Colorado Football Coach Karl Dorrell Excited About Newcomers

BOULDER, CO —The Colorado football team announced the signing of four new players Wednesday on the first day of the second signing period, which lasts until April 1.

Buffaloes head coach Karl Dorrell also commented about several other recent additions that the third-year head coach hopes can help the program improve on its 4-8 season in 2021.

One of the key new additions is running back Ramon Jefferson, a graduate transfer from Sam Houston State, who rushed for 1,155 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season for a Bearkats team that reached the FCS semifinals.

The Buffs will hope the 5-foot-9, 215-pound Jefferson can help offset the loss of former running back Jarek Broussard, the 2020 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, who transferred to Michigan State in January.

"Really excited about (Jefferson)" Dorrell said. "He's going to be a great addition to give us some depth and experience in our running back area."

Jefferson joins current Colorado running backs Alex Fontenot and Deion Smith.

The only high school player signed to a letter of intent Wednesday was offensive lineman Van Wells, who was a three-star prospect from Houston, Texas.

Two players also joined from the junior college ranks.

Alex Harkey, a 6-6, 300-pound offensive lineman from Tyler (Texas) Community College, has a chance to play right away, according to the head coach.

"We're excited about what he can provide," Dorrell said. "He'll add some depth and obviously some potential to play and be an impactful player for us up front."

Meanwhile, Jeremy Mack Jr., a safety from East Mississippi Community College, is a player Dorrell seems particularly excited about having in Boulder.

"I really like what (Mack's) skillset provides for us in the defensive backfield in the future," Dorrell said. "He's a guy that probably has the footwork of a corner but he plays the safety position. A very instinctual player, a ball hawk, great tackler and a good young player that we feel is going to be impactful."

Since the first national signing day on Dec. 15, Colorado has added six other new players: two high school signees and four transfers.

The high school signees are linebacker Shakaun Bowser, a 6-foot-4, 225-pounder from Queen Creek, Arizona, and cornerback Jason Oliver, a 6-foot, 170-pounder from Bakersfield, California.

Highlighting the group of transfers is Tommy Brown, a 6-7, 320-pound offensive lineman, who played in 29 games for powerhouse Alabama. Brown will be a graduate transfer.

"We feel really good about the depth of our offensive line," Dorrell said "We needed some help there and we wanted some experience. We feel that Tommy's going to be able to provide some really quality depth for us and may even impact us as a starter.

"(Brown is) a natural-born tackle but played guard a lot for Alabama, so we're going to play him in both of those spots this spring and give him a role to play that will impact us in the fall. He's going to be a great addition for us up front with some experience and he's ready to do some really, really good things for us."

Wide receiver R.J. Sneed, who is 6-1, comes to Boulder from Baylor, where he caught 133 passes for 1,564 yards and eight touchdowns in five seasons for the Bears. Sneed already is on campus.

"He's already here and training and he's acclimated really quickly to the team," Dorrell said. "He's already well-liked and well thought of by the other players. He does provide a lot of experience for us. He's a guy that's had some production and he's excited about his new opportunity that he has here."

Quarterback Maddox Kopp, who is 6-5, 225 pounds, arrives from the University of Houston after spending the 2021 season as a freshman redshirt. Defensive end Chance Main, a 6-4, 255 pounder, is a graduate student who transferred from Incarnate Word.

"We feel that a great majority of the group and class that we've brought in can impact us this year," Dorrell said.