Houston running back transfer Alton McCaskill committed to Colorado on Tuesday. A former AAC Rookie of the Year, McCaskill missed the 2022 season while recovering from an ACL tear. He entered the transfer portal April 26 and immediately emerged as a top target for the Buffaloes and first-year coach Deion Sanders.

McCaskill also took visits to Arizona State, Florida and Oklahoma State as a transfer prospect. He ranks as the No. 111 prospect in the transfer portal and the No. 9 running back, according to 247Sports. McCaskill tallied 1,074 total yards of offense and 18 touchdowns in 2021 as a freshman with the Cougars. He tore his ACL last spring and was a limited participant in Houston’s 2023 spring practice slate while working out with a non-contact jersey. 

Sanders’ method of flipping Colorado’s roster is unprecedented in the modern era of college football with McCaskill emerging as the 47th transfer to commit to join the Buffaloes’ class during the 2023 cycle. He is the second running back to do so as Sanders tries to improve upon a rushing attack that finished ninth in the Pac-12 last season with 108.3 rushing yards per game. Both of Colorado’s leading rushers in 2022 also transferred or graduated. 

Kentucky transfer Kavosiey Smoke is expected to join Colorado this summer. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry over five years with the Wildcats while playing behind the likes of all-conference performers Benny Snell and Chris Rodriguez Jr. True freshman Dylan Edwards, an early enrollee that went through spring practice, should also factor into the rotation heavily. The No. 12 running back out of high school, Edwards was one of the fastest prospects — regardless of position — in the class of 2023.