Tag: Khairi Manns

Colorado football 2023 state of the position: Outside linebacker

Colorado’s OLBs room holds many of the Buffs’ best pass rushers

Position classifications get tricky in college football, and the Colorado Buffaloes are no different this season. Most will see a player labeled “outside linebacker” and assume they will be dropping in coverage and playing the run. But when you look at the names that have been assembled at the position for the Buffs, they will also be getting after the quarterback.

Colorado has gathered a boatload of pass-rushing talent and almost all of them are listed as OLBs on the official roster. On obvious passing downs, expect to see one or more of these OLBs on the edges ready to get after the QB.

Here’s a look at Colorado’s primary “outside linebackers:”

Incoming transfer Khairi Manns excited about learning from CU Buffs coaching staff

Khairi Manns said he’s looking forward to learning from Colorado’s coaching staff

Khairi Manns, a former Maine defensive lineman who transferred to Colorado on May 22, is looking forward to his new opportunity in Boulder, he told Brian Howell of BuffZone.

In particular, Manns is excited about learning from head coach Deion Sanders and the rest of the Buffs’ new-look coaching staff.

“One, you’ve got Prime Time as your head coach,” Manns told BuffZone regarding why he chose CU. “You’ve got Charles Kelly as a (defensive coordinator), coach Nick Williams as my position coach and coach (Sal) Sunseri. The knowledge of the game that they have, I’m a student of the game, so I’m really fond of that. I just want to soak up all of the knowledge and I know that coach Kelly’s gonna put his players in the best position to succeed.”

Obviously, Sanders himself has an extensive football resume that includes a Hall of Fame NFL playing career and an impressive tenure at Jackson State.

As for Kelly and Sunseri, they have decades of college coaching experience between them, and Williams made coaching stops at Georgia and Texas A&M after playing at Georgia.

Manns is expected to be an edge rusher for Colorado, but he’s also versatile as he was listed as a defensive lineman at Maine.

“I play defense. I’ll put it that way,” Manns told BuffZone. “But I love to rush the passer.”

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Maine transfer Khairi Manns commits to Colorado over Kansas

A productive defensive end from Maine chose the #cubuffs over Kansas on Monday

If you’ve followed our coverage at Buffaloes Wire this offseason, you know that Colorado has been bolstering its roster through a deluge of additions through the transfer portal.

Add an intriguing defensive end from the FCS to that last

Khairi Manns, who proved productive at Maine with 108 tackles and 8.5 sacks in 26 games, committed to the Buffs on Monday afternoon over Kansas, his other top school.

Finding a program that would help him prepare for the NFL was a priority for Manns when he entered the portal, and he was very complimentary of Colorado’s culture after he visited last week (h/t BuffStampede):

“When I was in Boulder, it was a very, very home, family feel out there,” Manns told BuffStampede. “It is very welcoming at Colorado. The hospitality was extraordinary. And then, there are just a lot of great football minds out there. It wasn’t really a surprise because I knew Colorado is very scenic, but the views out there were just unreal. It almost seemed fake when you were looking up at the mountains or looking down from the mountains.

It appears that getting to know what Colorado was all about made a big impact on Manns, and he could make an early impact given his impressive production at Maine.

Manns joins head coach Deion Sanders and his new teammates with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

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