2003 Football Roster
Sep 6 (Sat)
1:30 PM
Sean Tufts
- Position:
- Inside Linebacker
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 245
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Englewood, Colo.
- High School:
- Cherry Creek
AT COLORADO: 2003 (Sr.)?He started 10 games at inside linebacker (CU opened in dime the other two games), and finished second on the team in tackles with 95, including 53 solo. He added six third down stops, three hurries and two pass deflections as garnish to his tackle totals, which included a career high 15 in the season finale against Nebraska (10 solo). He also had 13 against both Baylor and Missouri, and had at least seven stops in five other games. In the postseason, he played in the East-West Shrine Game (leading the west with six tackles) and in the Hula Bowl. The coaches presented him with the Tom McMahon Award (for dedication and work ethic), and he was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the league coaches. He was also third in special team points with 10 on the strength of eight tackles, seven solo and one inside-the-20. He was on the Butkus Award watch list at the start of the season, and was a fourth-team preseason All-America by Phil Steele’s College Football (which ranked him as the No. 8 inside linebacker in the nation). Lindy’s Big 12 Football ranked him the No. 15 ILB, while The Sporting News tabbed him No. 19. He was one of 13 players in the spring to earn CU’s prestigious Spring Victory Club honors.
2002 (Jr.)?He played in seven games (six starts including the Alamo Bowl), as he missed six games (Kansas through Iowa State) with a nasty high ankle sprain. He only saw action for 251 snaps from scrimmage, making 34 tackles for the season (19 solo). He had two forced fumbles, one recovery and a third down stop in his limited action. In the bowl game, he had seven tackles, including five solo and one for a loss. This could have been his breakout year, as Athlon and The Sporting News selected him as a second-team all-Big 12 choice in their preseason magazines, with TSN ranking him as the No. 19 inside linebacker nationally. For the spring, he won the Hale Irwin Award as the outstanding defensive back (selected by the coaching staff), and was also one of 15 players to earn prestigious Spring Victory Club honors.
2001 (Soph.)?He earned honorable mention all-Big 12 honors from the league coaches, and also made CU’s prestigious Victory Club by grading out with a winning performance in at least eight games. He started 12 games including the Fiesta Bowl and played in all 13; the lone non-start came when CU opened in the dime formation against Missouri. He was sixth on the team in tackles, as he had 33 solo and 24 assists for a total of 57, including three for losses and two third down stops. He also had three quarterback hurries, a caused interception, two passes broken up, and a blocked extra point (the latter against San Jose State). In addition to the blocked PAT, he added two knockdown blocks on special teams coverage duty. He had a career-high 11 tackles on two occasions, against Missouri and Nebraska (he added a TFL and a third down stop against the Huskers in what was likely his best game of the season). He added five tackles against Oregon in the bowl game. He had an outstanding spring, leading the team in tackles with 35 in the four full scrimmages (16 solo), including five third down stops. The coaches selected him for the Most Improved Defensive Player award for spring drills.
2000 (Fr.)?He played in nine games overall, six on defense including one start at Texas A&M, missing the season finale at Nebraska due to a shoulder nerve injury he suffered in practice a few weeks earlier. He saw action for 116 snaps on defense, posting 10 tackles (eight solo), with three for losses including half a sack. He may have earned only one special team point, but it was a unique as well as big one: he had a touchdown-springing block that helped set Roman Hollowell free for a punt return score at Kansas. He fully recovered from a knee injury that cut short his senior season in high school well before his first collegiate camp begun.
HIGH SCHOOL?He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the fourth quarter of the second game of his senior season (versus Montbello), missing the remainder of the year. However, the injury didn’t detract from him still receiving a host of honors: Prep Football Report, Prep Star and SuperPrep all selected him as an All-American, with PFR ranking him No. 17 on its Top 100 list. SuperPrep ranked him the No. 4 overall prospect in the Midlands (the first linebacker mentioned), and had him slotted No. 40 overall on its National Top 50 list (the seventh ?backer). The Sporting News pegged him on its prime prospect list (one of 14 linebackers), and he made both state blue chip lists by the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. He was a team captain as a senior, and had about 20 tackles on the year at the time of his injury. As a junior, he earned first-team all-Colorado honors from the News and Post, as well as unanimous all-Centennial League accolades. He also won the Outstanding Athlete Award at the Rocky Mountain Speed Camp. As a junior, he was in on 144 tackles (75 solo), with over 20 tackles for loss including 10 quarterback sacks, and five forced fumbles. Top games that year included 16 tackles against Fort Collins and 10 stops and a forced fumble against Ponderosa in the ’98 state playoffs. He played sporadically at inside linebacker as a sophomore, and was on the offensive line as a freshman. Cherry Creek was 13-2 his senior year, the state runner-up, and was 12-3 his junior year and 10-4 his sophomore season under coach Mike Woolford" He also lettered three times in wrestling, qualifying for the state meet as a sophomore and garnering all-state honors as a junior, and three times in lacrosse (also all-state as a junior).
ACADEMICS?He is majoring in sociology at Colorado. His high school grade point average was always around 3.0, as he was an honor roll student.
PERSONAL?Born March 26, 1982 in Aurora, Colo. His hobbies include four-wheeling, foosball, ping-pong and playing most sports. Father (David) played football at Colorado State in the 1960s, and an uncle (Dan Upham) played halfback at Wyoming.
TACKLESSeason G Plays UT AT?TOT TFL Sacks 3DS Hurr FR FF PBU Int2000 6 116 8 2? 10 3- 7 ? - 5 0 0 1 0 0 02001 12 427 33 24? 57 3-12 0- 0 2 3 0 0 2 02002 6 251 19 15? 34 2- 6 0- 0 1 0 1 2 0 02003 12 577 53 42? 95 4- 6 0- 0 6 3 1 0 2 0Totals 36 1371 113 83?196 12-27 ?- 5 9 6 3 2 4 0ADDITIONAL STATISTICS?Special Team Tackles (7,5?12): 0,4?4 (2002); 7,1?8 (2003).
