With each of the top four linebackers from a year ago moving on, Colorado had some rebuilding to do in the middle of the defense.
As is the case for a lot of teams around the country these days, the Buffs found reinforcements in the transfer portal.
“You get guys that come here who have a chip on their shoulder, want to prove something,” linebackers coach Andre Hart said in the spring. “Or they just want to get to the next level, and we can provide them the exposure.”
Leading up to preseason camp, which opens July 28, BuffZone.com will preview each position group for the CU football team and in this installment, we look at the inside linebackers.
A year ago, when the Buffs went 9-4 and reached the Alamo Bowl, LaVonta Bentley and Nikhai Hill-Green played significant roles. Combined, they were on the field for 81.3% of the inside linebacker snaps (more than 1,300 snaps in all), racking up 137 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions.
Only four others played more than one snap and three of them – Trevor Woods (95 snaps), Jaylen Wester (85) and Brendan Gant (53) – are also gone.
It will be almost a completely new group this year, but the Buffs are hoping they found a couple of stars in Martavius French (UTSA transfer) and Reginald Hughes (Jacksonville State).
“I’m seeing them be pros right now,” Hart said in the spring. “So what they’re doing is they’re making sure they learn the defense and then they’re doing the right things and saying the right things, so they can be the leaders.”
In videos of summer workouts posted on YouTube, both have seemed to be leaders, which is no surprise since they are both sixth-year seniors.
French spent the past three years at UTSA. He was a nine-game starter in 2023 and then had his best year in 2024, earning second-team all-conference honors in the American Athletic Conference. French posted 80 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and a sack last year. Nationally, only nine players had more TFLs.
Hughes was first-team all-conference in Conference USA last year, finishing with 83 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He played two years at Mississippi before going to Jacksonville State.
French and Hughes both arrived in January and had the opportunity to go through spring practices, learning from Hart and defensive coordinator Robert Livingston. They figure to be the favorites to land in starting roles this season.
Jeremiah Brown, the lone returning scholarship linebacker, will battle for a spot, though. A third-year Buff who came to CU from Jackson State with head coach Deion Sanders in 2023, Brown chose to sit out most of the 2024 season and take a redshirt year, allowing him to return this season.
Brown was highly productive from the edge at Jackson State in 2022, but has struggled to earn playing time at CU, with a total of 118 defensive snaps in two years (72 last year).
Two other transfers – senior Shaun Myers (North Alabama) and sophomore Kylan Salter (TCU) – will fight for time, too.
Myers was limited to two games in 2024 because of injury, but recorded 100 tackles in 22 games between the 2022-23 seasons at North Alabama. Salter, the younger brother of Buffs’ quarterback Kaidon Salter, appeared in seven games over two seasons at TCU.
True freshman Mantrez Walker and walk-ons Bo LaPenna and Gage Goldberg provide depth and competition.
Position: Inside linebackers
Returners with 2024 starts: None.
Other returners: Jeremiah Brown, 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, Sr.; Bo LaPenna, 6-1, 235, Jr. (walk-on); Gage Goldberg, 6-0, 230, R-Fr. (walk-on).
Transfers: Martavius French, 6-2, 225, Sr. (UTSA); Reginald Hughes, 6-2, 225, Sr. (Jacksonville State); Shaun Myers, 6-1, 220, Sr. (North Alabama); Kylan Salter, 6-2, 230, So. (TCU).
True freshmen: Mantrez Walker, 6-1, 230, Fr.
Key losses: LaVonta Bentley (graduated); Nikhai Hill-Green (transferred to Alabama); Jaylen Wester (transferred to Western Kentucky); Trevor Woods (transferred to Jacksonville State).
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