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Biggest Position Battle Emerging After Colorado’s Transfer Portal Overhaul

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Biggest Position Battle Emerging After Colorado’s Transfer Portal Overhaul


Losing offensive tackle Jordan Seaton meant a lot of things for the Colorado Buffaloes, but stability wasn’t one of them.

It opened a realm of options for coach Deion Sanders to rely on along his offensive line heading into 2026. Seaton was “The Franchise,” one of the best linemen in the nation and a future first-round NFL draft pick, so shoring up his absence is key to returning numerous investments, from quarterback Julian Lewis to offensive coordinator Brennan Marion.

Offensive Line Up For Grabs After Jordan Seaton’s Departure

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Nov 29, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders yells at his team during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

The Buffs now have 11 offensive linemen with starting experience, seven of whom are transfers. Many of them have spent time at power programs, giving the trenches some pedigree for the fall.

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It’s a slight alteration to last year’s line, which had two starters who came in from Group of Five schools. Its most successful five had Seaton anchoring the left side with former Memphis Tiger Xavier Hill and Louisiana Tech Bulldog Zarian McGill. Zy Crisler (Illinois) and Larry Johnson (Tennessee) held down right guard and right tackle, respectively.

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After all but Johnson departed, it required a portal overhaul. Their tackle room has seen four transfer additions who combined for over 1700 snaps over 23 starts last season.

Bo Hughley headlines the bunch. The former Georgia Bulldog is poised to take over Seaton’s spot after starting two games and not allowing a sack. In a win over Tennessee, he had a breakout performance and had a chance to ascend into his junior year, but he’s instead electing the Buffaloes.

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Georgia offensive lineman Bo Hughley (59) celebrates as Sanford Stadium is turned red as the game goes into the fourth during the second half of a NCAA college football game against UAB in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

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MORE: Jordan Seaton Transfer Portal Could Lead Him To Big-Time Programs

MORE: Why Demetrius Hunter Could Become An Instant Starter For Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes

MORE: Colorado Buffaloes Updated Transfer Portal Rankings

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At 6-7 and 295 pounds, Hughley projects well to replace Seaton and could compete for the right tackle spot as well.

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Another option for Lewis’s blindside blocker is Jayven Richardson, who joined the Buffs after two seasons with the Missouri Tigers. He made 16 appearances and started twice as his line’s sixth man, mostly at left tackle.

Richardson began his career at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, where he earned Division I offers from Ole Miss, Auburn, and Texas Tech. He chose Mizzou and made his first career start against South Carolina last September. He didn’t allow a sack in a win and started the next week, a thorough beatdown of UMass.

Colorado’s newest lineman is Leon Bell, who spent last season with the Cal Golden Bears after stops at Kilgore Community College and Mississippi State. The 6-8, 330-pound native of Dickinson, Texas, started once in six appearances over two years with the Bulldogs before starting eight games (583 snaps) at right tackle last season.

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Dec 26, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights offensive lineman Taj White (63) against the Kansas State Wildcats during the Rate Bowl at Chase Field. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Buffaloes also nabbed former Rutgers Scarlet Knights stalwart Taj White, a versatile piece with 20 starts over the last two seasons at left guard, left tackle and right tackle. He made 11 starts on the right last fall and has played over 1,500 snaps in his career.

Those names should test Johnson’s starting status from last season. The returning Phillip Houston should as well, who started at Colorado for most of 2024 before an ACL injury that kept him out of this past fall. The Buffs also added a coveted high school recruit at tackle in Xavier Payne.



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Two-alarm fire damages hotel in Estes Park, 1 person taken to a Colorado hospital

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Two-alarm fire damages hotel in Estes Park, 1 person taken to a Colorado hospital



A two-alarm fire damaged a hotel in Estes Park on Friday night. It happened at Expedition Lodge Estes Park just north of Lake Estes.

The lodge, located at 1701 North Lake Avenue on the east side of the Colorado mountain town, was evacuated after 8:30 p.m. and the fire chief said by 10 p.m. the fire was under control.

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One person was hurt and taken to a hospital.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. So far it’s not clear how much damage it caused.

A total of 25 firefighters fought the blaze.

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Warm storm delivers modest totals to Colorado’s northern mountains

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Warm storm delivers modest totals to Colorado’s northern mountains


Arapahoe Basin Ski Area recorded 8.5 inches of snow through Friday morning.
Lucas Herbert/Arapahoe Basin Ski Area

Friday morning wrapped up a warm storm across Colorado’s northern and central mountains, bringing totals of up to 10 inches of snowfall for several resorts.

Higher elevation areas of the northern mountains — particularly those in and near Summit County and closer to the Continental Divide — received the most amount of snow, with Copper, Winter Park and Breckenridge mountains seeing among the highest totals.

Meanwhile, lower base areas and valleys received rain and cloudy skies, thanks to a warmer storm with a snow line of roughly 9,000 feet.



Earlier this week, OpenSnow meteorologists predicted the storm’s snow totals would be around 5-10 inches, closely matching actual totals for the northern mountains. The central mountains all saw less than 5 inches of snow.

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Here’s how much snow fell between Wednesday through Friday morning for some Western Slope mountains, according to a Friday report from OpenSnow:



Aspen Mountain: 0.5 inches

Snowmass: 0.5 inches

Copper Mountain: 10 inches

Winter Park: 9 inches

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Breckenridge Ski Resort: 9 inches

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area: 8.5 inches

Keystone Resort: 8 inches

Loveland Ski Area: 7 inches

Vail Mountain: 7 inches

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Steamboat Resort: 6 inches

Beaver Creek: 6 inches

Irwin: 4.5 inches

Cooper Mountain: 4 inches

Sunlight: 0.5 inches

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Friday and Saturday will be dry, while Sunday will bring northern showers. The next storms are forecast to be around March 3-4 and March 6-7, both favoring the northern mountains.





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Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild

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Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild


The Colorado Avalanche had a chance Thursday night to regain some real separation between them and the Minnesota Wild.

It didn’t happen, and special teams were again an issue.

Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek scored a pair of power-play goals, while the Avalanche took too many penalties and did not convert its chances with the extra man in a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena. The Wild scored on two of six power plays, both in the second period, then added a shorthanded goal into an empty net for good measure.

“We took six (penalties). Six is too many, especially against a power play like theirs,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We had a slow start to the second and then just kind of started getting going, then took a bunch of penalties and kind of took the momentum away and swung it back in their favor again.”

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Mackenzie Blackwood was excellent early in this contest and stopped 31 of 34 shots for the Avs in his first start since the Olympic break. Colorado, which went 0-for-3 on the power play, has not scored an extra-man goal in back-to-back games since Dec. 31 and Jan. 3. The Avs are 2-for-31 with the man advantage since Jan. 16, and at 15.1% are last in the NHL.

The Wild are now just five points behind the Avs in the Central Division, though Colorado has two games in hand. Filip Gustavsson made 44 saves for the visitors.

“I think we crated enough chances to win the hockey game,” Bednar said. “We give up the (second power-play goal) and that’s the difference in the hockey game for me. We had a chance (on the power play) … we score and it’s a tie game. We haven’t had an easy time capitalizing on some of our chances that we created in the last month.

“I’d like to see that turn around a little bit.”

Minnesota took advantage of three penalties on Colorado in a span of 53 seconds to take the lead with 2:23 left in the second period. Captain Gabe Landeskog was sent to the box for elbowing Eriksson Ek away from the play at 14:15 and Valeri Nichushkin was called for cross-checking at 15:04.

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That gave the Wild a 5-on-3, but it went from bad to worse in a hurry for the home side. Brock Nelson won the 3-on-5 in his own end, but Brent Burns’ backhanded attempt to clear the puck out of the zone went into the stands for a delay of game.

Minnesota had a 5-on-3 for 1:56, which Colorado successfully killed off, but because Burns’ two minutes didn’t start until Landeskog’s penalty ended, there was more 5-on-4 time and Eriksson Ek scored his second of the night. The Swedish Olympian was trying to send a cross-crease pass to Kirill Kaprizov, but it hit the inside of Blackwood’s right leg and pinballed across the goal line.

Because of the extended penalty time, both Eriksson Ek and Boldy officially logged a shift of more than four minutes, leading to that goal.

“I’m not a big fan of the penalties we took, necessarily,” Landeskog said. “Obviously, mine is a penalty. Val, I felt like he was protecting himself and Burns, that’s a penalty. There’s nothing to argue about there. But yeah, that tilts the ice for sure and just gives them unnecessary momentum.

“So yeah, undisciplined and we’ve got to be better there for sure.”

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Eriksson Ek put Minnesota in front at 7:48 of the second period. Cale Makar was called for slashing when his one-handed swipe while Yakov Trenin was attempting to shoot from the left wing. Trenin’s stick broke, so Makar went to the box.

Blackwood made the initial save on Matt Boldy’s shot from the high slot, but Eriksson Ek was there near the left post to clean up the rebound.



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