Looking Back: 1994 Buffs Boasted Talent From All Across The Nation

BOULDER — Whenever the discussion centers around the best and/or most-talented football teams in Colorado Buffaloes history, the 1994 squad is a must-piece of the conversation.

While Bill McCartney's '94 Buffs — his last team — did not win a national title, they did finish with an 11-1 record and finish third in the final AP poll. With their only loss at Nebraska in a matchup of the No. 2 and 3 teams in the nation, the '94 Buffs were only the third 11-win team in CU history (and also the last to hit the mark).

Their 11-1 record also matched the final record of the 1989 team, which lost to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl after going undefeated in the regular season and finishing ranked No. 4 in the nation; as well as the 11-1-1 mark of the 1990 national champions, who tied Tennessee in the opener and then lost to Illinois in Week 3 before running the table the rest of the way. Throw in the 1971 team that finished 10-2 and third in the nation, and those four teams usually dominate the debate concerning CU's all-time top squads.

But "best" and "most talented" are not fully synonymous. Even though the 1994 team did not win a national championship, that squad boasted an array of talent the match of perhaps any team in CU annals. The lineup and numbers have become only more impressive with the passage of time.

Some highlights:

— Hardware. The '94 Buffs included Colorado's only Heisman Trophy winner to date, running back Rashaan Salaam, who rushed for 2,055 yards and 24 touchdowns. Salaam also won the Doak Walker and Walter Camp awards. That team also included the 1994 Jim Thorpe winner, cornerback Chris Hudson, as well as Butkus Award runner-up Ted Johnson and Unitas Award finalist Kordell Stewart. Another starter on the '94 team, linebacker Matt Russell, claimed the Butkus Award two years later.

— Honors. The '94 Buffs had nine first-team All-Big Eight players. Along with Salaam, Hudson, Johnson and Stewart, the list also included OT Tony Berti, DT Shannon Clavelle, TE Christian Fauria, C Bryan Stoltenberg and WR Michael Westbrook. Three of those players — Salaam, Hudson and Westbrook — were also named first-team All-Americans, with Stewart earning second-team honors and Berti, Fauria and Johnson named to the third team.

— Geographic diversity. Long before "recruiting nationally" became a buzz-phrase for head coaches, McCartney and his staff — which included current CU head coach Karl Dorrell for two seasons — were truly scouring the nation for great players. Along with a solid dose of Colorado products as the foundation, including starting offensive linemen Heath Irwin and Derek West, the 1994 team also had stars from across the nation. Salaam came from California, Stewart and standout defensive lineman Shannon Clavelle from Louisiana, Westbrook from Michigan and Hudson from Texas. There were also starters from New Mexico, Hawaii, Montana and Minnesota. All told, the '94 Buffs were one of the most geographically diverse teams in CU history, with players from two countries (United States and Canada), 21 states, one U.S. territory (American Samoa) and the District of Columbia.

— Memorable moments. While there are plenty of great plays in CU history, it's hard to find one that sticks out more than the "Miracle in Michigan," the 64-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Westbrook on the game's final play that lifted CU to a 27-26 win in Ann Arbor. Also that season, Salaam surpassed the 2,000-yard mark in the final game of the regular season — and McCartney then shocked the football world by announcing his retirement after that game.

But what might separate the 1994 Buffaloes from every other team in Colorado history is the NFL Draft. When the NFL had finished its business in the spring of 1995, 10 Buffs had heard their names called, including a pair of first-rounders (Salaam and Westbrook).

That is not the most-ever draftees from one CU squad. It is tied for the second-most with the 1974 team, with the record held by the 1976 Buffs, who had 11 players selected.

But those teams played when the NFL Draft lasted as long as 17 rounds, meaning some Buffs were chosen well past the 400th pick. The league cut the rounds down to 12 in 1977, and finally down to seven — the current format — in 1994.

It's not a stretch to reason that if the draft had still been 12 rounds in 1995 (or 17), the 1994 team almost certainly would have had more than 10 players chosen.

To put the significance of 10 players chosen in a seven-round draft, figure that only nine programs have accomplished the feat, and the schools on that list are a who's who of college football: Ohio State, Alabama, USC, Miami, Florida State, Michigan, Colorado, Penn State and Washington.

Some other tidbits from that 1994 team:

— Of the 25 offensive and defensive starters on the 1994 team (there were three positions that had co-starters), 19 ended up being selected in the NFL Draft. The regular starters from that season:

Offense (One-back)—WR Rae Carruth, TE Christian Fauria, LT Tony Berti, LG Heath Irwin, C Bryan Stoltenberg, RG Chris Naeole, RT Derek West, TE Matt Lepsis/Desmond Dennis, WR Michael Westbrook, QB Kordell Stewart, TB Rashaan Salaam.

Defense (3-4)—OLB Greg Jones, LT Shannon Clavelle, NT Kerry Hicks/Ryan Olson, RT Darius Holland, OLB Mike Phillips/Jon Knutson, ILB Matt Russell, ILB Ted Johnson, LC Chris Hudson, SS Donnell Leomiti, FS Steve Rosga, RC Dalton Simmons.

Specialists: PK Neil Voskeritchian, P Andy Mitchell.

— The roster from the 1994 team had 27 players ultimately drafted over the next four years, and 26 of those draftees made an NFL regular-season roster. At least three other players from the 1994 team ultimately signed as free agents and made an NFL roster, meaning 29 of the 85 scholarship players on the 1994 team — 34 percent of the players on McCartney's final squad — earned an NFL regular season paycheck.

— Seven players from that 1994 roster accounted for 11 Super Bowl rings in their NFL careers.

— Of course, good players need good coaches, and McCartney's final staff in Boulder had plenty of those. The 1994 CU coaching staff had three assistants who would go on to become Division I head coaches (Bob Simmons, Jon Embree and Rick Neuheisel), as well as a number of longtime, highly regarded assistants such as Mike Hankwitz, Elliot Uzelac, Brian Cabral, Ben Gregory, Chuck Heater and Terry Lewis.

All told, they put together a memorable team.

Here is a list of players from the 1994 CU roster who were drafted and the years in which they were ultimately selected:

1995 (10)
4. Michael Westbrook, WR, Washington (1)
21. Rashaan Salaam, RB, Chicago (1)
39. Christian Fauria, TE, Seattle (2)
57. Ted Johnson, ILB, New England (2)
60. Kordell Stewart, QB, Pittsburgh (2)
65. Darius Holland, DT, Green Bay (3)
71. Chris Hudson, CB, Jacksonville (3)
149. Derek West, OT, Indianapolis (5)
185. #Shannon Clavelle, DT, Buffalo (6)
200. Tony Berti, OT, San Diego (6)

1996 (5)
101. Heath Irwin, OG, New England (4)
128. Daryl Price, DE, San Francisco (4)
192. Bryan Stoltenberg, C, San Diego (6)
209. T.J. Cunningham, CB, Seattle (6)234. Kerry Hicks, DT, Carolina (7)

1997 (6)
10. Chris Naeole, OG, New Orleans (1)
27. Rae Carruth, WR, Carolina (1)
51. Greg Jones, DE, Washington (2)
130. Matt Russell, ILB, Detroit (4)
202. Steve Rosga, FS, N.Y. Jets (7)
207. Koy Detmer, QB, Philadelphia (7)

1998 (6)
133. Ryan Sutter, FS, Baltimore (5)
145. Ron Merkerson, OLB, New England (5)
186. Ryan Olson, NT, Pittsburgh (6)
193. Phil Savoy, WR, Arizona (7)
196. Viliami Maumau, DT, Carolina (7)
240. Melvin Thomas, OG, Philadelphia (7)

Free agents who made NFL rosters:
TE/OT Matt Lepsis
WR James Kidd
QB/DB Vance Joseph

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu

Colorado University Athletics

Looking Back: 1994 Buffs Boasted Talent From All Across The Nation

Related Videos