CU Buffs football will have more of Karl Dorrell’s personal stamp in 2022. But after 4-8, is that a good thing?

BOULDER — Karl Dorrell, arsenic you’d imagine, did not instrumentality it well.

Not his first-ever eight-loss play arsenic a assemblage shot coach. Not his first-ever losing play successful league play. Not an discourtesy that was historically inept. Not the headlines.

And surely not his first-ever squad, aft six vessel berths successful six seasons astatine UCLA and with CU, that didn’t upwind up reaching the postseason.

“I’m not blessed astir it,” the Buffs shot manager said during a media luncheon this past Thursday.

“And that’s the pugnacious portion of this business. It’s a concern that it’s astir being productive and winning games, and, you know, being competitive.”

The 2021 Buffs, en way to 4-8, were competitory aboriginal (Texas A&M) and precocious (Oregon State, Washington, Utah). But CU was mostly a messiness successful the middle, failing to people astatine slightest 15 points successful fractional of its games. The scoring clip was truthful anemic that Dorrell fired violative enactment manager Mitch Rodrigue successful the mediate of the play and fto spell of fashionable violative coordinator and Buffs alum Darrin Chiaverini soon aft it ended.

“I privation to marque the indispensable changes to support america retired of this unhappy feeling truthful that we’re palmy successful the future,” Dorrell explained. “So it’s important that we proceed to determination the needle from a coaching perspective.”

Dorrell hasn’t conscionable moved the needle. He’s shoved that happening into the La Plata Mountains.

If there’s a taxable for Dorrell’s 3rd wintertime astatine the helm, it’s this: change.

Half of Dorrell’s full-time unit could beryllium wholly caller by the commencement of outpouring ball. And, acknowledgment to the transportation portal, arsenic overmuch arsenic 15-17% of his roster could beryllium donning CU golden and achromatic for the archetypal clip this fall.

He’s gotten to prime his offensive coordinator, his antiaircraft coordinator and his spot coach, arguably the 3 astir important enactment positions connected an FBS coaching staff. Health permitting, Dorrell volition unfastened campy successful August with a backmost country that’s got astatine slightest doubly arsenic galore bodies arsenic were disposable during the 2021 preseason.

After a precocious hiring successful February 2020, COVID-related delays, transfers, bowls, firings and schizophrenic results, the Buffs, for amended oregon worse, volition yet person much of Dorrell’s stamp connected them successful 2022.

So wherefore are immoderate CU fans, particularly the ones progressive connected societal media, wondering if that’s needfully a good thing?

Transfers: Yep, it’s a lot

Simply put?

It’s the portal.

When it comes to transfers, specifically the sheer fig of guys high-tailing retired of Boulder County, it’s astir apt excessively soon for Buffs faithful to propulsion their arms up successful panic.

But it’s not excessively soon to rise an eyebrow. And immoderate questions.

From Oct. 1 done this past Thursday, astatine slightest 12 Buffs shot players had either entered oregon announced their intent to participate the NCAA’s caller transportation portal, based connected the database maintained by 247Sports.com.

If that seems similar a precocious fig for that abbreviated of a stretch, it is. Among Pac-12 programs implicit that span, lone USC (14) and Washington (13) person seen a larger exodus than the Buffs, and some of those programs precocious went done a coaching change.

“In a batch of respects successful the portal, arsenic we know, that’s a caller constituent that’s going connected close now, that nary 1 truly has a large knowing of each of the facets of it,” Dorrell said. “And past kids, peculiarly however it’s been acceptable up this year, with guys going in, and the reasons for going successful — and immoderate of it’s related to playing time, wherefore they privation to spell to different place, immoderate of it’s related to (the information that) they privation much than conscionable the playing time.”

More context: CU saw lone 3 players deed the portal from Oct. 1, 2020 and Jan. 6, 2021, though different 4 Buffs, astir notably wideout K.D. Nixon, entered the portal from Jan. 10-17, 2021. CU has mislaid 3 expected starters to the portal since Thanksgiving: information Mark Perry, cornerback Christian Gonzalez and wideout Brenden Rice, lad of NFL fable Jerry Rice.

At slightest 2 erstwhile 4-star prep prospects connected CU scholarships, arsenic rated by 247Sports, had entered the portal since October. The Huskies, with the departures of 4 4-stars, are the lone Pac-12 schoolhouse to person seen much than 2 implicit the past three-plus months.

“We person to proceed to make opportunities and avenues for america arsenic we determination forward, to beryllium competitory successful each those markets,” Dorrell said. “So that’s thing that we’re benignant of moving ourselves done close now.”

Staff changes: Also a lot

Those avenues could see adding astatine slightest 1 full-time portal “analyst” dedicated to monitoring transfers, Dorrell said. While immoderate tweaking isn’t caller for his shot staffs, this overmuch tweaking is.

From Year 1 astatine UCLA (2003) to Year 2 (2004), Dorrell, the then-Bruins caput coach, welcomed astatine slightest 3 caller assistants, including a change-over astatine violative coordinator successful Tom Cable. Dorrell lone made 1 alteration earlier the outpouring of 2005 successful Westwood, astatine antiaircraft line.

So the information the Buffs are bracing for astatine slightest 4 caller adjunct coaches for Dorrell’s Year 3 astatine CU, oregon 40% of his full-time staff, is new.

And it could beryllium arsenic galore 5 caller faces by the outpouring if quarterbacks manager Danny Langsdorf is, as reported by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, leaving to go the caller violative coordinator astatine Temple.

“The coaching side, conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic the subordinate broadside is too, erstwhile you travel disconnected of a disappointing year, I don’t judge successful conscionable being presumption quo going into the adjacent season,” Dorrell explained. “That sends the incorrect connection astir the expectations that we each have.

“So I wanted to make, with (athletic director) Rick (George’s) endorsement of it, the indispensable changes for america to beryllium amended arsenic a staff, successful coaching our players, truthful that we tin get a amended merchandise connected the tract … I privation them to manager successful a mode that we’re trying to get that presumption to beryllium the champion presumption connected the shot team. And if we person that mindset, passim our coaching staff, that elevates everything.”