Just one play showed the skills Kaidon Salter can bring to the table that Colorado’s other quarterbacks don’t have in their toolbox.
It also showcased the explosive dynamic Sincere Brown brings to the mix.
It wasn’t Brown’s first big play with the CU football team, but his 68-yard touchdown grab against Wyoming last week encapsulated the full potential of the Buffaloes’ offense when things are clicking with Salter.
Salter, in his return to the starting role, broke from the pocket and rolled to his right. Brown adjusted his route accordingly. Salter delivered, and Brown was off to the races. It was the sort of sequence the Buffs will need to see more frequently if they hope to keep afloat in what is shaping up to be the toughest stretch of the Big 12 schedule, a run that began with Saturday night’s home date against No. 25 BYU.
“At the end of the day you gotta play,” Brown said. “When you’re playing with a guy like Kaidon, play to his strengths. Such as how he played to my strengths. So how y’all look at that play, it looked a little broken up and it’s just scramble rules. At the end of day, find him. Follow him and wherever he goes, you go and just make the play.”
Brown brought a different dynamic to the CU receivers room when he transferred during the offseason from Campbell, where he enjoyed a breakout season last year. A native of Charleston, S.C., Brown added a dose of experience to a receiver group long on talent but somewhat thin on playing time. At 6-foot-5, Brown also brings a unique blend of size and speed to the equation.
Brown spent three seasons at South Florida where he was teammates with former CU receivers Jimmy Horn Jr. and Xavier Weaver. Brown never cracked the lineup, appearing in just nine games over those three seasons while making just one reception. He played in 11 games in 2023 during his first season at Campbell but appeared mostly on special teams, finishing the year without any receptions.
Everything changed for Brown in 2024. After finally getting an opportunity to shine, Brown did just that, recording 61 receptions for 1,028 yards and 12 touchdowns to earn first team all-league honors in the Coastal Athletic Association. Thanks to a redshirt season and the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA for the 2020 pandemic season, Brown opted to test his talents on a bigger stage at Colorado.
“Obviously Sincere played a lot of football at Campbell and started out at South Florida,” CU receivers coach Jason Phillips said. “Being here, you kind of see that he’s still learning the game, and every day he’s getting better. So it’s just cool to watch him with that ability just to get better and embrace learning more football, just being able to play in this situation, in this type of environment, just watching his maturity, man, it’s been fun to watch.
“I think that’s the biggest thing that I’ve obviously enjoyed with him, is his coachability, but more importantly, his accountability for what he lacks, and then working hard to make sure he fixes it.”
Brown didn’t make an immediate splash at CU, going without a reception in the opening loss against Georgia Tech. A week later, though, he was the biggest beneficiary of quarterback Ryan Staub’s electric pinch-hit performance against Delaware, finishing with four receptions for 120 yards with a 71-yard touchdown. Brown had just two receptions for 15 yards as Staub and the rest of CU’s offense struggled in a loss at Houston, but he bounced back with the 68-yard score against Wyoming that helped the Buffs to start padding their lead.
Brown entered the BYU game averaging a robust 29.0 yards per reception, and he said this week he still has plenty to prove at the power conference level.
“I got a little doubted when I got here, coming from the FCS program, because of the huge jump,” Brown said. “In my head, I kind of don’t pay attention to those things. I just put my head down and worked. If you’re a dawg, you can play anywhere. That’s just my identity at the end of the day.”