How Colorado's System Prepared Xavier Hill for the NFL

Buffaloes offensive lineman Xavier Hill found his footing in the NFL after going undrafted.

Nov 25, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion 'Coach Prime' Sanders on the field against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

The Colorado Buffaloes didn’t have a player selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, but guard Xavier Hill signed with the New York Jets shortly after as an undrafted free agent.

Hill spent his 2025 season under the tutelage of Buffaloes offensive line coach, Gunnar White, who has prepared him for a career in the NFL.

Xavier Hill’s 2025 season

Sep 6, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes running back Micah Welch (29) celebrates a touchdown with offensive lineman Xavier Hill (71) in the second half against the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Hill burst onto the scene after transferring to the Buffaloes from the Memphis Tigers during the offseason. Prior to his time in Memphis, he played for the LSU Tigers for three seasons.

Hill quickly carved out a role as Colorado’s starting left guard and became an anchor for its offensive line. He played in 11 of the Buffs’ 12 games and was a starter in 10 of them. He allowed three sacks, one quarterback hit and 11 quarterback hurries in 703 snaps. 

He put together a great body of work across the season as a whole, namely in pass protection. His best game came in Week 5 in Colorado’s nail-biting loss to the then-No. 25 BYU Cougars. He was crucial to keeping Colorado in that game as he held off the left side of BYU’s pass rush and allowed the offense to get into rhythm against the rest of that stout unit. He was honored with Pro Football Focus’s Big 12 Left Guard of the Week award for his efforts.

 Hill’s work in pass protection remained impressive following this game, as Pro Football Focus named him the third-best pass blocker in the Big 12. He also took home Pro Football Focus’s Big 12 Left Guard of the Year award by season’s end.

He improved his NFL scouting report even further with arguably the most impressive Pro Day performance from any Colorado player. He ran a 4.99-second 40-yard dash, recorded a 30-inch vertical jump, an 8-10 broad jump, 26 reps on the bench press, a 4.81-second shuttle drill and a 7.60-second 3-cone drill.

This performance generated buzz that he may hear his name called in the NFL Draft, and even though that wasn’t the case, it earned him a shot to carve out a career in the league nonetheless.

Gunnar White’s impact on the Buffaloes

Oct 25, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; The Utah Utes defense lines up on the goalline against the Colorado Buffaloes offense during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

During his campaign with Colorado, he was part of an offensive line that emerged as one of the best in the Big 12 with White at the helm.

White started his coaching career at Belhaven University, where he coached from 2016 to 2018. From there, he made his first leap to the FBS level, coaching for the Nevada Wolfpack from 2018 to 2021. He made a brief stop in The Spring League but was back among the college ranks in 2022, joining coach Deion Sanders at Jackson State before continuing on with him to Colorado.

“This is everything I’ve been working for,” said White on the opportunity to coach Colorado’s offensive line. “It’s a true blessing to my family and me.”

How Gunnar White Prepared Xavier Hill for the NFL

Memphis' Xavier Hill (71) celebrates after the team scored a touchdown during the game between Southern Methodist University and University of Memphis at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, November 18, 2023. | Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

White molded Hill into an NFL-ready guard throughout the season, overseeing his transformation from a Group of Five-level talent to a pass protector capable of playing on Sundays. 

The performance of Colorado’s offensive line as a unit is a testament to that, and the consistency White prepared Hill with in practice is what resulted in his success.

“Practicing every day at a high level,” said Hill on what was contributing to his unit’s success early in the season. “Having the adjustments to different fronts and things like that, just pounding that over and over again in practices makes it second nature in the game.”

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