Fall Camp Question: How will the secondary perform?
Fall camp begins for the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday, which means that the start of the 2017 college football season is nearing us.
Colorado's magical 2016 season is now in the rearview mirror, and CUSportsNation.com is tackling five questions about the 2017 team this week.
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How will Colorado' secondary perform?
Last season, the Buffs secondary was their bread-and-butter. Led by star cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon and Chidobe Awuzie and ballhawking safety Tedric Thompson, this unit always seemed to be playing at the top of their game.
Following the departure of all three guys, along with secondary coach Joe Tumpkin, there are a lot of new faces and question marks surrounding this group. Cornerback Isaiah Oliver looked solid in 2016, but does he have what it takes to take the next step and become a go-to lockdown guy who can consistently cover the number one receiver?
Can safety Nick Fisher fill Thompson’s shoes and create takeaways for the offense? Will Dante Wigley or Trey Udoffia win the second starting cornerback job, and will either or both of them be able to make an impact right away?
Can Afolabi Laguda, who has shown great progress and leadership potential, lead this unit?
Overall, it is hard to predict how this young group will play as a unit being that most of them haven’t had a lot of playing time together. That being said, with the amount of talent that CU lost to the NFL Draft, the players that they return have a ton of potential.
Colorado lost a lot on the defensive side of the ball from 2016 - players and coaches alike - but it's scary that this secondary has the potential to not have much of a drop off after having three guys to the NFL.