Ex-Colorado Buffaloes football coach almost had Jordan Seaton commit to downtrodden SEC school over Miami, LSU, and Oregon

One of the biggest transfer portal upsets of the entire offseason would’ve been left tackle Jordan Seaton committing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs over the biggest brands and deepest-pocketed universities across the country. That almost happened because of Seaton’s relationship with former Colorado Buffaloes OL coach Phil Loadholt.

As CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer points out, Seaton’s first visit was to Starkville, Mississippi, over the Oregon Ducks, whom he never visited, the Miami Hurricanes, which have a recruiting pipeline from Seaton’s alma mater, IMG Academy, and the LSU Tigers, who eventually landed his commitment.

“While LSU and Miami were two program sources highlighted when Seaton entered the transfer portal, he actually took his first visit to Mississippi State,” Hummer wrote. “The Bulldogs' offensive line coach, Phil Loadholt, served as Seaton's O-line coach in Boulder during his true freshman season. The pair remain close, and that gave Mississippi State early momentum.

“Miami got the next visit with Seaton as the Hurricanes sold Seaton on Mario Cristobal's offensive line development and style of football. From there, Seaton headed to Baton Rouge. LSU desperately needed impact offensive linemen as Lane Kiffin had to overhaul almost that entire room, and Seaton was the last impact offensive tackle on the open market.

“Oregon was also involved in the process. Seaton was scheduled to visit Eugene at one point, but that never materialized. Instead, Oregon coach Dan Lanning flew to see Seaton in Atlanta.”

Phil Loadholt was a recruiting loss for Colorado. The OL got better in 2025 after he left, though.

Loadholt was undoubtedly a loss for the Buffs’ recruiting. Seaton checked out towards the end of last season after Colorado fell apart amid having no identity. Still, the stats show that the offensive line got better overall.

After poorly-performing protection in 2023 and 2024, the unit improved, helping the running game amass 150 yards per game. Loadholt left in December 2024, right before the season. His new employer, Mississippi State, gave up over 40 sacks and averaged under four yards per carry.

Is there a correlation here? More evidence is needed, but maybe.