Deion Sanders adds 5 new O-linemen with 339 lbs average size to protect his QB Shedeur Sanders as Buffs undergo massive revamp

Last season, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was the most sacked QB in the FBS (52 sacks) and his father, coach Deion Sanders, promised to get him new offensive linemen to protect him better during the new season. The maverick quarterback often had to play through pain injections and days off to heal a sore body.

After a gut-wrenching 28-16 loss to the UCLA Bruins, Coach Prime was fed up and promised to replace the whole offensive line, a promise that he has emphatically fulfilled.

Prospects Tyler Brown and Hank Zilinskas were retained from last season's team and earned starting privileges. From the transfer portal, the Buffs have acquired Payton Kirkland, Wyatt Hummel, Ethan Boyd and Yahya Attia. The Buffs' new O-line now has an average size of 6-foot-5 and 339 lbs.

After the loss to the UCLA Bruins, Sander's postgame news conference comments were widely scrutinized, with some analysts criticizing the open nature of the coach's ire towards the O-line's role in the sacking of his son.

"The line ... the line has to improve; there ain't no aspect," Coach Prime said. "It's a struggle, a struggle to run the ball. We've got to figure that out because now you're one-dimensional and it's easy to stop a team when they're one-dimensional. The big picture you go get new linemen. That's the picture and I'm going to paint it perfectly."

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Shedeur Sanders gets adequate O-line protection

There's no disputing that Shedeur Sanders had a sensational start to life in the FBS and despite getting little protection and being constantly sacked, he threw for 3,230 yards on 69.3% completion (No. 8 in the FBS) resulting in 27 touchdowns.

The O-line group that was responsible for not offering much protection to the quarterback, who was sacked way above (10.2%) the FBS average (6.1%) on dropbacks, has largely been shipped out via the transfer portal.

Deion Sanders was largely complimentary of his new O-line, singing their praises during spring practice.

“All these kids have been starters. They’re not backups. They weren’t lower-level players. They were starters in Power Five,” Deion Sanders said. “And they know darn well they’ve got a first-round pick — maybe the first kid in the whole draft — that they’re protecting. That means something to them.”

The confident Shedeur Sanders also commented on the revamped Colorado offensive line during spring practice, expressing his trust in his new bodyguards.

"We have a lot of guys in the offensive line room who have great attitudes toward each other," Shedeur Sanders said. "Sometimes it's friction but we always work it out and we're always a family. They won't let what happened last year happen again."

Colorado Buffaloes fans will hope to see what Shedeur Sanders can accomplish with reliable protection over a whole season.