Colorado’s 2027 recruiting class is starting to look like a real statement group in Boulder.
According to Rivals, the Buffaloes sit at No. 3 in the Big 12 and No. 38 nationally, and that’s a strong place to be in a conference that already has a clear front-runner. Texas Tech is the team setting the pace, but Colorado has put together a class that stacks up well both in volume and in talent.
The numbers tell the story. Colorado ranks No. 4 in the Big 12 when the classes are judged by average rating per commitment, trailing Texas Tech, Kansas State and Arizona State. In the overall conference rankings, only Texas Tech and Kansas State are ahead of the Buffs, while Arizona State checks in at No. 11 in the Big 12, per Rivals.
What stands out most for Colorado is the balance. This isn’t just a class padded with bodies.
It’s a group that brings enough size to matter and enough talent to keep the ceiling high. “Coach Prime” and his staff have landed more quality than most of their conference peers.
Texas Tech still looks like the conference’s class leader for 2027, just as it did in 2026. The Red Raiders’ class is smaller, with 17 commitments, but it’s loaded at the top. Texas Tech also leads the Big 12 with 12 blue-chip recruits - four-star or five-star prospects - and that gap is significant.
Colorado is next in line with 5 blue-chip recruits committed. Behind the Buffs and Red Raiders, Kansas State, West Virginia and BYU each have 3 blue-chip recruits in the class of 2027.
There’s also a noticeable shift in how Colorado is building. After leaning heavily on the transfer portal in recent seasons, the Buffaloes appear to be putting more emphasis on high school recruiting in this class than they have in previous cycles.
That matters because some of Colorado’s most recognizable names originally arrived as high school recruits, including offensive lineman Jordan Seaton, who is now at LSU, wide receiver Omarion Miller, now at Arizona State, and quarterback Julian Lewis. Even so, the 2027 group looks like the deepest high school class Deion Sanders has brought to Boulder.
That’s a notable turn after the last two cycles. Colorado’s 2025 class ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten, per Rivals, but it included only 14 commitments. That group was led by Lewis, a four-star quarterback and top-100 overall recruit, along with four-star EDGE London Merritt, now at Clemson, four-star offensive lineman Carde Smith, now at Memphis, and four-star wide receivers Quentin Gibson and Adrian Wilson, both now at North Carolina.
Of that group’s top recruits, only Lewis and Gibson are still with Colorado. The turnover helps explain why Sanders and his staff may have been more cautious about leaning too hard on high school prospects.
The 2026 class was larger, with 21 recruits signed, but it finished 16th out of 16 teams in the Big Ten, per Rivals.
This time, the Buffaloes have built something different. By the end of July, Colorado had 20 recruits committed in the class of 2027, and the early returns suggest a class that can hold its own against the best in the Big 12.
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