Forever Buffs?

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Forever Buffs?

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At just past 8:00 p.m. MT, this past Thursday, Jordyn Tyson walked across the stage at the NFL Draft, held this year in Pittsburgh. Tyson had just been chosen by the New Orleans Saints with the 8th pick of the first round. In so doing, Tyson joined the club of former Buffs being drafted as graduates from other schools.

Tyson also became the second recent former Buff to go in the first round, joining Christian Gonzalez, who went to the New England Patriots as the No. 17 overall pick of the first round of  the 2022 NFL Draft. Twisting the knife just a little deeper for Buff fans from the loss of Tyson and Gonzalez was the fact that both players not only left Boulder to become first round picks at other schools, but both played against CU after leaving Boulder, winning games against the Buffs for their new programs.

This is not to say that CU fans are the only ones suffering from Post Traumatic Draft Disorder this weekend. Cal fans got to watch their former quarterback walk across the stage Thursday night as well. Former Cal Bear Fernando Mendoza not only was the No. 1 overall pick, but Mendoza will go into the history books as the Heisman trophy winning and national champion quarterback … for Indiana.

There were other examples of star players who this weekend put their former teams in their rearview mirror when Draft Day rolled around:

• The No. 2 overall pick in this years Draft, edge rusher David Bailey from Texas Tech, was a freshman All-American (and three-year starter) … at Stanford;
• The No. 1 cornerback taken in the Draft, Mansoor Delane from LSU, was a three-year starter … at Virginia Tech;
• Caleb Downs, the celebrated defensive back for Ohio State, himself migrated to Columbus from Alabama.

And it’s not as if Colorado has clean hands when it comes to poaching stars from other programs. Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders left Jackson State to come to Boulder. The other two CU draft picks last April were also transplants, with Jimmy Horn coming to CU from South Florida, while LaJohntay Wester had spent four seasons as a Florida Atlantic Owl before becoming a Buff.

Which leads to the question … Where do the loyalties of these migrant players lie? With only a year – or perhaps two – at their final collegiate stop before heading off to the NFL, how may of these players remember the words to their schools alma mater 20 years from now?

Do Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders consider themselves to be Forever Buffs? Will either of them, after Coach Prime retires, ever again set foot on the CU campus? (Not that they ventured far past the Champions Center when they were in Boulder).

How many former players will give back to their schools, financially … or emotionally?

Buffs4Life is a non-profit organization which has been around for over 20 years.  In 2005, a group of former Buffs became aware that one of their teammates, Anthony (“Spoon”) Weatherspoon, had been diagnosed with leukemia. His prognosis was bleak and the gravity of the illness hit his family hard in many aspects, including financially. As the burden of medical costs overwhelmed his family, his friends and teammates wanted to help … and Buffs4Life came into being.

Over the past two decades, the organization of  “Buffs helping Buffs” has assisted numerous former Buffs and their families. Currently, the organization is assisting the young family of former Buff safety, Paul Vigo (2010-13), who passed away much too young.

(Note: If you are interested in helping the family of former Buff Paul Vigo, you can find information here).

The Board of Directors for Buffs4Life has names familiar to many Buff fans, including Gary Barnett, Lance Carl, Joe McCreary, Patrick Devenny, Jake Behrens and Evan Battey. Most of those on the Board, with the exception of Evan Battey, who was playing for Tad Boyle fairly recently (2022-24), have not been on the court or sidelines for CU for some time.

So who, in the current world of transient collegiate athletics, will consider themselves to be “Forever Buffs”?

Last month, I attended an event at the Dal Ward Center, which was the home to CU athletics before the Champions Center was built. Upstairs at Dal Ward, there are framed pictures of all of the CU student athletes who have graduated in the past year. On the wall were about 100 smiling Buffs, including about two dozen football players.

But, of those two dozen Buffs, student-athletes who will carry with them into their future lives diplomas from the University of Colorado, how many will become, figuratively, Buffs For Life?

A random sampling of football players from the list of recent graduates …

• Defensive tackle Anquin Barnes played two years at CU … after spending three at Alabama;
• Defensive tackle Tauren Carter played two years at CU … after spending five (yes, five) at Arkansas;
• Offensive lineman Phillip Houston is still playing at CU … after a year at a junior college and two years at Florida International;
• Tight end Sav’ell Smalls played three years at CU … after spending three years at Washington.

Now, there are some recent graduates, like safety Ben Finneseth, who you are confident will be Forever Buffs. A former walk-on, Finneseth has spent his entire career at CU (with still a year of eligibility remaining). You just know Finneseth will bleed black-and-gold for the rest of his life.

But those types of players are becoming more and more rare.

To be sure, it’s not the fault of the players. They are part of a system which disregards, and even dismisses, loyalty. CU offensive line coach George Hegamin told his players this spring: “I heard one coach say it the best, ‘We all signed a one-year contract’. Let’s be honest about it”.

They are Buffs now. Current players will be loyal to their current teammates. They will forge bonds this year which will last a lifetime.

But will they, as the Beach Boys sang, be true to their school?

Many of the current Buffs are seniors or grad students. Many are taking classes on line. If we’re being honest, many spend little time on campus away from the Champions Center, where they can practice, train, eat, get medical attention, and study.

How can you fall in love with Boulder, or in love with CU, if you are never fully emersed in all that it takes to be a Buff For Life, like …

• Hanging out with friends near the fountain behind the UMC, munching on a bagel between morning classes?
• Trudging across campus through the snow on a bleak winter morning in December, with a mind-numbing day at Norlin Library studying for finals as your destination?
• Being randomly assigned a lab partner … a lab partner who will become your BFF?

What if you had never had a Sink Burger? Gone on a hike or bike ride up at Chautauqua Park? Experienced Halloween on Pearl Street?

It’s hard to become loyal to a school when you are there only a short time, and even then only tangentially attached to the campus and campus life.

Next April, former CU wide receiver Omarion Miller may hear his named called as a first round NFL Draft pick. If Miller does walk across the stage in Washington D.C., the site of the 2027 NFL Draft, he will do so as an Arizona State Sun Devil. In April, 2028, barring injury or another transfer, former CU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton will walk across the stage at the 2028 NFL Draft in Minneapolis as an LSU Tiger.

They won’t consider themselves Buffs For Life. They won’t be Forever Buffs. Their time in Boulder will be a footnote in their careers.

That’s a reality Buff fans have to endure in the current landscape of collegiate athletics.

But that also begs the question:

Who will make up the roster of future Forever Buffs?

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This post, about the Spring/Summer game, from the 2026 Season, is filed under Article.
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