Colorado rallies on recruiting trail, nabs 5-star OL

Last updated: 2023/12/07 at 9:59 PM

BigP Published December 7, 2023

Blake Baumgartner, ESPN Staff WriterDec 7, 2023, 12:14 PM ET

Deion Sanders and Colorado have been hemorrhaging players on the recruiting front as of late.

On Thursday, the commitment of five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton gave Sanders and the rest of the Buffaloes a reason to smile. Seaton (No. 19 overall in the 2024 ESPN 300), an IMG Academy (Florida) player and the top offensive tackle in the cycle, was the highest-ranked uncommitted prospect in the 2024 ESPN 300. He jumped from 91st to 19th in ESPN’s latest player rankings, which dropped in October.

He also considered Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee and Maryland.

He becomes the highest-ranked offensive tackle ever to commit to Colorado, and he would be the second five-star prospect in as many years to sign with Sanders’ program in Boulder after cornerback Cormani McClain (No. 14 overall) in a class that finished 23rd in ESPN’s 2023 rankings.

Seaton is the fourth ESPN 300 pledge in Colorado’s 2024 class, joining athletes Aaron Butler (No. 70 overall) and Kamron Mikell (No. 143 overall) and defensive end Brandon Davis-Swain (No. 230 overall).

The addition of Seaton gives Sanders and his staff a much-needed boost with the early signing period looming Dec. 20.

Wide receiver Winston Watkins, Jr. (No. 87 overall in 2025 ESPN 300, and quarterbacks Danny O’Neil (2024) and Antwann Hill, Jr. (No. 46 overall in 2025 ESPN 300) have all decommitted from the Buffaloes since early November.

After getting off to a 3-0 start and becoming the talk of the sport in September, Colorado (4-8, 1-8 Pac-12) lost eight of its final nine games.

Led by quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son, the Buffaloes’ offense finished 80th in the FBS and ninth in the Pac-12 with 363.6 total yards per game, while their offense ended up 59th in the country at 28.2 points a game (eighth in the Pac-12).