Ready to Break Out: No. 4 N.J. Falo
BOULDER-- As we inch closer and closer to spring football we continue with the five guys who should have more of a contribution next year for Colorado football, because the Buffs are losing eight of their eleven starting defensive players, today we go to the defensive side of the ball. Yesterday, Juwann Winfree came in at number five and today at number four, outside linebacker, N.J. Falo.
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No. 4 N.J. Falo
After sitting out the first three games of the season because of his recent off the field issues, Falo got back on the game field, week four against Oregon and from there Falo took full advantage of his opportunity to be wearing black and gold again. Falo was tasked to step up at outside linebacker when Derek McCartney tore his ACL against Michigan, it took Falo a while to get back into the swing of things but one he did he showed spurts of greatness in Colorado's defense. He ended the 2016 season with 12 tackles, one and a half sacks and three pass breakups. He also had that crucial fourth down stop against Utah. Right now he sits at 6'2'' 220 lbs and has the possibility to add more weight before the season starts. Falo definitely needs to step up this season especially because the Buffs are losing a big contributor at outside linebacker in Jimmie Gilbert, at the end of last spring Falo was awarded the Greg Biekert Award as selected by the coaches for being the most improved linebacker during spring drills. He has that opportunity again this spring, as he is the most experienced outside linebacker that will participate in spring drills coming up next week. Next season look for Falo to harass opposing quarterbacks and also improve his run game coverage and pass coverage, he also could work his way into the starting lineup at some point.