Colorado’s defensive line may end up looking more like a rolling wave than a fixed front this season.
The Buffaloes seem headed for a true committee approach up front, with coaches George Helow and Dante Carter planning to mix and match bodies in search of a group that can hold up against the run and stay fresh. That kind of rotation feels necessary after CU allowed 222.5 rushing yards per game last season, a figure that ranked second-worst among 134 Division I teams, ahead of only Eastern Michigan’s 232.1.
A big part of the optimism comes from the turnover in personnel. Most of the players, and even the coordinator, from last year’s defensive struggles are gone. In their place is a transfer-heavy room that believes its depth can be a strength.
“I’d say the gap from whoever are our top guys to our sixth, seventh guys, it’s (thin),” said defensive end Toby Anene, a fifth-year transfer from North Dakota State. “There’s so many talented guys in that room and so many hard-working guys.
It’s great to see. You can send anybody out with the ones and they’ll get the job done.”
Helow made it clear that rotating defensive linemen isn’t just a preference - it’s how he wants the position managed.
“I’m a big fan of, when you coach the defensive line, you gotta rotate guys,” Helow said. “That’s just probably me being from the South, and that because of humidity and not knowing how games are going to go.
We don’t know what’s going to happen the first drive of the game, if our offense is going to take the ball down and get a score. Or if it’s going to be a three-and-out series where we’re not on the bench as much.
“If you’re on the field a lot, you definitely have to rotate guys on the defensive line position to keep guys fresh.”
That approach makes even more sense with this group. Anene has already logged a game at Folsom Field, collecting two tackles when North Dakota State came to Boulder for the 2024 season opener, but for much of the room, this is still a major leap in competition.
On the interior, Santana Hopper brings all-conference honors from Tulane and Appalachian State, though he comes in at 265 pounds. Dylan Manuel, another former Appalachian State player, offers more size at 300 pounds, but he is also stepping into the power conference level for the first time.
On the edge, Anene is part of a larger group that had success at previous stops and now gives Colorado options it didn’t have last year. With the Buffs set to open the season in two weeks at Georgia Tech, Helow and first-year defensive coordinator Chris Marve are expected to keep shuffling the deck up front.
Anene said the room has bought into that reality.
“I think there’s a lot of mature guys that understand not everybody in the room is going to play,” Anene said. “We have guys embracing their roles on special teams. Guys finding out they might be on scout team, so they’re just embracing their role and buying in and doing everything they can to help this team win.”
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