Colorado Offensive Line Coaches Name Biggest Contenders to Start at Center

The Colorado Buffaloes’ center position battle is heating up as the coaching staff turns its attention to it in fall camp.

Jul 7, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks to reporters during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Colorado Buffaloes’ offensive line is full of position battles, and the tightest race may be the one at center. In Monday’s press conference, Colorado’s offensive line staff talked about the position battle and how it is shaping up.

Coach George Hegamin spoke about the position battle as a whole; coach Andre Gurode spoke on what he’s seen from contender Demetrius Hunter and coach Gunnar White spoke on what he has seen from another contender in Sean Kinney. As fall camp heats up, their insight will become even more important in this neck-and-neck position battle.

George Hegamin on the center position battle

Oct 25, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Houston Cougars offensive lineman Demetrius Hunter (59) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In Hegamin’s overall review of the position battle, he praised the fight that he’s seen from each contender for the starting job. However, he still wants to see more as the coaches look to pick a starter for Week 1 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

“They’ve pushed each other,” Hegamin said. “We want to see more. We want to see somebody take that role. The center is the first person to touch the football on the field, so we want to make sure that whoever that guy is, that he owns it. There’s a lot of pressure put on those guys because they understand what they mean to the offense as a whole.”

However, he also suggested that they may be closer to having their minds made up than expected.

“We do believe that we’ve got the guy in the room, but it’s time for that guy to show up and stay up,” Hegamin said.

Gunnar White on Sean Kinney’s development

Colorado OL coach Gunnar White: “We have a lot of guys battling for positions across the board.”

On Sean Kinney: “He’s been doing everything right … people play good when he’s in.” pic.twitter.com/6N0vZWmuaY

— Scott Procter (@ScottProcter_) August 10, 2026

Offensive line coach Gunnar White gave insight into the development of one of the position’s contenders. Lafayette Leopards transfer Sean Kinney has adjusted well to the FBS level of competition and is holding his own in the battle.

"Sean's been doing everything right,” White said. “He's leading the group right too. When he's in there, he makes the right calls, and people play well when he's in. So, I'm happy with what he's doing, and not to say that the other guys aren't doing what they need to do, but it's a good, healthy competition.”

Kinney is a third-year player and appeared in all 24 games for the Leopards in his two seasons with them. He was dominant at the FCS level, earning league honors in 2025 and being named to the TSN Freshman All-America team in 2024.

Andre Gurode on Demetrius Hunter’s development

August 10, 2019; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive assistant coach Andre Gurode during the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

His competitor, Houston Cougars transfer Demetrius Hunter, has experience that Kinney lacks. While Kinney got off to a bit of a faster start to his career than Hunter did, Hunter’s two seasons of starting experience in the Big 12 go a long way for his preparation to take over as Colorado’s starter. However, coach Gurode and company are primarily concerned with the body of work he produces in fall camp.

Oct 25, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Houston Cougars offensive lineman Demetrius Hunter (59) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“First of all, you can’t take anything away from his two years of starting experience,” Gurode said. “He did a great job. But here, we want to see what you’re going to do now. So, the competition is very steep, it’s very aggressive, and you have to prove it every single day. With the type of room we have, somebody could lose their job to somebody else in that room. We want that type of pressure on those guys.”

This will be an important position battle to watch throughout fall camp, as these players could be the tone-setters for the entire offensive line. Given the talent they both possess, it’ll be hard for the coaches to go wrong, but they still want to ensure they make the right choice in the coming weeks of fall camp.

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