Colorado wasted no time adding another name to its special teams board.
Just four days after landing a commitment from blue-chip class of 2027 kicker Cadel Ayala, the Buffaloes extended their first Division I offer to another specialist in that same class: Dwayne Carter, a kicker and punter who has been listed as a four-star recruit by Chris Sailer Kicking. Carter said on his X account that Colorado made the offer on June 30.
That puts the Buffs in a strong spot early in Carter’s recruitment, and it also fits a clear pattern. Colorado has spent June aggressively trying to shore up its kicking room, a push that stands out because it was the only stretch in the 2027 cycle where the program made that kind of special teams-heavy move.
The reason is pretty simple. Colorado’s current kicking depth is thin.
A season ago, the Buffs split the specialist duties between Alejandro Mata and Buck Buchanan, with Mata handling place kicking and Buchanan taking kickoffs. That setup is gone now. Heading into 2026, Elliot Arnold is the only kicker on the roster.
Arnold has already shown why Colorado trusts him. He came out of high school as a five-star recruit by Kohl’s Kicking Camps, and Coach Prime made it clear during the final week of spring camp that there wasn’t much drama around the job.
“It's not a competition,” said Sanders during the final week of spring camp. “Elliot is the guy.”
That’s the present. The future could get a lot more crowded.
If Carter joins Ayala in Boulder, Colorado would suddenly have three blue-chip specialists in the mix once Arnold is in the picture as well. That kind of competition would give the Buffaloes a chance to identify the best leg while pushing everyone involved to raise their level just to stay in the fight.
Colorado’s early work with Carter may give it a real edge. The Buffs already have the distinction of being his first Division I offer, and Carter has also been at the program’s practice facility for workouts, according to his X account. That kind of head start is hard for other schools to erase.
For now, Carter still has development left to do. But the Buffs have clearly decided that waiting around is a risk they don’t want to take again.
In Other News...
Coach Prime And Key Buffs Head To Big 12 Spotlight
Deion Sanders and several Colorado players are set to head into the conference spotlight next summer, with the Buffaloes scheduled to attend the 2026 Monster Energy Big 12 Football Media Days on July 7 in Frisco, Texas. The annual event brings together coaches and student-athletes from around the league, offering one of the first real chance points for teams to frame the season ahead before a national audience.
For Colorado, the trip will come with the usual questions about roster shape, expectations and how Sanders wants to present his program going into another Big 12 campaign. The event will also carry a meaningful tribute, as the conference plans to honor the late Adam Munsterteiger during the day, adding a more personal note to a showcase built around football and the people who cover it. [Read more 🡒]
Coach Prime Era Momentum Faces A New Test In Boulder
Colorados season-ticket surge under Deion Sanders is showing some wear, even if the broader picture still reflects a program that has climbed well past where it stood before his arrival. The school had sold 20,284 season tickets for 2026 as of Tuesday afternoon, a number that trails last years pace but still keeps the Buffaloes ahead of their pre-Prime baseline and firmly in a different neighborhood than the one the program occupied just a few years ago.
The more telling wrinkle is the drop in renewals, which has slipped to 78.3 percent after sitting near 98 percent in previous years. CU still expects to finish with more season tickets sold than it did before Sanders took over, but this marks a new test for the business side of the boom in Boulder and a reminder that even in a heightened era, maintaining momentum can be harder than creating it. [Read more 🡒]