College football program loses 34 players to transfer portal

Just one year ago, Colorado was one of college football’s most talked-about success stories.

The Buffaloes finished 9–4 in 2024, riding national attention, high-profile transfers, and head coach Deion Sanders’ star power into bowl relevance and Big 12 respectability.

As a result, expectations entering 2025 were significantly higher, with the belief that continuity and experience would push the program forward.

Instead, the season collapsed: Colorado stumbled to a 3–9 record, managing just one conference win and struggling on both sides of the ball.

The Buffaloes routinely found themselves outmatched, and the optimism that defined the previous year slowly gave way to frustration as the team lost its final five games, including back-to-back conference losses to Utah and Arizona, both of which saw Colorado allow 50-plus points.

Adding insult to injury, former blue-chip recruit Kam Mikell announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday, becoming the 34th Colorado player to leave the program since the end of the season.

A highly regarded, four-star recruit (No. 2 ATH in the 2024 class by 247Sports) when he arrived, Mikell was initially viewed as an offensive chess piece capable of contributing at wide receiver or in the backfield.

In 2025, Mikell's role shifted primarily to the run game as Colorado searched for offensive answers, appearing in 10 games and totaling 75 rushing yards on 19 carries (3.9 yards per carry), along with two receptions for 5 yards.

Despite his athletic upside, a defined role never materialized, ultimately leading him to pursue another opportunity elsewhere.

More concerning, however, is that his exit reflects a broader exodus that has rapidly reshaped the roster.

Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Kam Mikell. — Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Kam Mikell (18) runs the ball during the second quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

More than 30 scholarship players have entered the portal, highlighted by leading receiver Omarion Miller (808 yards, eight touchdowns on 45 receptions) and leading tackler Tawfiq Byard (79 total tackles), along with several linemen and depth contributors.

The volume of departures is among the highest in the country this cycle.

This level of churn is not entirely new under Sanders, who, since arriving at Colorado in 2023, has aggressively leveraged the transfer portal to rapidly overhaul the roster with experienced college players and high-profile recruits.

To his credit, those exits have been paired with incoming talent, as Colorado has already added 22 transfers, including Texas linebacker Liona Lefau, Missouri offensive tackle Jayven Richardson, and Notre Dame cornerback Cree Thomas.

Still, the scale of departures following a losing season is far from ideal.

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