The word of the Colorado football team's media day was:

Gi-freakin-normous.

It was the big man on campus -- 6-foot-7, 310-pound offensive tackle Ryan Miller -- who used the new adjective in a sentence when asked about the Buffs' prospects up front this fall.

"Coach (Dan) Hawkins has done such a great job of bringing in kids that are quality kids. And there are so many of them," Miller said. "Our O-line is going to be gifreakinnormous."

CU's coaching staff has been able to significantly upgrade the size, depth and talent on the offensive line over the last two years.

Three players -- Miller (right tackle), Nate Solder (left tackle) and Daniel Sanders (center) -- have established themselves as starters.

But there are still questions surrounding the unit that need to be answered in practice before the 2008 opener against Colorado State on Aug. 31 at Invesco Field.

At guard, CU has already lost redshirt freshman Mike Iltis (torn anterior cruciate ligament) and senior Erick Faatagi (academically ineligible) for the season. Both players were expected to challenge senior Devin Head at right guard entering training camp.

Redshirt freshmen Matthew Bahr, Shawn Daniels and Blake Behrens are listed as the top three candidates at left guard. True freshmen Ryan Dannewitz, Bryce Givens and Maxwell Tuioti-Mariner are also being given a serious look inside."The good news is when I got here there weren't enough guys to compete. Now we've got enough bodies that we have some competition going on," CU offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said. "The pressure ends up making everybody else better."

Cody Hawkins sleeps well at night knowing that Miller and Solder -- two college sophomores who would fit right in, at least physically, in an NFL locker room -- are protecting him on the ends. But if one of these pillars of strength were to fall due to an injury it isn't clear at this point who would fill the rather large void.

David Clark (right) and Ethan Adkins (left), two more redshirt freshmen, are currently the backup tackles.

"That's a point of competition as well," Grimes said. "Typically, you have a third guy that can play tackle on either side. We're still in the position of determining who our third tackle will be."

The most experienced player breaking the huddle will be Sanders, a fifth-year senior with 23 starts under his belt. He will be counted on to quarterback the O-line as the Buffs will try to dictate the pace of the game against their opponents this season using a no-huddle offense.

"We just have to communicate faster because everything is happening faster. They have to know what they're doing a little bit better," Grimes said. "The fact that we're not huddling is one thing, but we're trying to push the tempo and go fast. By doing that it just forces them to really focus on talking on every play and knowing what they're doing fast enough that there's not any hesitation. ...

"We feel good about Sanders but we have to find a backup at center."

Sophomore Keenan Stevens is listed as the backup on the depth chart right now. Most of the young guards also get practice time at center to create a more versatile pool of candidates at the position.

Tuioti-Mariner, one of the most sought after recruits in the nation before suffering a serious knee injury in high school, is a very intriguing prospect.

The coaches have already seen glimpses of greatness in practice and believe it's only a matter of time before the 6-4, 300-pound talent cracks the starting lineup.

"I guess I'm getting better and better. I'm improving with my steps and how low I'm getting," said Tuioti-Mariner, who missed his senior season at Corona (Calif.) High School. "I've just got to get used to hitting again. And breathing. This is a different altitude, a different level."

Whether the offensive line is ready or not, there are great expectations for CU's running game with the arrival of super recruit Darrell Scott to headline an already impressive backfield.

Despite an overall lack of experience, it doesn't sound like the big guys up front are going to back away from the great expectations that this infusion of young talent has created.

Check that, gyfreakinnormous expectations.

"We've got five running backs that are, in my opinion, Heisman-caliber kids," Miller said. "You're starting to see little by little the pieces of this program coming together and it's exciting."