How Colorado’s Coaching Staff Can Stand Out To Recruits

The Colorado Buffaloes are one of the finalists to land class of 2027 recruit, offensive lineman Nate Carson. Carson is scheduled to make his commitment announcement on Friday, July 3.

Carson spoke to Chad Simmons of Rivals about the stress of the recruitment process and also what has stood about about Colorado.

Colorado's Coaching Staff Standing Out to Nate Carson

colorado buffaloes deion sanders coach prime commitment class of 2027 recruit offensive lineman nate carson recruiting — Apr 11, 2026; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nate Carson is a 6-4, 290 pound offensive tackle out of Columbia, South Carolina. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 23 offensive tackle in the class of 2027 per 247Sports Composite.

“At the start, it (the recruiting process) was definitely fun…Getting offers and hearing from coaches was exciting. Toward the end, it got stressful because you realize it’s really a business. You don’t want to make the wrong decision,” Carson said to Rivals. “They (Colorado) have three offensive line coaches, and they showed me exactly how they would develop me. I love the experience they have.”

Andre Gurode and George Hegamin are both listed as offensive line coaches. Gurode played in the NFL as an offensive lineman from 2002-2013 and was a five-time Pro Bowler. Hegamin spent time in the NFL as an offensive lineman from 1994-2000.

The Buffs also have Gunnar White and Grant Hammer. White is listed as the offensive run game coordinator and offensive line assistant. Hammer is listed as a football assistant and offensive line assistant.

Carson is down to four schools. Colorado, Clemson, South Carolina, and Georgia.

If Colorado is to receive his commitment, it would say a lot about their coaching staff and the experience they have. That can be used as a tool to land recruits down the road.

Colorado Buffaloes Recruiting Trend

Colorado’s 2027 recruiting class is ranked No. 42 in the country according to Rivals most recent ranking. This is fourth highest ranked class in the Big 12 conference. It’s a step up from where Colorado was ranked in the last recruiting cycle. The Buffs’ 2026 class was ranked No. 67 in the country and No. 15 out of 16 in the Big 12.

Colorado currently has 18 commits in their 2027 class. It could be trending to be coach Deion Sanders best high school recruiting class yet in Boulder. In much of Sanders' time as Colorado coach since taking over in 2023, he has prioritized the transfer portal for roster building over high school recruiting.

Building through the portal made sense at the time Sanders was hired as Colorado was coming off a 1-11 2022 season. This helped improve the Buffaloes team right away. They won four games in 2023 and nine games in 2024. Being heavy in the portal also has its downsides when there are missed. That was on display for Colorado in 2025. The Buffaloes went 3-9.

Being able to plug holes in the roster through the portal is important, but being able to recruit and develop younger players within the program is too. Colorado is now improving in that regard in part due to director of player personnel, Darius Darden-Box.

Darden-Box was hired by Colorado back in December and the move has already paid dividends in recruiting. On the field, Colorado will get their 2026 season underway with a road test against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday, Sept. 3.

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