With respect to Colorado safeties coach Brett Maxie, perhaps defensive coordinator Tyson Summers said it best when detailing his thoughts on the new defensive assistants that Karl Dorrell brought in to work under him in 2020 and beyond.

"Brett Maxie has spent almost 32 years in the NFL in his career, and if you start talking to coaches or players about their dreams, Brett Maxie has been there and done it and is a fantastic teacher and communicator, as well," Summers said. "I’m thrilled to be able to have someone of his caliber on our staff.

To say Maxie's resume is unique might be an understatement. He is a 1985 graduate of Texas Southern University and of course went on to enjoy a 13-year NFL career as a defensive back before immediately beginning his coaching career in 1998 after his playing days came to an end in 1997.

On top of that, Maxie entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent who only had transitioned to the defensive back position in his second year of college.

Prior to that, he'd played quarterback dating back to his middle school days. Maxie being a college graduate, having almost a decade and a half of playing experience at the top level and then his coaching resume that boasts time in the NFL, college and high school gives him a unique perspective to share with recruits when he's out on the trail.

“I think that merits a lot of credence to me having the ability to offer a prospective athlete something outside of the academics," Maxie said. "...That’s one of the things that I’m able to offer kids when I’m recruiting them, to say ‘hey, this is my story.’ If you want to play at the highest level, I can help you get there if you’re willing to do the necessary things to become a NFL player."

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The quick adjustment Maxie had in college with a significant position change also aids him on the recruiting trail as well as with players he coaches — it serves as a standard that he intends to uphold at Colorado as well as evidence that a given player's journey to the NFL is not always orthodox.

"I ended up having the opportunity to go to New Orleans as an undrafted free agent rookie as a defensive back," Maxie said. "The first palace they put me was at corner. I won the starting nickel position as a rookie, so I played corner all the way through preseason and training camp, won the starting nickel position, and the last game of the season, I ended up playing safety."

"I played every position in the secondary, so I took that model, once I got into coaching, that if you can just find the best player at the position, defensive back, he should be able to play multiple positions in the secondary."

Indeed, players being able to step into multiple positions within Colorado's secondary will be important for the Buffs in 2020. It seems fair to expect to see guys floating around this upcoming season, something that'll help the Buffaloes in the short term and benefit the players themselves in the long run.

"I’ll give you one example: Derrion Rakestraw," Maxie said. "I recruited Derrion out of high school. He ended up coming to Colorado when I was at Vanderbilt, but he came here as a WR. His first three years, he was a receiver until last year and he made the transition. That’s one of the things that he and I had talked about, him having the aspirations to play at the highest level."

"If you’re disciplined enough to execute the techniques that I think can help you get to the next level, then you have that opportunity, along with the fire that is inside of you to want to be an NFL player."

In the end, when a player receives an offer from Maxie, it sticks out. Maxie's unique collegiate and NFL playing career and how he rolled with the punches, his college degree and then three decades-plus of coaching at the high school, college and professionally gives him quite the robust resume to boast when on the recruiting trail.

"I do have that ability and I do approach (recruiting) that way, because of what I’ve been able to do, even as a player that played on offense for most of my time for middle school all the way through my first year of college and then having the ability to make the switch once I got there," he said.