Colorado Tight End Zach Atkins Reveals Favorite Part of New Offensive Scheme

Colorado Buffaloes tight end Zach Atkins is entering his second season in Boulder. It will be a completely revamped Colorado offense in 2026 with new players and a new scheme under a new offensive coordinator.

Zach Atkins on Go-Go Offense: "A Tight End's Dream"

Colorado Buffaloes Zach Atkins Tight End Offensive Coordinator Go-Go Offense Brennan Marion Deion Sanders Big 12 Transfer — Dec 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Legendary football and baseball player and father of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion Sanders on the sidelines prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Huntington Bank Field. Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

This offseason, Colorado coach Deion Sanders hired former Sacramento State Hornets coach Brennan Marion to be the Buffaloes next offensive coordinator. Marion is known for his “Go-Go” offense, which is an uptempo set that primarily will feature two running backs in the backfield with a quarterback in the shotgun.

Zach Atkins spoke to reporters about what this type of offense will do for him and the rest of the tight ends on the team.

“It’s every pass catching tight end’s dream. This offense has been unbelievable to learn and play in. We can do everything,” Atkins said. “Being in this offense is really like a dream come true.”

With the Buffs in 2025, Atkins had 20 receptions for 149 receiving yards. Prior to transferring to Colorado, he played his college football for Northwest Missouri State. In his three seasons there, Atkins had 30 receptions for 360 yards and four touchdowns.

A New Offensive Coordinator

In 2025, Colorado’s offense ranked second to worst in the Big 12. They averaged just 328.4 yards and 20.9 points per game. The only team in the conference ranked below Colorado in these categories were the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma State went winless in conference play.

Colorado wasn’t much better, going 1-8 in Big 12 play and 3-9 overall. It was an extremely disappointing season and the lowly offensive output was a big reason for it. The Buffs entered the season Pat Shurmur as the offensive coordinator. By mid-October, Shurmur had been demoted to quarterbacks coach.

During this time, Marion was at Sac State. The Hornets went 7-5 in Marion's one and only season at the helm in 2025. The season prior in 2024 before Marion, Sac. State went 3-9.

Marion’s offense averaged 425.6 yards and 33.8 points per game with the Hornets in 2025. Will he be able to get the Buffaloes offense to the next level in 2026?

New Starting Quarterback

It appears that the Buffs will be rolling with quarterback Julian Lewis at starter in 2026. Lewis was a freshman for the Buffaloes in 2025, making appearances in four games and getting two starts.

Lewis threw for 589 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions in his limited time on the field. Some good news that came out of this for both Lewis and Colorado is that by him not playing in the Buffs’ final game of the season, he was eligible for a redshirt season.

This means Lewis is still a redshirt freshman in 2026 and has four seasons left of eligibility to play college football. Lewis was one of the Buffaloes highest rated recruits in the class of 2025, as he was a four-star prospect.

The 2026 season for Lewis and the Buffaloes will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 3 on the road against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

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