CU Buffs Top 20: No. 18 N.J. Falo

Over the next three weeks, BSN Buffs will be breaking down our top 20 Colorado Buffaloes entering the fall of 2017. These rankings were voted on by BSN Buffs editor Jake Shapiro and staff Chase Howell and Sam Weaver.

After serving a suspension during the first three games, N.J. Falo was able to put together a steady sophomore season. Some playing time fell into his lap when starting outside linebacker Derek McCartney went down with torn ACL against Michigan.

Falo played in ten games last season and was credited with 12 tackles, including four third down stops and 1.5 sacks. Falo has great size and excelled last season sealing the edge in the run game.

During spring practice, the coaches were trying him out at middle linebacker for the first few weeks but ended up switching him back to outside when spring camp came to an end. If the season were to start right now, Falo would be the starting outside linebacker on the other side of the man he replaced last season in McCartney.

Playing alongside McCartney should take a lot of pressure off of Falo this season. Whereas last year, he played on the other side of Jimmie Gilbert where he had more duties in the run game and also in coverage. Playing with McCartney should free Falo up a little bit more and let him run wild, expect the sack count to be way up from the previous years.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder will be one of the key pass rushers for this season and the Buffs will most likely need him to produce if they want to fill the void that Gilbert left in the passing game. It’s time for Falo to go from a steady contributor to a big time playmaker and he shouldn’t surprise anyone if he’s able to make that jump.

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