Colorado University Athletics
Beefed-up Woods Will Be Key To Helping Buffs' Run Defense
July 30, 2024 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — If the Colorado Buffaloes are going to give their offense every chance possible to succeed this season, their defense will have to do its part.
Specifically, the Buffs must improve their ability to stop opponents' rushing attacks. Colorado finished 107th in the nation last year against the run, yielding more than 176 yards per game on the ground. In CU's last six games — all losses — the Buffs gave up at least 195 yards rushing in four of those contests.
The result of those ground-gobbling attacks is twofold: opponents are able to put points on the board and take time off the clock — and maybe equally importantly, keep the ball out of the hands of CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders and the Buffs' offense.
That's why the Buffs made improving their defensive front seven an offseason priority. They added a host of new bodies in the trenches and also brought some new faces in at inside linebacker.
But one of the key pieces at ILB could very likely be a familiar face to Buffs fans. Trevor Woods, who made the switch to linebacker midway through last season, has added some beef to his frame and could now be an integral part of the run defense this year.
Woods started the season at safety and had a positive impact, recording critical interceptions in wins over TCU and Colorado State. But when the Buffs needed a boost at ILB, he made the switch and started at the position against Stanford — despite tipping the scales at just 198 pounds at that point.
Woods ended up playing four games at linebacker as injuries forced him to miss three games, including the last two of the season. Still, he finished third on the team in tackles in just nine games with 56 stops, including 42 unassisted, to go with two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
But now Woods' full-time position is linebacker. He checked into fall camp Monday weighing 217 while having also added some strength in the offseason. That gives him a much better chance at doing battle with offensive linemen, something he seldom had to worry about at his safety position.
"It's definitely a change," he said after Monday's opening practice, in which he recorded a pair of interceptions. "I'm used to tight ends. Now I'm trying to fight off offensive linemen — but I'm used to it."
He's also had to adjust his thought process. While his first order of business at safety was to play the pass, that priority has now flipped to playing the run.
"My first step used to be back," he said. "Now my first step is forward."
The switch has brought some notoriety Woods' way. At Big 12 Media Days, head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders compared Woods to former Chicago Bears great Brian Urlacher, who also made the switch from safety to linebacker.
"He told me, 'I gave you the spotlight, now do something with it,'" Woods said with a chuckle.
But more importantly, the Buffs will lean on Woods to make sure teams don't hammer away at Colorado up the middle. He'll be the early odds-on favorite to pair with another returnee, LaVonta Bentley, in patrolling the area.
Bentley finished second on the team in tackles last year, racking up 68 stops — including 11 for loss.
But the Buffs also added some newcomers to the position who could battle for playing time. That group includes transfers Johnny Chaney Jr. (Florida A&M), Jaylen Wester (Florida Atlantic), Brendan Gant (Florida State), Nikhai Hill-Green (Charlotte/Michigan) and Jeremiah Brown (Jackson State).
While the Buffs once again added a long list of players in the offseason, Woods said the difference from this year to last — Coach Prime's first at the helm — is palpable.
"It's been so much better," he said. "There was no foundation laid last year. (This year) there's some of the foundation, chemistry. There's a standard set, and guys are just able to fall in."
BUFFS TRAVEL MILES: When the Buffs announced last year that they would be entering the Big 12, which includes schools as far east as Orlando, Fla. (UCF) and West Virginia, there was considerable angst over how much more time CU would spend traveling to games.
But according to bookies.com, the Buffs will travel only the fourth-most miles this year of the 16 teams in the Big 12.
Colorado's longest trip of the season (measured in linear distance from home stadium to visiting stadium) will be the trip to UCF, a 3,152-mile jaunt.
But overall, Colorado will travel just 7,427 miles — fewer than 12 of the Buffs' Big 12 brethren.
West Virginia will put in the most miles (11,137), with Arizona State in second at 10,025.
The complete list:
West Virginia 11,137.58
Arizona St. 10,025.68
Utah 9,796.32
UCF 9,778.44
BYU 9,420.76
Arizona 9,321.86
Houston 9,021.32
Texas Tech 8,672.18
Baylor 8,223.20
Cincinnati 8,172.62
TCU 7,633.54
Kansas St. 7,599.76
Colorado 7,427.86
Kansas 7,381.10
Iowa St. 5,501.90
Oklahoma St. 4,380.14
AWARDS WATCH LISTS: Three Buffs have been placed on national preseason awards watch lists thus far. Two-way star Travis Hunter is on the Nagurski Award (best defensive player) list, defensive lineman BJ Green is on the Outland Trophy list (best interior lineman) and quarterback Shedeur Sanders is on the Maxwell Award list (best player).
Players Mentioned
