CU At The Game Podcast

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It’s been a week to remember for CU and its fans. I am joined by Brad Geiger and Neil Langland, and we have plenty to discuss. Coach Prime and the Buffs played before a sell out crowd of 47,277 and over a half million viewers on ESPN at the CU Spring Game, giving the Buff Nation, recruits, and the college football world a two-hour infomercial promoting Colorado football.

That story would have been enough for us to cover, but Coach Prime quickly out-staged even himself as the Transfer Portal has been flooded with now former Buffs. Only a dozen or so scholarship Buffs remain from the 2022 roster, with over three dozen players entering the Transfer Portal in the span of just a few days after the Spring Game. 

Did CU handle the roster overhaul properly, and did the unprecedented loss of players put a tarnish on an otherwise golden weekend for the program? ... Should Buff fans have been surprised by the moves, considering this is what Coach Prime has been saying all along that this was what was coming? ... Are there enough quality players in the Portal to give CU a Power Five worthy lineup come August 1st? ... Or, will CU coaches come to regret cutting dozens of players from the current roster? ... 

Let’s find out ... 

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On Saturday, April 22nd, before a sold out Folsom Field and a national ESPN television audience, CU will play the most anticipated Spring Game in school history - and certainly the most well attended . The 2023 Spring Game will represent the on field debut of the Coach Prime era. Brad Geiger and Neil Langland join me for a unit-by-unit preview of the Spring game, breaking the roster down by “What we expect to see” from each unit, and “What we would like to see” from each unit. 

So ... Will Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn, Jr., produce ESPN SportsCenter worthy highlights? ... Will there be any separation in the crowded wide receiver and running back rosters? ... Will the front seven of the CU defense pleasantly surprise, or expose themselves to be a liability for the 2023 season? ... Will the defensive backs be able to handle CU’s explosive receivers, or will Buff fans long for the start of the Travis Hunter and Cormani McClain era at cornerback this fall? ... 

Let’s find out ... 

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The first 100 days of the Coach Prime era at the University of Colorado have already given Buff fans the most exciting off-season in memory. I am joined for this episode by Brad Geiger and Neil Langland, and we discuss how Deion Sanders is changing the Buff program, and how he has quickly reversed the national perception of Colorado football.

We then turn our attention to the opening of spring football in Boulder. With access to practices significantly increased from years past, there is plenty of fodder for discussion. In addition to reports from the video room, there are quotes to dissect from, amongst others, Coach Prime, offensive coordinator Sean Lewis and defensive coordinator Charles Kelly. 

So ... Should Travis Hunter be spending time this spring as a wide receiver instead of focusing on the cornerback position? Is offensive line coach Bill O’Boyle’s pessimism cause for concern - or is it just coach speak? With Coach Prime indicating CU is far from done in the Transfer Portal, which units are most likely to be an area of focus when the Portal reopens? What will a sold out Folsom Field for the spring game mean to players who may not be on the roster come August? 

Let’s find out ... 

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Are you ready for some football? Okay, are you at least ready for the Buffs to don pads for the first time in the Deion Sanders era? 

The Buffs are opening spring practices with 96 scholarship players, already 11 over the maximum allowed come August, so competition for roster spots over the next five weeks will be intense. I am joined for this podcast by Brad Geiger and Neil Langland, and we will go through each unit of the roster, asking two questions: Who are the names CU fans should be listening for when the coaches talk with the press?; and Which questions about the roster and depth chart should the Buff Nation expect to have answered this spring? 

Pretty much everything Coach Prime has done since taking over the Buffs in December has moved the program forward, and CU fans will be expecting great things this spring. This primer will give you the names and position battles to keep an eye on as we work toward the nationally televised Spring game on April 22nd.

What do you need to know in order to impress your fellow Buff fans with your knowledge of all things CU? 

Let’s find out ... 

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Welcome to a special episode of the podcast. I am joined for this episode by Tim Shannon, an attorney - and CU Buff! - from the Boulder law firm of Hutchinson, Black and Cook. The HBC firm specializes in sports law, and I am grateful to Tim for taking the time to talk with us about Name, Image and Likeness, and how the brave new world of NIL is affecting CU athletics.

Tim opens with a brief but informative history of how we got to where we are today. He discusses the O’Bannon and Alston cases which led the NCAA to basically concede defeat and leave the schools and states to determine NIL marketplace rules.  

We then shift to how NIL has evolved from the opening bell on July 1, 2021, to the present day. It’s been a wild ride ... with Texas offering its offensive linemen $50,000 apiece, Texas A&M basically buying the highest rated recruiting Class in the history of the recruiting services, with both of those stories being trumped by the Jaden Rashada $13.8 million contract fiasco.

But how does all of this affect dear ol’ CU going forward? Coach Prime has insisted that CU is “not about the NIL, but the NFL”. Will that strategy work, or will it take contributions to CU Collectives like Buffs4Life, and Coach Prime’s own cache as a revenue generator to stay in the recruiting and Transfer Portal game? How is the law firm of Hutchinson, Black and Cook working to help CU student athletes to get the most of the ever-changing NIL landscape? 

  ... Let’s find out ... 

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Welcome to our first Mailbag episode of the 2023 season. As we navigate the brief respite between the end of the Recruiting cycle and the start of spring practices, I am joined by Brad Geiger to answer some of your questions (If you have a question, comment or concern, just drop me a note at [email protected]).

Questions for this episode:
– Coach Prime took a few moments during the NFL Awards show to “recruit”. Were his comments appropriate for the venue? Does his comment, “We don’t have no NIL money, either, by the way” come across as an admission that CU won’t be able to compete with the big boys, or is it a shrewd ploy to turn the NIL issue on its head?;

– What’s up with the Pac-12 media deal? Is the Pac-12 destined to have a disappointing payout?; 

– What do you think of the possibility of San Diego State and SMU joining the Pac-12? A good deal, or a desperate move which will be mocked (trading the LA schools for two G-5 schools)?; 

– Are we getting over-hyped on all the transfers? Only five of the 25 CU transfer players are blue-chip recruits, which means the other 20 are three-star players. Didn’t CU just jettison 20-25 three-star players? Is CU really that much better off?; and

– What do you make of the demand for spring game tickets (over 27,000 sold)? Why all of the hype for a glorified scrimmage? Are Buff fans getting ahead of themselves here, or is this proof that CU is a “sleeping giant”?

How would you answer these questions? Will you agree with our responses?  ... 

Let’s find out ... 

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