The Buffaloes’ defense floated between a 4-3 and a 3-4 last season in trying to come up with ways to jumpstart production on that side of the ball. Going into 2023, Colorado has a couple of different ways it can decide to line up.
Because of the wide array of talent that Colorado added this offseason, the Buffs can play different schemes and fronts to match what the opponent is throwing at them. This has been a staple of the Alabama Crimson Tide, a team that previously employed new Buffs defensive coordinator Charles Kelly.
Colorado lists its interior players as defensive linemen and splits its rushers as either defensive ends or outside linebackers. The DEs will most likely line up on the strong side of the field next season with the OLBs on the open side.
Here’s what you need to know about Colorado’s defensive ends ahead of the 2023 season: