BuffZone writer Pat Rooney discusses three topics on CU Buffs athletics as spring football wraps up, while portal season heats up for football and closes for basketball.

Grounded

On a day that saw the CU football team honor two players, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, that brought an explosive offense to Boulder, the Buffaloes’ offense sputtered through much of the Black & Gold spring game.

I wrote after the game it’s folly to over-analyze the glorified scrimmage of a spring game. That was true even before the transfer portal era, and many of the shortcomings on display Saturday at Folsom Field certainly will be areas head coach Deion Sanders addresses via the transfer portal.

Regardless of the underwhelming showing by starting quarterback favorites Kaidon Salter and JuJu Lewis, more troubling to me is the prospects of the CU run game. Especially in light of the recent transfer portal losses of Cash Cleveland, a possible starter on the offensive line, and Isaiah Augustave, CU’s top rusher last season.

Neither player is so talented they’re irreplaceable. But the departures marked steps backward for CU’s struggling run game, which the Buffs need to take a significant step forward to maintain a successful life after Shedeur. Salter is a proven runner who couldn’t take off in the barely-live format of the spring game, but without two likely first-round picks who could routinely bail out the offense, finding the personnel that can strike a spark in the run game needs to be the offensive priority ahead of preseason camp.

Glass aid

Barring any last-minute surprises, the turnover and corresponding open slots are complete for the CU men’s basketball team, as the transfer portal was set to close at the end of the day Tuesday (it closes for women’s basketball at the end of the day on Wednesday). That leaves the Buffs with a total of five transfer departures — RJ Smith, Assane Diop, Harrison Carrington and Courtney Anderson, plus an expected loss in fourth-year guard Javon Ruffin — with two open slots still remaining.

The open spots numbered three until last week’s addition of former UC Riverside guard Barrington Hargress. His commitment checked off the top of head coach Tad Boyle’s spring shopping list, adding a guard that can create his own shot and set up others. Next up, the Buffs need a rebounder.

Rebounding has been a staple in CU’s 14 seasons under Boyle, and the Buffs were decidedly average on the glass this past season, ranking ninth in Big 12 games with an average rebound margin of plus-0.9. The Buffs are losing their top two rebounders in Andrej Jakimovski (5.1 per game) and Trevor Baskin (4.8), plus Diop, who ranked fourth at 3.7 per game but was one of the Buffs’ most efficient rebounders in terms of rebounds per minute.

CU might be able to expect improvement from Bangot Dak (3.9), Elijah Malone (3.2) and freshman Sebastian Rancik (2.8), but all three would have to improve dramatically for the Buffs to be an average rebounding team again. But improvement from all three, alongside a new transfer that can be counted on for five or six boards per game, changes that outlook.

Schedule format

Boyle said earlier this spring he believes the return to an 18-game schedule within Big 12 play will result in more interesting home matchups during nonconference play. That part of the equation remains to be seen, but the nonconference schedule already is shaping up to be more challenging overall than this past season.

Yes, the Buffs played three games at the Maui Invitational against three national powers in Michigan State, UConn and Iowa State. But those were CU’s only power conference matchups until Big 12 play started. If the Buffs get two power conference foes at the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert, Calif., they will have at least four power conference foes on the nonconference ledger, including a December date with Stanford in Phoenix and a home game against Providence. And that doesn’t include a challenging road date at Colorado State.