As the old adage goes, defense wins championships, and if that’s the case, then all eyes will be on Colorado’s D in 2023.
The Buffs’ defense last season was nowhere close to competing for any type of championship and if we’re to believe that head coach Deion Sanders can turn CU around in his first year, the defense will have to step up in a major way.
Colorado has a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball, with only safety Trevor Woods looking like a holdover who can capture a starting spot next season. With at least 10 new players in the defensive starting lineup — plus a handful of backups who will see time in specialty formations — it could be an uphill climb in getting Colorado’s defense back to championship levels.
Fortunately, Zach Segars of Mile High Sports pointed out that a few teams in recent seasons have accomplished that instant turnaround on defense
The newness of the current transfer landscape limits the amount of historical precedent here. Still, it seems the USC’s, TCU’s and LSU’s of the world can experience immediate success despite the dramatic turnover, so why not CU? Charles Kelly is a Nick Saban disciple with plenty of pelts on the wall, and scores of talent to orchestrate. The team has far more talent at every position now than it did a season ago, but those upgrades are most apparent at the premium positions. At cornerback, CU now boasts a tandem of potential superstars, and along the defensive line, CU now has a cavalcade of enticing players in place of last year’s worst D1 front. The bar should be that they avoid being a bottom-third Pac-12 defense in year 1, with the expectation being that they challenge to be an upper-third squad.
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