Sixth-year senior Quinn Perry rightfully earned the title of team captain through his volume of work in the program and his motivational energy both on and off the field.
When fellow inside linebacker Nate Landman suffered a season-ending injury seven games into last fall, Perry was called on to fill the void for Colorado. He finished second on the team in tackles and steadied the middle of the defense through a tough season for the Buffaloes.
Perry's impact on the Buffs extends beyond the stats, though, as it was a combination of his playmaking abilities and his relationships with his teammates that made him a top choice for the role of team captain.
Offensive lineman Casey Roddick, tight end Brady Russell and defensive end Terrance Lang were also voted captains by their teammates this week.
“I think it’s an honor to be considered it first of all and it is a big deal for me because I am the quarterback of the defense, so I got to make sure everyone’s right -- if not it’s my fault,” Perry said. “But, I think I’m ready to fill the role 100 percent. I got chemistry with everybody on the field. I know everyone’s name, where they're from, their background and at the end of the day we’re all a big family, so I feel like everyone trusts me and they’re ready to lean on my back and make plays.”
Landman, who has since moved on to the NFL, helped Perry become the leader he is today. They had a very close relationship and in the hotel room before games they would watch the opponent's film together to get a better grasp of their tendencies and assess how Perry could attack in different offensive scenarios.
“He gave me tips for how to be a better linebacker, what I have to do to fix my game,” Perry said. “At the end of the day Nate was like a big brother to me, like a coach to me and he still helps me.”
There’s been ample discussion this camp on who’s going to be the next Nate Landman. All of the signs point to Perry, but at the end of the day they’re different players with different strengths. Perry will lead with his own approach while also applying the knowledge from Landman.
Perhaps one day Landman and Perry will be on the same sideline again in the NFL, but until then Perry wants to boost his own draft stock -- and the state of the Buffs program -- through his final season.
Perry admitted that he used to have some bad pass coverage tendencies, but in the first week of camp he had three picks in five practices. To get to the professional level, he’s dedicating this season to develop more versatility.
“The modern linebacker needs to be more versatile and I've obviously tried to trim my body down to be more versatile because we used to play the old school middle linebacker just headbutt everybody and crack everybody,” he said, “But I’m trying to adjust my game to how the game is changing nowadays.”
It's not just himself he is focused on anymore, though. As part of his broader role now, Perry helps realign his teammates’ focus when they aren’t fully mentally there on the field.
“Make sure that whoever you designate to be your representative as one of our leaders is because you know that he can deal with adversity, you know that he's going to be positive regardless of where we're at at one point in time in the season,” coach Karl Dorrell emphasized to his players before voting. “He's got to be shown great leadership about keeping the team moving forward.”
From talking to each of the new captains, they each possess Dorrell’s team captain requirements and Perry, specifically, believes in the Buffs regardless of the low expectations.
“The energy is very high,” Perry said. “We expect a lot out of ourselves, especially with the new additions we got and with the coaching staff we got, we are ready to show what we've been keeping in house and that the public hasn't gotten [to see] yet.”