11/25/2016 football Edit

10 Colorado Seniors Now and Then

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Today we look back at 10 Colorado Seniors before they were in the limelight starting for the No. 9 team in the Nation. Each of the 10 seniors listed below is a 2016 starter that has contributed all season long, each player listed will play their last game at Folsom Field Saturday afternoon against Utah, and each has paved the way for The Rise.

In-depth: One Last Time on Folsom Field | Utah vs. Colorado Game Preview

Recruiting: Meet The 16th Ranked Recruiting Class in the Country

Team News: CU is No. 9 | Folsom Field Sellout | MAC for COY

Premium: Buffs to host three Junior College Players This Weekend

Now: He's broken nearly every Colorado Quarterback School Record and he's playing late in the season as you would expect a senior to be, clutch. He's passed for for 1,880-yards with 10 touchdowns and 3 interceptions starting in 8 out of 11 games this season (out with an ankle injury from September 24th to October 15th) . Against Washington State in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Folsom Field and 2M viewers on Fox, Liufau was 27 of 41 passing for 345-yards and also ran for 108 with three scores in Colorado's 38-24 win over the Cougars. He was named National Player of the Week by CBS sports as well as PAC 12 Player of the Week following the game.

Then: The 3-Star Quarterback out of Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Washington committed to Colorado in April of 2012. During his senior season, Liufau led Bellarmine Prep to the Class 4A State Championship against Skyline throwing for 2,543-yards with a touchdown to interception ratio of 24/5.

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Now: Earlier this year Pro Football Focus listed Awuzie as a potential NFL First Round Draft Pick. The heart and soul of the defense, Awuzie is a leader on the field with tremendous big play potential on every snap. He has 50 tackles, three quarterback sacks coming from corner blitzes, 13 big third down stops, and 9 pass breakups. If Colorado needs a big play on defense, Awuzie is going to the guy they continue to call upon, likely the same case for an NFL team on Sunday's in the future.

Then: Awuzie had offers from Colorado State, San Diego State, San Joe State, Utah, and Washington State coming out of High School as a 3-Star Defensive Back. During his senior season, Awuzie had a monster year on the offensive side of the football rushing for 1,247-yards, catching for 457-yards and scored a total of 21 touchdowns. On defense, he had 69-tackles and 4 interceptions.

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Now: It would be an absolute shocker if Thompson was not selected to the PAC 12 All-Conference Team. His play this year has been a key reason the Colorado secondary remains one of the top units in the Nation. Thompson has over 70 tackles, 5 interceptions, and 10 pass breakups. Against Stanford this season he had 12 tackles and 2 interceptions and was named the PAC 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Thompson and Awuzie in the backfield have better coverage than Verizon.

Then: Coming out of high school Thompson had offers from Fresno State, Hawaii, Minnesota, UNLV, and Washington State before committing to Colorado on February 6th, 2013. Thompson caught for 386-yards and 7 touchdowns playing receiver and 58 tackles on defense.

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Now: The Colorado Linebacker's Unit has really stepped up this season and they are a big reason the Buffs are allowing less than 140-yards rush per game. Senior Jimmie Gilbert has a great opportunity to be All-PAC 12 as he's posted some very impressive season stats. Against Arizona State this year he had 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback sacks, and 4 third down stops. On the season ee has over 40 tackles, 10 sacks, and 6 forced fumbles. He also has 14 third down stops and has put heat on the quarterback 10 times.

Then: Out of high school Gilbert had offers from only Iowa State, New Mexico, Tulsa, and Colorado. Jim Jeffcoat who recruited him obviously knew what he was doing and saw something special in the then 6-foot-4, 205 pound 3-star linebacker.

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Now: What a career Kelley has had for the Colorado Buffaloes. A very dependable offensive lineman that has started in 10 out of 11 games this year playing in over 700 snaps. This year he has 10 knockdowns and has been in on 13 perfect plays on passing touchdowns and has given up just 1.5 quarterback sacks.

Then: Kelley was a 3-Star Rivals.com Prospect with offers from Boise State, Minnesota, New Mexico State, and San Jose State before committing to Colorado in October of 2010.

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Now: The 6-foot-1, 220 pound senior is having a tremendous final campaign for the Buffs leading the Linebacking Unit in tackles with over 115 on the year. He's played in over 650 snaps, has 2 sacks, 6 third down stops, 3 quarterback pressures, and continues to fly around the field to get his hat on the football. He also has two interceptions on the year, one which he returned 51-yards. This year against Michigan he had a total fo 14 tackles and against Stanford he had 18 tackles and recovered a fumble.

Then: Olugbode had just one offer coming out of high school which was from Colorado. He committed just before signing day on January 25th, 2013.

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Now: Has played in all 11 games for the Buffs this year recording 43 tackles, 4 and 1/2sacks, and 11 quarterback pressures. Against Oregon this year, he had 7 total tackles, 3 for loss, and one quarterback sack.

Then: Carrell committed to the Buffs over schools like San Joe State, Western Kentucky, Idaho, Hawaii, and Fresno State. He attended American River CC before joining the Buffs.

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Now: Has played in 413 snaps and recorded 41 tackles and one sack this year. He's currently 6-foot-3 and 325 pounds and while he does not record a ton of tackles, he's plugging up the middle of the field with his huge frame and allowing defensive ends and linebackers to clean the offense up on the weekends. Very underrated player that will be missed badly in 2017.

Then: Out of Buena Park, CA Tupou committed to Colorado in 2011. He committed to the Buffs over Hawaii, Nevada, San Jose State, and UNLV. During his senior season in high school he had 56 tackles and 3.5 quarterback sacks.

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Now: Witherspoon has been a key component in Colorado's defensive secondary all season long starting all 11 games this year and playing in over 625 snaps. He has 18 tackles and leads the team in pass breakups with 17. His key highlight of the season thus far was his interception in the end-zone against Oregon to seal the 41-38 win over the Ducks.

Then: Out of Sacramento City CC Witherspoon had plenty of options and committed to Colorado over Washington, Fresno State, Oregon State, Utah State, and Idaho State.

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Now: He's played in 11 games this season for the Buffs and has been a beast in 505 snaps. The front three from Colorado are all seniors, Kafovalu equally as important as Jordan Carrell and Josh Tupou. He has 42 season tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, and 9 quarterback pressures.

Then: Kafovalu was a heavily recruited prospect out of high school having offers from Arizona, Boise State, Nevada, UCLA, Utah, and Washington, but committed to the Buffs in December of 2011. As a senior at Arlington High School Kafovalu had 56 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

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2016-2017 Seniors

2016-2017 Seniors

16 AWINI, Jaleel WR 6- 2 215 Sr. 1L Aurora, Colo. (Rangeview/Air Force) Economics

4 AWUZIE, Chidobe DB 6- 0 205 Sr. 3L San Jose, Calif. (Oak Grove) Business-Management

84 BAGBY, David WR 6- 0 180 Sr. VR San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines/Arizona) Sociology

99 BOATMAN, Brian TE 6- 3 225 Sr. 1L Centennial, Colo. (Kent Denver) Economics

70 CALLAHAN, Shane OL 6- 6 300 Sr. 2L Parker, Colo. (Chaparral/Auburn) Communication

92 CARRELL, Jordan DE 6- 3 300 Sr. 1L Roseville, Calif. (Roseville/ American River College) Communication

7 GEHRKE, Jordan QB 6- 1 200 Sr. 2L Scottsdale, Ariz. (Notre Dame Prep/Scottsdale CC) Psychology

98 GILBERT, Jimmie OLB 6- 5 230 Sr. 3L College Station, Texas (A&M Consolidated) Sociology

10 GONZALEZ, Diego PK 6- 0 215 Sr. 2L Monterrey, MEXICO (Prepa Tec/Monterrey Tech) Business (Mngt. & Marketing)

94 HENINGTON, Tyler DL 6- 2 240 Sr. 2L Centennial, Colo. (Mullen) Business (Acct.) & Economics

38 HILL, Chris TE/HB 6- 2 225 Sr. 1L Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Mountain Vista) Communication

99 HOWARD, Aaron OLB 6- 1 230 Sr. 2L Denver, Colo. (East/Willamette) Psychology

81 IRWIN, Sean TE 6- 3 250 Sr. 3L Cypress, Texas (Cypress Fairbanks) Classics & History

54 KAFOVALU, Samson DT 6- 4 295 Sr. 3L Riverside, Calif. (Arlington) Communication

74 KELLEY, Alex C 6- 2 310 Sr. 3L Oceanside, Calif. (Vista) Ecology & Evolutionary Biology & English

13 LIUFAU, Sefo QB 6- 4 230 Sr. 3L Tacoma, Wash. (Bellarmine Prep) Economics

31 OLUGBODE, Kenneth ILB 6- 1 220 Sr. 3L San Jose, Calif. (Bellarmine Prep) Urban Design & Planning

3 RIPPY, Deaysean OLB 6- 2 240 Sr. 1L McKees Rocks, Pa. (Sto-Rox/Univ. of Pittsburgh) Ethnic Studies

30 SEVERSON, Ryan ILB 5-10 205 Sr. 3L San Jose, Calif. (Valley Christian) Business (Mngt. & Marketing)

27 TALIANKO, Travis ILB 6- 1 215 Sr. 1L Sierra Madre, Calif. (St. Francis/San Jose St./College of the Canyons) Economics

9 THOMPSON, Tedric DB 6- 1 205 Sr. 3L Valencia, Calif. (Valencia) Sociology

58 TUPOU, Josh DT 6- 3 325 Sr. 3L Buena Park, Calif. (Buena Park) Communication

53 WIEFELS, Sully OL 6- 3 305 Sr. 1L Eagle, Idaho (Eagle/American River College) Political Science

23 WITHERSPOON, Ahkello DB 6- 3 195 Sr. 2L Sacramento, Calif. (Christian Brothers/SCCC) Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

In-depth: One Last Time on Folsom Field | Utah vs. Colorado Game Preview

Recruiting: Meet The 16th Ranked Recruiting Class in the Country

Team News: CU is No. 9 | Folsom Field Sellout | MAC for COY

Premium: Buffs to host three Junior College Players This Weekend

READ: Senior Salute: One Last Time on Folsom Field

BOULDER— In what’s expected to be the biggest crowd in the Mike MacIntyre era, this year's seniors are playing in more than just their last game.

10 Colorado Seniors Now and Then

2016-2017 Seniors

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READ: Senior Salute: One Last Time on Folsom Field