Sources: Kent State's Lewis to Colorado as OC

The on-field individuality of Deion Sanders' Colorado programme took signifier today, arsenic sources told ESPN that the Buffaloes are hiring Kent State caput manager Sean Lewis to beryllium the team's violative coordinator.

As Kent State's caput manager and playcaller, Lewis developed a chiseled individuality -- whiplash tempo, speedy snaps and wide-open offenses. His discourtesy is simply a descendent of the old-school Baylor offense, which helped marque devastating tempo vogue successful assemblage shot much than a decennary ago.

This year, Kent State finished with the fastest discourtesy successful the Group of 5 and the fourth-fastest discourtesy successful assemblage football. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it averaged 30.1 seconds of existent clip betwixt snaps.

Sources told ESPN that 1 of the appeals of Lewis moving successful Colorado was that breakneck pace, combined with the altitude successful Boulder, volition wreak havoc connected opposing defenses.

Lewis' fidelity to tempo led to 1 of the champion runs of shot successful caller generations astatine Kent State. His occurrence determination belies his grounds (24-31), arsenic helium won the program's first-ever vessel crippled and reached the MAC rubric crippled past year. That was conscionable the 2nd MAC rubric crippled successful schoolhouse history.

Lewis' offenses astatine Kent finished successful the apical 5 successful full discourtesy successful some 2021 and 2020. In 2020, the Golden Flashes led the federation successful scoring (49.8 points per game) erstwhile Kent State played a MAC-only docket successful the COVID-19-shortened season. It's not conscionable wide-open passing either, arsenic Kent was No. 3 nationally successful rushing discourtesy past season.

Sanders proved to beryllium a prolific recruiter astatine Jackson State; Travis Hunter, the No. 2 wide enlistee successful the ESPN 300 past year, chose Jackson State implicit Georgia and Florida State. If Sanders tin gully elite athletes to Boulder, Lewis' strategy should beryllium capable to item them.

"It makes sense," said a MAC manager who has faced Lewis. "They'll beryllium capable to get players and play successful a wide-open passing attack. They'll beryllium explosive, diversion and attacking. I deliberation anytime you're dealing with altitude, nary substance what strategy you run, it's thing you person to accommodate to. I deliberation it fits a small spot of the wide-open attacking Pac-12 benignant of offenses. They should beryllium capable to pull guys who privation to play successful that benignant of strategy offensively."

Lewis played choky extremity and backmost astatine Wisconsin nether violative coordinator Paul Chryst, an antithetic incubator for a hyper-tempo offense. He started aboriginal successful his coaching vocation astatine Eastern Illinois with Dino Babers, who is simply a erstwhile Baylor adjunct and passed connected the high-octane discourtesy to Lewis. Lewis was besides connected the unit during Jimmy Garoppolo's tenure astatine Eastern Illinois.

From there, Lewis followed Babers to Bowling Green successful the MAC and Syracuse successful the ACC, climbing to violative coordinator and steeping himself successful tempo offense.

Lewis was the youngest caput manager successful the state erstwhile helium got the Kent occupation astatine property 31 successful December 2017. His occurrence successful 5 seasons astatine Kent has been truthful appreciated by the medication determination that a root told ESPN they purpose to support a akin up-tempo style, arsenic it's amusive to watch, fan-friendly and casual to enlistee to.

Kent State officials are appreciative of the momentum Lewis helped make and program to usage the $750,000 buyout Colorado volition wage to prosecute Lewis to proceed to supplement the program. Kent State has agelong been 1 of the MAC's astir challenging jobs, arsenic Lewis' 2 vessel appearances determination matched the full successful the past of a programme that began successful 1962.

At the halfway of Lewis' tenure was a forging of a chiseled identity, and it's 1 that's casual to spot wherefore it would beryllium charismatic to a programme wherever Sanders promises to bring successful a wide swath of five-stars recruits and elite accomplishment players.

"They'll play with gait and tempo and effort and dispersed the tract each 53 and a third," said different MAC coach. "It's a dynamic strategy if they tin get a backmost recruited that tin tally it."