As expected, the Colorado Buffaloes have a true freshman in contention for a starting job at cornerback going into the season opener.
It’s not the true freshman that many would have projected to be in that spot, however.
On Tuesday, CU head coach Deion Sanders said true freshman Carter Stoutmire is battling Florida State transfer Omarion Cooper for the second cornerback spot opposite star Travis Hunter.
“It’s gonna go right down to the end,” Sanders said. “It may go down to see who gets off the bus – the first one off the bus. That’s how tight it is right now. We’re comfortable with both of their production, but we just don’t know which one may get the nod.”
Hunter, the No. 1-rated recruit in the country in the 2022 class, is a clear starter and he’ll be heavily involved on offense, too.
Penciled into the second spot for much of the offseason has been true freshman Cormani McClain, a five-star recruit who was ranked as the nation’s No. 1 corner coming out of high school this year.
The Buffs love McClain’s potential and it’s possible he makes the jump to the first team at some point this year. But, Stoutmire, a three-star recruit who originally committed to Arizona before flipping to CU, has been one of the Buffs’ most impressive corners this month in practice.
NCAA decision ‘hurt’
Last week, offensive lineman Tyler Brown announced that the NCAA denied his waiver request to be eligible for this season as a second-time undergraduate transfer.
The NCAA allows all players to transfer once without sitting out a year, but they must get a waiver to play if they transfer a second time. Brown began his career at Louisiana from 2019-21 and transferred to Jackson State in 2022 before coming to CU last winter.
In trying to obtain the waiver, Brown submitted a nearly 17-minute video to the NCAA to tell his story. In that video, Brown cited his mental health issues for his reason to transfer. The NCAA chose to deny the waiver, however.
“That hurt tremendously,” Sanders said. “He’s a kid that is dear to me; like a darn son to me. This is one of those moments when one side of me is saying, ‘Shut up coach.’ The other one is saying, ‘Go get it.’ I’m gonna go get it. Tyler Brown is a wonderful kid, but he deals with a lot of issues inside and he’s seeing specialists and seeing people to really deal with these issues and calm these things down.”
Last year at Jackson State, Sanders met with Brown and others each week to talk about life. Brown said that helped calm his anxiety and get through the season.
“Some things just don’t make sense,” Sanders said of the NCAA decision. “You say you really care about mental health but when you have someone really dealing with mental health, there’s a problem. And then ostracizing him and not allowing him to do what he’s blessed and gifted to do and the thing that presents him peace, that’s trying for a young man. He’s not the only one. It’s a plethora of people around the country. I think this was the year that they said no to darn near everybody.
“But Tyler Brown, I wish they could review that and really understand. … Watch (Brown’s video) and tell me how you can say no to this kid. It’s like, Wow, do you really care or are you just saying you care? Or you care when it’s convenient or when it’s profitable.”
Notable
Junior safety Myles Slusher has put himself in line to start at the star position. “The kid can play and he’s been playing well since he arrived. He really has,” Sanders said. … Running back Alton McCaskill IV has been in a non-contact jersey all month. Sanders didn’t say whether McCaskill would be ready to play Saturday at TCU, but said, “He just started hitting it like Alto can hit it. He just started moving and cutting and the body lean. And you can see a tremendous difference in week to week.” … As he’s done throughout the offseason, Sanders expressed confidence in all three kickers: Jace Feely, Alejandro Mata and walk-on Cristiano Palazzo. But, he hasn’t committed to a starter. “You’ve got to understand this guy may be better on this hash, this guy might be better on that hash, this guy may be better at this distance, this guy may be better with this pressure,” he said. “You gotta see that and feel that.”
