Danny Scudero came to Boulder with a simple idea in mind: keep doing what he’s already done, only now do it against bigger, faster, better competition.
He piled up production at Sacramento State and then again at San Jose State, and the jump to Colorado was supposed to be the next step. That kind of move usually comes down to two things for a receiver in the portal - a team that can score and a quarterback who can get him the ball.
CU didn’t exactly light up scoreboards last season, and Julian Lewis is still an unfinished story. But Scudero saw enough to make the move anyway.
The biggest draw, by his own admission, was Brennan Marion and the new offense. Colorado’s hopes in 2026 now ride heavily on how quickly Lewis and Marion’s Go-Go system click. Scudero also liked the chance to learn from Deion Sanders, a Hall of Fame cornerback who sees the game from the other side of the matchup.
“As a receiver, what better way to learn from a guy than the greatest ever to do it at the cornerback position?” Scudero said.
“He truly understands the cornerback position and he teaches it so well. That’s something I can take huge advantage of.
If I know what the cornerback’s doing, then I know how to win the route. I’ve definitely tried to pick his brain, learn different things.
“Even when I scored in the spring game. I thought it was a good route.
But he said I could’ve gotten out of it one step earlier. Learning things like that is part of the reason I came here.”
Scudero should give the Buffs another reliable target, but the bigger question is whether Lewis can drive the whole operation. Last year was rough for Colorado’s offense, which finished 93rd nationally in passing, 103rd in rushing and 112th in total offense. The Buffs also tied for 103rd in scoring at 20.9 points per game.
That lack of firepower is a big reason Sanders turned to Marion, whose offense has produced points everywhere he’s been. Lewis, who replaced ineffective transfer Kaidon Salter last season, showed flashes of why he was once a coveted five-star recruit, but he never really sparked the kind of offseason buzz Colorado wanted. His “free-balling” comment at Big 12 media days in July made the rounds, but it also fit the profile of a quarterback who reclassified to get to CU a year early and didn’t turn 18 until September of last year.
Now the job gets more demanding. Marion’s system leans on a varied running game and a vertical passing attack, and Lewis - if he wins the starting job over Utah transfer Isaac Wilson - will have to make snap decisions about whether the Buffs are handing it off or throwing it downfield.
He won’t be short on options. Colorado brought in Scudero, DeAndre Moore and Kam Perry through the portal at receiver, while also bringing back Joseph Williams, last year’s second-leading receiver, and Hykeem Williams, still trying to live up to the hype that once made him a five-star recruit at Florida State.
The backfield has a similar mix of returners and newcomers. Micah Welch and DeKalon Taylor are back, with Taylor coming off an injury-shortened first season in Boulder. They’ll compete for touches with Damian Henderson II and JaQuail Smith, both of whom played for Marion at Sacramento State, plus Richard Young, who barely saw the field in three seasons at Alabama.
Up front, though, is where the whole thing could get tested. Colorado’s offensive line has been a problem for Sanders since he arrived, even with Jordan Seaton emerging as one of the nation’s top left tackles. Seaton has since transferred to LSU, and the Buffs are once again rebuilding the line around a few familiar pieces, including Yahya Attia and Larry Johnson III.
Marion says the scoreboard alone won’t define whether the offense is working.
“To me, if we’re operating at our fullest, we’re winning,” Marion said. “My grandfather taught me young that if you didn’t win the game, it ain’t good.
I’ve been in a game where we’ve had 750 yards of offense and lost the game. We needed more.
It’s just about winning the game. I want to operate in a system that creates our players and gives championship habits and gives them the ability to go win games and win plays.”
Colorado’s offense is built around that idea now. Whether Lewis and the new cast can make it real is the question that will define the season.
In Other News...
Georgia Tech Opener Turns On One Unsettling QB Unknown
Colorados season opener against Georgia Tech brings a quarterback matchup with more uncertainty than polish, and both sides are leaning on players who have not yet had much time to settle in. The Buffaloes will turn to redshirt freshman Julian Lewis in their new Go-Go offense, a scheme built to put the quarterback on the move, while Georgia Tech counters with sophomore Alberto Mendoza, a transfer from Indiana who is stepping into his first start with the Yellow Jackets.
The intrigue is not just who can make the cleaner throws, but who can survive the chaos that comes with so little proven game tape. Lewis enters with limited college experience, and Mendoza arrives after spending a season behind his brother Fernando Mendoza, so both offenses are asking a lot from quarterbacks still trying to define themselves. For Colorado, the question hanging over the opener is whether that youth helps the Buffaloes unlock something fresh or leaves them exposed against a Georgia Tech team built to make quarterbacks work for everything. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Added A Quiet Offensive Weapon For Its Young Quarterbacks
Colorado quietly added another layer to its offensive staff in January when AJ Smith arrived as an offensive analyst, giving the Buffaloes a veteran voice with a background that stretches from high school football to college, the XFL and the UFL. For a program still shaping the future around young quarterbacks, Smith brings more than just coaching reps. He has spent years building tools designed to help signal-callers learn faster and process more efficiently.
Deion Sanders has already pointed to Smiths professional play-calling experience and his work in quarterback development technology as part of what makes him useful in Boulder. Smith has helped develop a virtual reality system and a quarterback analytics platform called Modern Football, the kind of behind-the-scenes work that can matter most when a young QB room is trying to speed up its growth. The full impact may take time to show, but Colorado clearly sees value in adding a mind built for both teaching and innovation. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Is Pushing A Colorado Reset Fans Will Feel Fast
Colorado is heading into a familiar kind of offseason reset, only this one feels different because it is happening on multiple fronts at once. The Buffaloes are beginning their fourth season under Deion Sanders with new coordinators and a noticeably renewed attitude after a rough 2025 campaign, while new athletic director Fernando Lovo is already looking at ways to make Folsom Field a better place to be on game day, including upgrades to the sound system.
Sanders return to fuller involvement after recovering from bladder cancer has only sharpened the sense that this program is moving with purpose again. For fans, the changes are not just about what happens on the field in the fall, but about a wider reset that could be felt long before kickoff, even if the biggest questions about how far the Buffs can climb this season still linger for now. [Read more 🡒]