361 pass-blocking snaps, has allowed 33 pressures, 27 hurries, two hits, four sacks.
- Johnson: 29 pass-blocking snaps, has allowed one pressure, one hurry.
So, sure, if Roddick stuck around, it might be slightly better, but it seemed like he wanted to leave the program either way.
The Buffaloes will be hitting the transfer portal again this offseason to find some new offensive lineman to come in—you can bet on it.
