The Colorado football team just wrapped up its sixth practice of fall camp and a few Buffs have emerged.
With a new-look roster and coaching staff, a massive part of fall camp is bonding and meshing as a team. That’s why Deion Sanders took the Colorado football team away from Boulder for the week, spending five days at Fountain-Fort Carson High School before practicing at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Saturday.
“At first, guys were a little timid about it,” Colorado running back DeKalon Taylor said of fall camp being away from campus. “We’re away from home and we’re in dorms again but after day one, we began to grow closer.
“We just talk to each other, we’re building a brotherhood, we’re laughing and joking all day. It feels surreal. It’s like a true getaway. We get to focus on ball. We don’t have to worry about the outside noise.”
Fall camp is also the time when position battles are won and roles begin to be defined. Both sides of the ball for the Colorado football team have questions that need to be (or have already been) answered.
Here are a few takeaways from what I saw and heard during the Buffs’ first week of fall camp.
Defensive scheme change?
The Colorado football team ran a 4-2-5 defense for a majority of the last two seasons under former defensive coordinator Robert Livingston. It worked in 2024 when the Buffs won nine games but last year, they allowed the most rushing yards in the Big 12 (222 per game).
New defensive coordinator Chris Marve is a former All-SEC linebacker and he knows stopping the run is the top priority for his unit in 2026. As a result, Colorado has shown a 4-3 defensive scheme at times during fall camp thanks to its trio of transfer LBs.
“I’m over pleased with that whole linebacker room,” Deion Sanders said Thursday.
Gideon ESPN Lampron, Tyler Martinez and Liona Lefau could all be on the field together in the Buffs’ base look this fall which would be a big boost to the run defense. When asked about that specifically on Tuesday, Marve said “they’re going to play. I’ll leave it at that.”
When the Colorado football team inevitably gets into a nickel defense (just two LBs) in obvious passing situations, Indiana transfer Jah Jah Boyd looks like he could be the fifth defensive back on the field. He played primarily on special teams for the national champion Hoosiers last season but has flashed as a Buff due to his quick-trigger ability in the run game.
If Boyd (or another DB) is on the field in a nickel look, expect Lampron and Martinez to stay in the action at LB. Texas transfer Liona Lefau’s effort level in practice currently has him as Colorado’s No. 3 LB.
Offensive line is ‘phenomenal’
Colorado football offensive coordinator Brennan Marion caught flak a few weeks ago when he said the Buffs’ offensive line is “the best OL that I’ve ever had,” comparing it to Texas when he was there in 2022.
It turns out that Marion isn’t the only one who feels that way. Coach Prime says the Colorado football team has 8-9 players who could start this season.
“These guys ain’t no joke,” Deion Sanders said of his offensive line. “They’re violent.”
Coach Prime said he prioritized mentality over size when targeting transfer offensive linemen (they’re still large humans averaging 6-foot-5, 310 pounds) and that has been evident during fall camp. Colorado running back DeKalon Taylor believes the OL is a reason why the Buffs are going to change the narrative around their run game (dead last in FBS in two of the last three seasons).
“The OLine is phenomenal,” Taylor said. “I can’t even put into words how good they are.”
Georgia transfer Bo Hughley (left) and Cal transfer Leon Bell (right) seem to have locked up the starting tackle spots. There’s a three-way competition at center between Demetrius Hunter (Houston transfer), Sean Kinney (Lafayette transfer) and returner Yahya Attia. Guard is even more wide open with Jayvon McFadden (Ohio State transfer), returner Chauncey Gooden, Jose Soto (Sac State transfer) and others in the running.
Injuries
Quarterback Julian Lewis has been without two of his top weapons to start fall camp. Wide receivers Danny Scudero (foot) and Kam Perry (elbow) are both dealing with injuries. Luckily, neither of them are expected to be in jeopardy of missing Colorado football’s Week 1 game vs. Georgia Tech.
“He’s most definitely going to play against Georgia Tech for sure,’ Deion Sanders said of Danny Scudero. “If I know Danny, he’s definitely going to do that.”
With Scudero and Perry not practicing, Texas transfer WR DeAndre Moore Jr. and returning WR Joseph Williams are back healthy for fall camp after dealing with injuries in the spring. Moore Jr. and Williams appear to be 100% and should both be big parts of the Colorado football team’s passing game.
OL Taj White, DL Vili Taufatofau and DE Balansama Kamara are also dealing with undisclosed injuries.
Colorado football winners after Week 1 of fall camp
RB Jaquail Smith wasn’t available for spring ball with an injury but the Sac State transfer has impressed during fall camp. He rushed for 100-plus yards in all four of the games he had 10-plus carries in Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense last season. Smith’s combination of speed and tough running makes him the x-factor in the RB room and he’s making a case for the No. 3 spot behind Taylor and Damian Henderson II.
OL Jayvon McFadden redshirted as a true freshman last season at Ohio State but is working with the Colorado football team’s first-team offense during fall camp. The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder can play both guard spots and seems to have the mentality that Coach Prime covets in his offensive linemen.
OL Sean Kinney is pushing Houston transfer Demetrius Hunter for the starting center spot after many thought there wouldn’t be much of a competition. The 6-foot-2, 305-pound transfer from Lafayette is a versatile piece who has started games at center, left guard and right guard over the last two seasons (1,566 total snaps).
DB Jah Jah Boyd is arguably the biggest winner of Colorado football fall camp after one week. The Indiana transfer was working with the first-team defense in a nickel package and had a nice PBU during a team period on Thursday.
DB Jason Stokes Jr. made one of the plays of fall camp so far with a diving interception during a team period. The 6-foot-2 Utah transfer has all the tools to be a starting-caliber player. Behind Boo Carter and Cree Thomas, the No. 3 CB spot could belong to Stokes Jr. by the end of camp.
