The Colorado Buffaloes football team is not enjoying a strong season. However, their latest performance against Oregon gave this team a glimmer of hope after Brendon Lewis and Brenden Rice played well against the Ducks โwho landed at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
But, the Buffs got some good news on Tuesday regarding tight end Brady Russell. The Buffs junior has received a nomination for the Burlsworth Trophy, an award given to the most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.
The Fort Collins native has enjoyed plenty of success with the Buffs since walking on in 2017. This season, he has 14 catches for 184 yards and has earned some pretty decent grades throughout the seasonโeven with the Buffs winning just two games.
๐๐๐ฟ๐น๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐ง๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ต๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ
The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player who began his career as a Walk-On@brady_russell5 ๐ช pic.twitter.com/Fhl4nHj6XN
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) November 2, 2021
Russell was also a preseason selection by some for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end.
On the surface, his 14 grabs this season don’t seem like a ton. However, the Buffs’ passing game has been hit or miss. The team’s leading receiver is Rice, who has 17 catches for a team-high 280 yards.
Russell is second in both catches and yards, so that shows his level of trust with Lewis as the freshman quarterback continues to develop.
Russell’s best game was against USC when he had three catches for 87 yards. He has yet to score a touchdown this season, but it should be only a matter of time.
If Russell can win the award it would be a huge honor, and he still has one more year of eligibility to grab even more hardware.
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