Following a victory against Oklahoma State in the regular season finale on Nov. 29, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders vowed to fix one major flaw in the special teams unit.

“We will have touchbacks next year, I promise you that,” he said.

The chances of that increased dramatically on Tuesday when former Louisiana Tech kicker Buck Buchanan announced he has verbally committed to the Buffs.

Also on Tuesday, the Buffs got verbal commitments from former Jacksonville State edge defender Reginald Hughes and tight end transfer Zach Atkins, from Northwest Missouri State.

This year at Tech, Buchanan put the ball through the end zone for touchbacks on 51 of 56 kickoffs (91.1%). Only 7.1% of his kickoffs were returned, the fourth-lowest percentage in the country.

By comparison, CU had five different players kick off this year combining for 17 touchbacks on 74 kicks (23%) and 71.6% of the kickoffs were returned.

In three years with the Bulldogs, Buchanan had 135 touchbacks. He also made 20-of-31 field goals and 31-of-33 extra points. This year, he was 13-of-20 on field goals, including a school-record 57-yarder and a 55-yarder.

Hughes was first-team All-Conference USA for Jacksonville State this season, helping the Gamecocks to a conference title. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior from Tunica, Miss., had 83 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and six QB hurries.

Prior to Jax State, Hughes played two seasons at Ole Miss, recording six tackles in 12 games in 2022. In 2021, he played at Northeast Mississippi Community College and was one of the top JUCO linebackers in the country.

Atkins caught 18 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns this season at NW Missouri State. After redshirting in 2022, he caught 12 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown in 2023. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Another honor for Hunter

On Tuesday, CU star Travis Hunter was named first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

A star cornerback and receiver who won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s most outstanding player, Hunter made the FWAA team at the all-purpose spot. It is the second year in a row he’s made the FWAA first-team at all-purpose.

Hunter previously was named first-team All-American by the Associated Press at receiver and cornerback; was a Walter Camp All-American at both spots; and earned first-team honors at the all-purpose spot from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

The NCAA recognizes those four organizations, as well as The Sporting News, when determining unanimous and consensus All-American honors. The TSN team will be announced Wednesday.

Welcome back

Coach Prime was at his home in Texas more than a week ago when he got word that linebacker Jeremiah Brown was entering the transfer portal.

The two have known each other since Brown was in high school and Brown has played all four of his college seasons for Coach Prime (2021-22 at Jackson State and the past two seasons at CU).

All it took was one meeting when Coach Prime got back to Boulder for Brown to withdraw from the portal.

“Sometimes these young men are just confused, and they’re hearing all the outside noise,” Coach Prime said. “Jeremiah is like my kid. … Every time he catches a decent-sized fish, he wants to call me, and he didn’t call me (about the portal)? So, I knew he was being influenced by something else. … I’m so proud that he’s back. I’m glad we got that straight.”

Several Buffs, including starting linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, have entered the portal since the end of the regular season. Coach Prime said he will help players find a new schools, but those players won’t be with the Buffs for the Alamo Bowl.

Originally Published: December 17, 2024 at 5:40 PM MST