Steven Montez

Montez excelled in his first full season as Colorado's starter, throwing for 2,975 yards along with 18 touchdowns and logging a 60.5 completion percentage. He was also effective on the ground, rushing for 338 yards and three scores. Montez's most complete performance came against Cal, when he scored four times and passed for 347 yards while failing to surrender a turnover. After losing the majority of his top receivers from 2017 (Bryce Bobo, Devin Ross and Shay Fields), he'll be forced to rely on Juwann Winfree and Jay MacIntyre at wideout. With an offense that ran the ball 53 percent of the time in 2017, Beau Bisharat and Michael Adkins figure to steal some of Montez's production, although the Buffaloes did average 288 passing yards per game a season ago.

Montez this season replaces the graduated Sefo Liufau, who leaves as the school's all-time leading passer. Montez showed promise in a brief stint as the starter last season, leading the Buffs to wins over Oregon and Oregon State before a narrow loss to USC, throwing seven touchdowns in that span.Montez also showed some running ability, torching the Ducks for 135 yards and a score on the ground. Although he is green, he will have an experienced supporting cast around him, particularly in the receiving corps.