Colorado Buffaloes Depth Chart 2023
Rachel Hickman
Published Jan 20, 2026
The Colorado Buffaloes will field a completely different roster than what fans saw in 2022. The transfer portal saw plenty of traffic from Colorado and into Boulder during the offseason, and as such, the Buffs’ roster is a completely reworked unit on each side of the ball.
Coach Prime Leads Colorado in 2023
Deion Sanders led the Colorado Buffaloes into the 2023 college football season, bringing with him a host of transfers as he worked to rebuild a Buffaloes roster void of talent. After a 1-11 record in 2022, Coach Prime’s biggest task was improving in every single facet.
With the talent on the depth chart, it’s apparent the entire Colorado roster was worked over for the better.
Shedeur Sanders dominated at the FCS level, commanding the Jackson State Tigers under his father’s tutelage. Yet, Shedeur remains his own player and his own quarterback. An accurate quarterback, he was a preseason top-five quarterback in the loaded Pac-12, and his skills that carried him at Jackson State were likely to carry over to the FBS level.
Colorado Buffaloes Hope for Return to Glory
The Buffaloes have long since been a tradition-rich program. From such famous names as Kordell Stewart, Cliff Branch, Eric Bieniemy, Rashaan Salaam, and Darian Hagan, Colorado last won the National Championship in 1990 but has fielded 26 conference championship teams since the program’s inception.
The Buffaloes’ first season was back in 1890, and they had an all-time record of 713-520-36 at the start of the 2023 season.
Though conference realignment was the talk of the town for the 2023 offseason, Colorado has been no stranger to moving conferences in its existence. A former Independent, the Buffs have been members of six different conferences, including the CFA, RMAC, Skyline, Big Eight, and Big 12, before joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
In 2024, the Buffaloes will return to the Big 12, a conference they last participated in during the 2010 season. Colorado won the Big 12 in 2001 under head coach Gary Barnett, finishing with a 10-3 record and a 7-1 record in the conference.
Though most successful during their last few seasons in the Big Eight, Colorado’s perennial prowess was evident in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. Coach Prime will hope to return the Buffs to their nationally-recognized status during his tenure in Boulder.