BOULDER — It’s the 6-foot-5, 307-pound, multimillion-dollar question in the Colorado offensive line room.

How in the world do you replace someone like Jordan Seaton?

The star left tackle, who was more than happy to adopt the nickname “the franchise” ahead of the 2025 season, is no longer with the Buffaloes, opting to enter the transfer portal near the end of the lone window to do so this offseason, ultimately ending up with LSU and new coach Lane Kiffin.

Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton (77) in the first half of an NCAA football game Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Deion Sanders’ team was always going to have to rework the offensive line this offseason with multiple starters from last year’s team out of eligibility, but there is a very realistic chance the five starters on the offensive line for Week 1 at Georgia Tech are completely different from the five who started in Week 1 last fall.

CU is happy with the remaining pieces.

“Guys have done a phenomenal job,” offensive line coach Gunnar White said. “Yahya (Attia) is the glue in the room right now. Between him and Chauncey (Gooden), they’re working together, they’re getting on the same page with the guys and it doesn’t matter where they came from or anything like that. Yahya’s got a unique story, being from Egypt and going to Austria and the NFL Academy (in London). He can relate to different types of people. That’s what helps with the group.”

Attia is the headliner in a group of five returners up front who could factor into the team’s plans this season.

Then, there are seven newcomers from the portal, all with varying levels of experience and positional versatility, who have led to a lot of shuffling around this spring as the entire group gets used to how the offensive line as a whole fits into new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s “GoGo” system.

“We’re moving guys around, left and right, making sure that they’re versatile and we haven’t named a starter,” White said. “We gotta have two of them that come out and dominate, at the end of the day, because without that, they’re gonna keep fighting and fighting and fighting until we do name (starters).”

There was a clear directive in building this offensive line room to find players who have elite size. Six players stand 6-foot-6 or taller, with 6-7 Georgia transfer Bo Hughley and 6-8 California transfer Leon Bell jumping out on the roster, but more so than size, the mentality of the group has shown up in a positive way so far this spring.

“We’ve got something,” Attia said. “We’ve got some d-linemen on the o-line. They’re pretty tough; they don’t play about the job, so no matter who’s in their way, we’re (gonna) mess them up. That’s what I like. We gotta get more together. When we get on the same page even more, it’s gonna be on sight.”

Colorado sophomore offensive lineman Yahya Attia (59) warms up before a game against Arizona State on Nov. 22, 2025 at Folsom Field in Boulder. (Tyler King, The Denver Gazette)

They’re working hard at that, too. The offensive linemen all gathered for a barbecue at Hughley’s house last weekend, but the coaching staff doesn’t care what it is, as long as his players are putting in time trying to create a genuine bond that can translate into a successful offensive line unit.

“You’ve gotta find ways to make time, other than inside of the building,” White said. “It’s gotta be outside of the building. Everybody’s gotta hang out. Go to Top Golf, go bowl, go to the movies, whatever it is. When you spend that personal time with them and you build the relationships and there’s a comfort and trust level, you don’t have any issues. But getting to that point and finding a way to make the time, that’s the challenge.”

Unlike years’ past, this is the group the Buffs will have when they reconvene in the summer ahead of the start of the 2026 season. There is no post-spring transfer portal window, something Coach Prime and his staff have utilized every year since they arrived.

There’s still a long way to go, but this group has plenty of time before the season opener to become the unit the offense needs to fuel the unit’s success as a whole.

“This is who we got,” offensive line coach George Hegamin said. “I heard one coach say it the best, we all signed a one-year contract. Let’s be honest about it. That one-year contract basically states, you love me, I love you. You’re gonna be hard on me, I’m gonna be hard on you. It gives us an opportunity to really coach for a year and give the player an opportunity to really develop. 

“This is our foundation. We understand this is gonna be our group. They’re doing a really good job of accepting that and taking that development.”