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Spring Practices – Quotable Quotes
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Access to spring practices are – as always – limited. There are those who are scouring the Well Off Media snippets, trying to discern starters along the offensive line, and how the quarterbacks are looking in their first practices as Buffs.
If that’s for you, more power to you.
The reality is that, even if you did get a few seconds of video with the full offensive line, there’s no guarantees that these are your starters. Coaches could be working on different lineups, players could be nursing injuries … players could be off at class.
While trying to gain insider info from clips inside the indoor practice facilities may be a fool’s errand, press conferences the first two weeks of spring practices have given some insights as to how Coach Prime’s third spring is going.
Below are some notable quotable quotes from the coaches and players the first two weeks of spring ball …
Head Coach Deion Sanders
On the makeup of the CU roster … “I learned from Year 1, you can’t just do it with personnel, you’ve got to do it with coaching as well. And they must be united with one another. And you’ve got to know what you need. Not just grabbing someone from the portal. You’ve got to check them out thoroughly, know it’s a fit, just not athletically but does he fit with the culture and what we’re doing here at CU? I’m happy and elated what we have in house. We’re still going to go fishing for a few more.” … Translation … CU’s roster may have the most overall talent of Coach Prime’s three seasons in Boulder … but he’s not done yet (the second Transfer Portal will be open the second two weeks of April).
On his coordinators, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston … “Don’t sleep on Pat, he’s doing a tremendous job here. But Rob was on everybody’s list to try to secure his services, and he deserves everything he’s got coming and then some. You know when you get a guy and you have success you’re not going to keep him long. … When you win you expect your staff to be ravaged — you expect that. And he was the top dog. …
“I don’t know if we’re going to be able to hold him after this season, but I’m going to enjoy this ride — I really am. He’s one of the best in the business as well as Pat and the rest of our coaches. We have a wonderful coaching staff. Please don’t underestimate that.” … Translation … Livingston’s flirtation with the New Orleans Saints before signing his contract extension is pretty fair indication that this could be Livingston’s last season in Boulder, but Coach Prime is also content with the work of Shurmur. Shurmur got along well with Shedeur Sanders running his offense, but Prime doesn’t seem concerned about the transition to the post-Shedeur and post-Travis offense.
On the other hand, Coach Prime was quiet about his own contract extension … “Maybe, I don’t know. I ain’t worried about me. Let’s get everybody else straight first and then I’m good” … Translation … Read into that what you will. My take? Coach Prime is breaking CU’s bank with all of his new assistants, including Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk and new quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich. As much as Rick George would like CU to play with the big boys, CU’s coffers are not unlimited. Can CU come up with enough money to pay Coach Prime, his assistants … with the $20.5 million House settlement payouts looming in the very near future? My hope would be that Rick George and Coach Prime are working together to get as much out of CU’s major donors to give Coach Prime a contract which makes his numbers one of the highest in the Big 12, if not the nation.
Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur
On his quarterback competition … “As my youngest daughter would say, ‘It’s not that deep’. You bring in new players and they come in and compete their butts off, and our responsibility as coaches is to make sure we play the best player. So through the training sessions, because there is no preseason, we have to determine who the best guy is and God-willing we have a number of guys that can be the best guy and they just go out there and compete … I challenge our guys that we want to have one of the healthiest quarterback rooms in the country, because when you have a healthy quarterback room then all the guys progress and all the guys develop and that’s what you’re looking for” … Translation … This is about what you would expect to hear. Nothing is going to be decided between Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis this spring. With a big game against Georgia Tech for CU’s opener, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if CU doesn’t name a starter until the week before the first game this fall.
Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston
On his new contract, making him the highest-paid assistant coach in CU history, at $1.5 million for $1.6 million for 2026 … “It was gonna take something really special to move my family again. We talked about it. I’m thrilled to be here. It’s a phenomenal blessing and just excited for the future” … Translation … Enjoy him while you can, Buff fans. If Livingston’s defense continues to improve (in the Top 50 nationally in total defense and scoring defense for the first time in a decade), Livingston will be coaching elsewhere in 2026.
On his defense personnel for 2025 … “With a new group, I think we’ll have seven, eight new starters. Who are the leaders going to be? And that’s the exciting part about the spring. I mean, the X’s and O’s are one thing. You guys have heard me say at the end of the day, we’re just calling stuff off of a Denny’s menu, right? They got to bring it to life, and leaders got to lead from the front. That’s what I’m most excited about to see who’s going to take this team and say, ‘OK, you guys get on my back and let’s go'” … Translation … We’re comfortable that we’ve got the players to have a special season on defense. It’s going to up to the coaches and players to make it work.
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And then there are the new assistant coaches …
Running backs coach Marshall Faulk
“Where can we improve? That’s the idea, and that’s the mindset that we have to have, and that’s what we want to instill. And the football players that we bring in here and that we coach, I don’t care how good you are, it’s how much better can we make you? Where can you get better? And if that’s all you do is focus on the things that you do well, then you’re not improving. I gotta take your weakness and turn it into a strength. That’s the idea of what we want to do. … That’s what I’m gonna try to do. … I can’t change what you thought about the run game last year, but we’re going to be better. I can guarantee you we are going to be better” … Translation … Don’t worry about the fact that CU finished last in the nation in rushing, or that Coach Prime didn’t bring any new running backs, either through the Portal or from the Recruiting Class of 2025 – we’re going to do better. Now, is better 100th in the nation in rushing? Or 50th? Or even better … ?
Offensive line coach Gunnar White
“We have to run the ball, like that’s a non-negotiable. We had two of the best players in college football last year. Of course, we’re going to utilize that, right? So if it’s a weapon and a strength, why leave it on the table? But we have to run the ball. The team has to depend on the offensive line this year for us to be successful like we’re planning and hope to be” … Translation … All eyes are going to be on the offensive line this fall. If the new coaches and players can’t produce, we are going to hear about it early and often.
Defensive line coach Domata Peko
“We have a lot of guys that this is their last year, their last chance to make it, it brings out the best in everybody. So that’s what I love about our room is the competition we have.”
“Coming here, these guys are trying to get to the top. So they’re so much hungrier here and just listen to your every word and I’m excited that they’re showing it on film” … Translation … I was dealt a pretty good hand here. A strong defensive line last year, with a good number returning, and Warren Sapp? I think I’m going to like it here in Boulder.
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Reading the tea leaves from what CU’s coaches have to say about their charges in the spring is not an easy task. In the spring, every team is undefeated; every team has optimism … and every coach speaks highly of his team and its prospects.
But CU has, even with the loss of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, the most talented overall roster since at least 2016, and perhaps the best roster since the Gary Barnett era.
Coach Prime has brought in some high profile coaches, but has also done a good job in retaining coaches (particularly defensive coordinator Robert Livingston and cornerbacks coach Kevin Mathis).
There is an air of confidence in the Champions Center this spring, and the quotable quotes bear that out. Whether that confidence will turn into swagger – and turn into wins this fall – is to be determined.
But the first two weeks of spring ball, 2025, have been nothing but positive …
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3 Replies to “Spring Practices – Quotable Quotes”
1) Why does Ryan never get mentioned in the QB race? Is he doing that poorly in practice that he has no shot, he doesn’t sound like a jump in the portal guy in him comments? I don’t get to see anything or have insider info, but he is so obviously overlooked in every reporter’s story. What’s going on behind the scenes?
2) A well built team with a lot of good players can win games without star power, or they can lose all the close ones too! Not sure what we’ll have next year but hoping for the former. Time will tell…
I think, and hope, Ryan is quietly doing his thing. Would be epic to see him win the job. Nobody could point to nepotism.
Go Buffs
Ryan doesn’t get mentioned because he’s really only known by us long time Buff fans. Translation: he’s not click bait like the other two are. Kaidon Salter is a transfer who has stat records at his old school and a winning record; a proven winner who was highly recruited by the big dogs while in the portal. And, Julian Lewis is a highly recruited and ranked high school QB who has his share of records and winning, who everyone wanted.
Side note: Lewis graduated a year and a half early to come to college. Most kids graduate a semester early to get to school for spring training, he came in early after graduating a year early; so the kid’s a smart and discipline young man . If he doesn’t win the job out right we may see him in four games so he can still redshirt, that would leave Ryan as the backup to Salter… Assuming he wins the job out right.