Without Travis Hunter, Shilo Sanders, who rises in Colorado’s secondary?

Colorado Buffaloes football is just a week away, and the black and gold will have their hands full when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets come to town to open the season. This game will mark the start of a new chapter of the Coach Prime era at CU without Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders in the fold to lead the way for the Buffs.

Colorado’s secondary was third in the Big 12 in interceptions last year, with 15. However, the only major contributors returning from that room are DJ McKinney, Carter Stoutmire and Preston Hodge. While it’s nearly impossible to reciprocate what Hunter did on the defensive side of the ball for the Buffs last season, the teams feels that they players they brought in this offseason can keep the unit towards the top of the conference.

The Big 12 is one of the deepest conferences in the country in terms of quarterback play. One league play gets underway, the Buffs will be challenged each week by a new quarterback who isn’t a scrub (outside of a couple outliers). Sam Leavitt, Rocco Becht, Avery Johnson, Josh Hoover and Devon Dampier will all line up opposite of the Buffs in league play this year, and that doesn’t include the Week 1 test that Georgia Tech’s Haynes King is going to present.

What new faces did CU bring in, and what do they bring to the table? Let’s take a look at how the linebacker unit is shaping up before the start of the season. For those who have missed it, we have already looked at the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, offensive line, defensive line and linebackers.

KEY DEPARTURES

This unit arguably took the biggest hit over the offseason, as Travis Hunter, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, Shilo Sanders and Colton Hood all left the program in 2024. The first three went to the NFL while Hood, who was poised to become a leader in this room after a solid 2024 campaign, transferred out to Tennessee. Those four combined for 215 tackles, 22 pass deflections, seven interceptions and three forced fumbles last year, so there is a lot of production to be made up. Hunter, Silmon-Craig and Sanders were also the three veteran leaders of that room, so it will be essential for other faces to step up and be vocal.

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NEW FACES – TRANSFERS

Coach Prime and Colorado went to work in the transfer portal with this unit, as they brought in seven new Tyrecus Davis, Teon Parks, Noah King, John Slaughter, Terrance Love, Tawfiq Byard, Maker Vickers. Davis, Parks, Vickers, and King are corners while the others are new pieces in the safety room.

At corner, all four players can make an impact at some point this season. King is a 6-foot-2 former four-star recruit from Kansas State, Vickers is a 6-foot-1 three-star from Oklahoma, Parks is a 6-foot-1 three-star out of Illinois State and Davis is a 5-foot-10 three-star from Wyoming. Defensive backs coach Kevin Mathis said on Thursday that the battle for the CB2 spot opposite of McKinney is down to Johnson and Parks for Week 1.

Mathis also said that both of them “are going to end up playing” no matter who starts.

That could easily change throughout the season, as they’re four players who can all be viable options at cornerback.

For the safeties, Byard is the one to know. Slaughter and Love transferred in from Tennessee and Auburn, respectively, but neither saw much action in the SEC outside of special teams. They will be good depth pieces, but won’t get the start over Byard or Stoutmire to open the season.

Byard, the younger brother of former NFL All-Pro safety Kevin Byard, still has three years of eligibility remaining. He had 59 tackles (eight for loss) and an interception in 16 games at South Florida over the previous two years and can be this team’s replacement for Silmon-Craig. He stands at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, and can be a certified playmaker for this defense.

NEW FACES – RECRUITS

Kyle Carpenter and T.J. Branch are the two new freshmen in the room. Carpenter is a corner who played his high school ball with fellow Buff Mantrez Walker down in Buford, Georgia, but has no stars on any recruiting website. Branch is a four-star safety from South Florida who played under former Denver Bronco Teddy Bridgewater at Miami Northwestern in his senior year. He helped lead his team to a 3A championship and was nominated for the Nat Moore Award, a trophy given to the best high school football player in the Miami area.

Neither of these guys will likely play at the start of the season, but keep an eye out for Branch if things go south in the secondary. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds, he will have the tools to be a solid college safety once he puts on some more muscle.

RETURNERS

DJ McKinney, Preston Hodge, Carter Stoutmire and Ben Finneseth are the key returners from 2024. There are a handful of other players who are technically back this year, like local product Braden Keith, but none of them saw meaningful playing time in 2024 and likely won’t in 2025.

McKinney, Hodge and Stoutmire are locks to start the season off in the defensive backfield. They all were impactful players in 2024, and McKinney has even drawn attention as potentially being a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Last year, McKinney’s 61 tackles led all cornerbacks on the Buffs a year ago, and he had three interceptions, eight pass deflections and a forced fumble to go along with it.

Hodge will be the staple for this team in the nickel, just like he was last year. He’s got the physicality necessary to step in and help with run support, but also possesses the ball skills to make plays in man coverage. He had 33 tackles and two interceptions last year, including a very important pick early in the UCF game that quickly flipped momentum back in the Buffs’ favor.

COLORADO PICKS IT OFF 😱

The @CUBuffsFootball defense comes up with a massive play on 3rd & goal 🦬 pic.twitter.com/VezGHUuZaU

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 28, 2024

Stoutmire has been with the Buffs since Prime first got to town. He is the safety who can bring the punch, similar to what Shilo Sanders did for Colorado the last two years, and proved it when he stepped in to start when Sanders was out with an arm injury early last year. He started his collegiate career at corner, so he still has the knack to make plays in coverage, but his physicality is his best trait.

Finneseth is also returning in his fifth season with Colorado as a redshirt senior. He quickly became a fan favorite last year with the effort he showed on special teams, and has been getting some run throughout the offseason. He will likely be a core-four special teamer for the second consecutive year, but won’t see many meaningful defensive snaps, just like in 2024.

PROJECTED STARTERS

CB – DJ McKinney
S – Tawfiq Byard
S – Carter Stoutmire
Nickel – Preston Hodge
CB – RJ Johnson/Teon Parks

The first four slots are essentially locked in for Week 1 against Georgia Tech. The real question, which the Buffs likely won’t answer until the morning of the season opener, is who takes that final cornerback spot.

Johnson has one year with Livingston and the Buffs under his belt, and is the bigger option of the two and likely the safest option. Parks is the final candidate, but doesn’t bring the FBS experience to the table that the other two guys. However, he has reportedly been making a name for himself in fall camp, so he will likely get a start at one point in the season barring injury.

This unit played well last year, as they allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards in the Big 12. A lot of that had to due with the three veterans they had in the room, so the important thing early on for this group is to find out who’s going to step up in their place. It could be Hodge, it could be Stoutmire, it could be one of the new guys. The success of this defense will depend on how quickly this re-tooled group can mesh together, as there will be no room for error once Big 12 play starts.