It’s rare for a college football program to have an offensive lineman as its main star, but that was Deion Sanders and Colorado in 2025, thanks to Jordan Seaton.

That would’ve been the case again this fall, but the likely future first-round NFL draft pick at left tackle left Boulder after two seasons, winding up at LSU with coach Lane Kiffin.

Now, the Buffaloes offensive linemen have gone back to being largely anonymous with just one player returning who started more than three games last season and a handful of newcomers with varying levels of playing experience across multiple levels of college football.

The new-look unit is enjoying learning its role in a new scheme led by new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion and after a competitive spring period, there are nearly 10 players who could theoretically start in Week 1 at Georgia Tech.

Let’s meet them:

The returners

Even though Larry Johnson III is the lone returner who started more than half CU’s games in 2025, he’s still not the most notable player coming back on the offensive line.

That honor goes to Yahya Attia, the London NFL Academy product originally from Egypt who came on strong at the end of last season, becoming the team’s starter at left guard. He should become a strong candidate to start at either guard spot as a sophomore, also developing as the leader of the room, focused on developing chemistry with the newcomers.

Johnson will still likely be in the mix, primarily at right tackle, but another returner to watch is redshirt freshman Chauncey Gooden, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 380 pounds heading into his second season. Coaches raved about his progress in the spring and his ability to impact the game as a dominant run blocker. He is another strong candidate to start at one of the two guard spots.

Phillip Houston is also a player to watch after he missed all of 2025 with a knee injury suffered near the end of 2024, when he had emerged as a key starter at right tackle. 

The newcomers

The Buffs signed eight offensive line transfers in the winter, some with Power 4 starting experience, some with FCS starting experience and some without much starting experience at all.

All of them got a chance to work at various spots across the offensive line in the spring as the three-headed coaching trio of Gunnar White, George Hegamin and Andre Gurode got to see what they have on their hands heading into the summer. 

The only player who feels like a strong bet to play a big role this season is Houston transfer Demetrius Hunter, who is on track to be the team’s starting center, a spot where he started 25 games across four seasons for the Cougars, including all 12 games in each of the last two seasons.

Size is the name of the game among the rest of the newcomers with four of them standing at 6-foot-5 or taller. 

California transfer Leon Bell is the biggest at 6-foot-8 and he started eight games at right tackle. Rutgers transfer Taj White also has plenty of starting experience with 15 of his 20 career starts coming at right tackle and 11 of those coming in 2025.

The most intriguing is arguably 6-foot-7 Georgia transfer Bo Hughley, a former top recruit who only made two starts across three seasons in Athens, but has the look of a potential star at left tackle.

The player who knows the offense the best is Jose Soto, who started all 12 games at right guard for Marion at Sacramento State last season and should be in the mix to feature at either guard spot.