BOULDER — Bill O’Boyle has been hearing the same thing just about every day since he arrived at Colorado.

“We’ve gotta protect number two!”

The Buffaloes offensive line coach knows exactly who his group has to keep upright this season — his boss’ son.

“I worry about my job everyday with that deal,” O’Boyle said with a laugh after CU’s practice on Friday morning.

All jokes aside, keeping quarterback Shedeur Sanders healthy may just be the key to success for the Buffaloes this season. Not only has Sanders had an excellent offseason, looking ready to make the jump up to the Pac-12 after shining at Jackson State the last two seasons, but there is very little experience among the rest of the quarterbacks on the roster.

For all of the dynamic playmakers at both running back and wide receiver, the Buffaloes know this up-tempo offense run by coordinator Sean Lewis will go as far as the offensive line allows it to.

“It starts with us,” O’Boyle said. “We go the way the offensive line goes.”

Luckily for O’Boyle, he’s liked what he’s seen so far in fall camp — and not just when the ball is snapped, either.

There have been a few fights at practice this week, one of which was sparked when 6-foot-10 left tackle Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan, who everyone calls “Tank,” came to the aid of running back Anthony Hankerson after being tackled to the ground in a way that Christian-Lichtenhan didn’t appreciate. That sparked the viral moment from this week when Deion Sanders ripped into the Buffaloes as a whole for not all having their teammates’ back saying, “If one (player) fights, we all fight!”

O’Boyle’s biggest complaint right now is a lack of depth, but he said that’s something you’d probably hear from every offensive line coach in the country.

He said there is a group of six, maybe seven players that he feels comfortable putting in a game right now with still two weeks left until Week 1 at TCU. But that includes a solid five up front that appears set for the moment.

It begins with the two ginormous tackles, Christian-Lichtenhan and 6-foot-8 Kent State transfer Savion Washington at right tackle. Those two combined give CU maybe the biggest combination of tackles in the country and right now they’re shutting down the edges.

“I don’t like to stand next to them,” center Van Wells said with a laugh.

Having both Washington and left guard Jack Bailey, both Kent State transfers, has certainly helped the room pick up Lewis’ offense and understand what O’Boyle is looking for on a daily basis.

“Between Jack and Savion having run the system for the last four years, it really helps the communication part and being able to relay the calls,” O’Boyle said. “We go so fast there’s not a lot of room for a lot of offensive line calls. Everything we run pretty much has to fit everything we can see because we’re not gonna make a lot of checks up front and things like that. We’re going to play fast.”

The Buffaloes also have plenty of experience at right guard in Landon Bebee. The Missouri State transfer is a three-time all-Missouri Valley honoree and has played all over the line in his career.

“The thing Landon brings is maturity,” O’Boyle said. “He’s an extreme competitor. He’s done a really great job this fall camp. He’s going to see a lot of time.”

The key to it all, though, might be Wells, the returning starter at center who quickly stood out as one of the most naturally talented players on the Buffaloes as a true freshman last season.

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the Houston native has not only stuck around under Coach Prime, but is still a key contributor. Wells has already developed a good partnership with Shedeur Sanders and their combined football IQ is a benefit to everyone else on the field.

“He sees the whole field,” Wells said of his quarterback. “We talk about the best way we can slide the protection or pick up blitzes or anything like that. It’s good knowing that he has that football IQ and that leadership.”

It wasn’t long ago — a year ago, to be exact — that Wells was getting ready for his first season of college football. What was to come, a 1-11 season that saw his head coach get fired just five games into the season, was something he’d never experienced before. But everything is different this time around, Wells said. Even if many are predicting a similar record for his sophomore season.

“They haven’t seen us play,” Wells said of the critics. “They’re just predicting off last year. This is a whole different team, a whole different coaching staff. We know what we’re going to do when the time comes.”