What do Kenneth Crawley, Justin Solis and Derek McCartney have in common? They’re expected to play a big role for the Colorado defense this season, they were all recruited by Jon Embree in 2012, and they’re all expected to receive their under-graduate degrees from the University of Colorado this year.

The difference? Crawley and Solis are Seniors on the football field this season, while McCartney is only a (redshirt) Sophomore.

“I just like when I see sophomore next to his name,” said head coach Mike MacIntyre with a laugh. “He is a very mature young man, he’s doing really well, I’m very proud of him.”

Even McCartney had to correct himself when talking about his large chunk of remaining eligibility.

“I feel like I should be a senior right now, it’s funny thinking about how I’m a sophomore, but it’s awesome,” he said. “It’s a really good opportunity for me, I have two… three more years to play including this one.”

Between his grayshirt year, where McCartney was able to begin his coursework, his redshirt year where he was able to focus in on his studies, and now three years of summer classes, the Buffs top outside linebacker will graduate college in a not-so-easy field before he ever plays a down as an upperclassman.

“I’m going to graduate with an Integrative Physiology degree in the spring, and then I’m going to try and get a masters in the same field,” he explained proudly.

And even that won’t be the end of his school plans.

“I want to go to med-school someday, that’s what my goal has been for a long time,” told McCartney. “That’s why I’m taking this kind of course load.”

Between the amount of time he’s already spent in the program and his close ties to Colorado, with his grandfather, Bill, being the winningest coach in school history, it seems people have heard almost every story about Derek, we asked him what folks might not know about him.

“I like music a lot, I like to sing,” he said with that infectious smile. “I’m going to try to learn to play the guitar this semester as an elective, so that’s going to be pretty cool.”

He says that music is a break for the mind, which is necessary for someone who is always learning. And just like his course load in the classroom, McCartney’s course load in the film room has picked up, with the transition to the 3-4 defense under, new defensive coordinator, Jim Leavitt.

McCartney is part of the group that is making arguably the biggest adjustment in this defense, as he and guys like Jimmie Gilbert go from defensive ends to outside linebackers, but to nobody’s surprise, McCartney doesn’t mind a little studying.

“I enjoy it a lot, honestly. It’s a fun position to play being an outside backer in this 3-4,” he told. “It’s just been a fun transition, it’s different and it has it’s challenges for sure, but it’s also very fun for me… it gives me a lot of opportunities to do different things, and I think I can excel at those different things, so it’s pretty exciting.”

When he isn’t studying physiology, football, or taking in some tunes, McCartney allows himself to visualize success on the field this year.

“I dream about it, I think about it,” he admitted. “Every time I watch film I’m like ‘oh, I’m gonna do something crazy like this, and everyone is going to be in awe,’ I really picture myself making plays from this position.”

But then it’s back to absorbing.

“I learned a lot from Coach Baer in his defense, but I’m learning even more with Coach Leavitt,” explained D-Mac. “For me, it’s really helpful to have gotten both perspectives and kind of put them together, it helps me really understand football more.”

Despite the underclassman label next to his name that Mike MacIntyre and the rest of BuffNation enjoy so much, Derek, who’s part of Mike MacIntyre’s “Leadership Council,” is embracing that role.

“I want to be a good leader for this team, I want to help keep guys up,” he explained. “I want to make plays when I need to, I want to encourage everybody when they need to be encouraged, and stuff like that, that’s my main goal.”

Student, leader, athlete, Derek McCartney is about all a coach could ever want in a player, and luckily for Colorado, he’s not going anywhere soon.