Typically, when the Colorado Buffaloes gather for the first practice after a game, those who played the majority of snaps get a day off.
When CU head coach Deion Sanders got to practice this weekend, following a 36-20 loss at Houston on Friday, he noticed something different in his defense.
“The whole defense came out there padded up,” Sanders said. “I said, ‘Why do you guys wear your pads?’ They said, ‘Because we didn’t feel like we played well. We’ve got to work.’”
It’s been a slow start to the season for the Buffs’ defense, which gave up 431 yards to Houston – the first time the Cougars have hit the 400-yard mark in almost two years. And, while the Buffs held Houston to six field goal attempts, the Cougars scored on eight of 11 possessions.
A strong defense was a key to CU’s 9-4 campaign in 2024, but eight full-time starters from that group are gone. So far this year, the Buffs have had a lot of rotation throughout the defense as they strive to find continuity.
Although the Buffs are allowing just 23.3 points per game (13th in the Big 12), they are last in the Big 12 in giving up 430.0 yards per game.
“It’s a whole bunch of new guys coming from different schemes, different languages,” said safety Tawfiq Byard, a transfer from South Florida. “So, just trying to get together. Right now, it’s about 70-80% where it should be. We always want to be at 100%, but it’s just something that we got to work through practice and work through reps and just get familiar with each other.”
Cornerback DJ McKinney, one of three returning starters, said he doesn’t see rotating as a problem, because there’s a lot of rotation in practice, too. But, he said, “We’ve got a lot of kinks to work out, but it’s a long season.”
Sanders said the way the defense responded to Houston is a positive and the still believes in the players on that side of the ball.
“We’ve had several opportunities to make plays,” Sanders said. “We just missed opportunities. We just got to make good on opportunities. That’s it.
“They’re holding one another accountable and I like it. I really do. I love them for that.”
Special guest
Rapper Ice Cube, who performed at Ball Arena on Tuesday night, stopped by CU’s practice on Tuesday morning.
Sanders said he and Ice Cube have been friends since the late 1980s, and he was pleased to have him at practice. Ice Cube has been successful in music, movies and business.
“I love when the guys like that are successful in different realms of life, that has reinvented himself in three different times with Big3 (basketball), then you got the rap game, then you got the movie star he is,” Sanders said. “Unbelievable. And it says a lot for a lot of young men on our team that can look up and look out for Cube.”
Notable
Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss was also at practice on Tuesday. … Sanders praised the CU volleyball team, which is off to a 9-0 start. “Wow, I wish we were them,” he said. He also praised the CU soccer team, which is 6-1-1. … Sanders said of Tuesday’s practice, “They worked their butts off today. They really did. We changed the format up a little bit to kind of change it up so they could have something new to look forward to. But they got after it today.”