Colorado’s offensive line room is still very much under construction, but Jayvon McFadden doesn’t sound like a player rattled by the shuffle. If anything, the Ohio State transfer sounds like someone who understands exactly what this camp is about: sorting through bodies, finding the right fit and building something that works as a unit.
McFadden, a 6-foot-3, 295-pound guard from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, has been working at both guard spots while Colorado keeps rotating linemen through fall camp. The Buffaloes came back from their first week in Colorado Springs without a settled lineup, and that uncertainty has been part of the process from the start. Colorado lost all five starters from last year’s front, including left tackle Jordan Seaton, so the staff spent the offseason loading up on transfer talent and trying to piece together a new five.
“Everybody wants to be out there, but everybody wants what’s best for the team, and that’s what’s important,” McFadden said, per DNVR Buffs. “Everybody in the room is on that. It starts with us up front.”
That mindset matters because the competition is real. McFadden has been getting meaningful first-team work, but he’s not alone.
Colorado’s group includes returning guards Yahya Attia and Chauncey Gooden, Sacramento State transfer Jose Soto and multiple players who can slide between guard and tackle. The unofficial depth chart has McFadden at right guard, with Soto also in that mix, while the staff has also given McFadden reps at left guard, where Attia has taken a large share of the early first-team snaps.
The staff’s message has been consistency, even as the personnel keeps changing around them. Gunnar White is Colorado’s offensive run game coordinator and offensive line coach, and Andre Gurode and George Hegamin are also involved with the front. McFadden said that coaching setup has kept the language the same across the room.
“The O-line coaching unit speaks the same language,” McFadden said.
That kind of alignment matters in a camp built around constant movement. The line has to sort out protection calls, blocking responsibilities and the speed of Brennan Marion’s new offense while the coaches figure out which five linemen fit together best.
Coach Prime said last week that Colorado has eight or nine linemen who could start, which tells you just how unsettled this thing still is. Center and guard remain especially fluid, with Demetrius Hunter, Sean Kinney, Soto, Attia, McFadden and Gooden all part of the conversation.
McFadden’s path to Boulder gives Colorado another experienced option. He appeared in two games as a true freshman at Ohio State, against Grambling State and Illinois, then redshirted last season and kept four years of eligibility.
He came to Colorado as a three-star transfer prospect, but his high school résumé carried more weight than that label suggests. Coming out of Riverdale Baptist High School, he was rated a four-star interior lineman and helped Riverdale Baptist go 10-0 as a senior, earning a reputation as one of Maryland’s top offensive linemen.
Colorado is asking a lot from this rebuilt front. Last season’s line allowed 38 sacks and never really found a steady run game, and the new group will be responsible for opening space on the ground while also giving Julian Lewis time to settle in as the offense’s starter in his second season with the program. Lewis is expected to take over at quarterback, and the line’s chemistry will be a huge part of how smoothly that transition goes.
McFadden said the offense itself has been a different experience from what he saw at Ohio State. Marion’s system leans on tempo, shifting formations and multiple backfield looks, which means the line has to be quick and physical at the same time. It’s a lot to process, but McFadden’s comments made clear the room is embracing the work rather than running from it.
Colorado spent its opening week at Fountain-Fort Carson High School before returning to Boulder, where camp continues ahead of the Sept. 3 opener at Georgia Tech. For McFadden, the job is simple enough to state, even if it’s harder to execute.
“Everybody in the room is on that,” McFadden said. “It starts with us up front.”
In Other News...
Julian Lewis Is Giving Colorado Fans Real Reason To Believe
Colorados offense is heading into a new era in 2026, and the attention is already starting to land on Julian Lewis. ESPNs Adam Rittenberg recently put the Buffaloes quarterback on a list of Big 12 passers to watch, a notable nod for a former five-star recruit entering his second collegiate season. Lewis is being mentioned in the same conversation as some of the sports most closely watched young quarterbacks, which says plenty about the expectations forming around him.
The timing matters for Colorado, too, because the Buffs are also adjusting to a new offensive coordinator in Brennan Marion. For a program looking to take a meaningful step forward, Lewis has become one of the clearest reasons for optimism, the kind of player who can shape how high this offense can climb if the new system clicks. The buzz is early, but it is real, and it is only going to grow once the offseason gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
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One of the clearest signs of that shift has been the work done on the offensive line, where Gunnar White has become a steady presence on the trail and a central figure in the class so far. His emphasis on recruiting and developing high school players fits the larger direction around the program, as Colorado tries to create more long-term stability and lessen its dependence on quick fixes. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Is Betting This Fall Camp Reset Will Bring The Team Together
Colorado opened fall camp in a different setting this year, taking its work to Colorado Springs and practicing at local facilities while living in dorms at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The change of scenery has been framed internally as more than a logistical adjustment, with players and the athletic director describing it as a chance to tighten the group and strip away some of the usual distractions that come with being back in Boulder.
For a team trying to build chemistry before the season, the move is meant to create more time together and a sharper daily focus. Colorado is betting that a reset like this can do some of the quiet but important work of camp, helping the Buffaloes connect as a roster and carry a little more cohesion into the fall. [Read more 🡒]