Colorado’s offense may have found an edge in the most unexpected place: the spring football circuit.
AJ Smith, the Buffaloes’ quarterbacks coach, has spent every spring since 2023 working in the United Football League, and that run has given him a different kind of coaching education. Between stops with the Houston Roughnecks, San Antonio Brahmas and St. Louis Battlehawks, Smith picked up experience that could matter in Boulder in 2026.
The big lesson was simple: build around the players you actually have.
Smith said in his Aug. 24 press conference, “In six years we had four different quarterbacks who were No. 1 in spring football,” said Smith in his Aug. 24 press conference. “...
That’s knowing your personnel, who your live guys are and featuring them with your quarterback. As much as we talk about scheme and everything, me and coach [Brennan] Marion were having this conversation, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know what scheme I’m into anymore as much as I am personnel and fitting around the players you have.’”
That matters for Colorado because the Buffs have a receiver room packed with options. Joseph Williams, Danny Scudero, DeAndre Moore Jr., Kam Perry, Quentin Gibson and Ernest Campbell all give the offense players who can function as No. 1 targets. Smith’s job now is to help Julian Lewis get the ball to them in the right spots, and his UFL background gives him a head start on that process.
Smith also got something else out of those spring jobs: a wider view of how offenses actually work. Calling plays as an offensive coordinator forced him to deal with the full picture, not just one piece of it.
“Any chance you get to call plays is a learning opportunity and a chance at growth,” Smith said. “You’re always going to get new challenges, new people, different scenarios because no one quarterback is exactly the same.
Look at Bill Walsh; was the system the same for Steve Young and Joe Montana? No.”
That kind of flexibility could come in handy if Colorado ever has to adjust on the fly again. In 2025, the Buffs cycled through three different quarterbacks. The 2026 setup looks more settled, but Smith has already lived through a season where the answer at quarterback kept changing.
“So every year it’s a chance to evolve and see what personalities, what QB traits, strengths, weaknesses [your team has], and evolve your offense,” Smith said. “This past season, I had to have four different quarterbacks take snaps, but we still led the league in passing because we found a way. So it was a glimpse at the challenges you go through in seasons like that.”
Smith’s UFL years also put him in the room with one of the game’s sharpest defensive minds. He worked alongside Wade Phillips, who coached the San Antonio Brahmas from 2024 to 2025, and that daily experience clearly stuck with him.
“Wade Phillips every day, that’s a challenge,” Smith said. “When you try to go learn something from him- this is a classic Wade answer, you’d say, ‘Hey coach, what gives you problems in this [offense]?’ ‘Nothing’…That’s what made me say I was going to be a passing coach, because you can draw up any defense to stop a run, and I got him to say one ‘But,’ and it was [a quarterback throwing] the perfect pass.”
For Colorado, that kind of background only adds to a coaching staff already loaded with experience. The Buffaloes’ staff combines 250 years of coaching experience and 59 years of NFL playing experience, and Smith’s spring football education gives the offense a twist that could pay off when the Big 12 grind arrives.
In Other News...
Colorado Defense May Have Found An Immediate Difference Maker
Lamont Lester Jr. wasted little time making his presence felt for Colorado, turning in a breakout night against Georgia Tech with three sacks. One of them came at a pivotal third-quarter moment, ending a drive and giving the Buffaloes a jolt from a defensive newcomer who looked anything but new to the stage.
Lester had already shown the mindset for this kind of performance in a previous podcast interview, describing himself as relentless and intent on dominating while continuing to improve. He also pointed to the coaching he received at Monmouth and said confidence and preparation were central to his development, which is exactly the kind of foundation Colorado will be hoping translates into more immediate impact. [Read more 🡒]
Former Colorado Defender Just Added Real Emotion To The Georgia Tech Opener
Ahead of the season opener, Georgia Tech defensive tackle Tawfiq Thomas put a little extra edge into a matchup that already had plenty of built-in intrigue. Thomas, who spent time at Louisville and Colorado before transferring to Atlanta, is giving the Yellow Jackets some help on the defensive line after a career that included a stint under Deion Sanders with the Buffs and a run of production that made him a meaningful addition for his new team.
Thomas also made it clear the opener carries more than ordinary first-game stakes for him. In a social media post, he expressed a desire for revenge against his former school, turning a nonconference matchup into something more personal and giving Colorado another layer to think about as it gets ready to open the year against a player who knows the program from the inside. [Read more 🡒]
Colorados 2026 Offense Hinges On One Huge Question
Colorados offense for 2026 is already taking shape around a familiar kind of optimism, with Deion Sanders entering another season and new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion charged with keeping the unit moving in the right direction. The early read points to quarterback Julian Lewis as the most important piece, after a promising freshman season that set him up to be the expected starter and the centerpiece of whatever Marion wants to build.
Joseph Williams also looms as a possible difference-maker at receiver, giving the Buffaloes at least one more name to watch as the offense comes into focus. Still, the bigger question is whether Lewis can make the leap from promising young quarterback to true driver of the attack, because for Colorado, the answer may define how much Marion can open things up in his first year calling the offense. [Read more 🡒]