Sources: Colorado beginning C Wells uncertain Sat

• Pete Thamel, ESPNSep 16, 2023, 06:45 AM ET

Colorado beginning center Van Wells is uncertain to play against Colorado State on Saturday night, sources informed ESPN, leaving the Buffaloes with a real freshman beginning at center.Wells was restricted in practice today, sources stated, after leaving the Nebraska game with an evident leg injury in the fourth quarter. His lack would add another layer of unpredictability to one of the Buffaloes’ most glaring weaknesses.True freshman Hank Zilinskas is slated for his very first career start, sources said. Zilinskas is a former three-star possibility from close-by Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, Colorado, whom ESPN ranked as the No. 21 general center in the 2023 freshman class. He is listed at 6-foot-3 and 285 pounds.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Colorado coach Deion Sanders stated this week that Wells

was healing and that he

had confidence

in the depth at that position. Sanders added that Colorado” didn’t miss a beat “with Zilinskas in the game late versus Nebraska.The loss of Wells would put additional pressure on a struggling system. Colorado is last in the country in

sacks permitted, with an average of 6.0 per game. That included quiting eight sacks versus Nebraska last week.Colorado has the country’s No. 2 passing offense, averaging 453 yards over two games. Colorado plays almost solely out of the shotgun, which amplifies the importance of Zilinskas’snaps in his starting debut.Colorado’s rush offense ranks No. 124 out of 132 schools with 56.5 yards per game.(Colorado State, which has played just one game, is connected for last at 37.0 yards.

)Wells is one of the 8 returning scholarship players on the Buffaloes lineup this season and is one of the four beginners among that group. He played in 9 games as a real freshman, which

included 377 offending snaps.Opposing coaches have actually pointed to both lines of skirmish as the weaknesses for Colorado, which has leapt out to a 2-0 record thanks to the resplendent play of quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the dynamism of the receiver and

tailback positions and a defense that’s opportunistic enough to be No. 8 in the nation in turnover margin.