Tag: Quinn Perry

Brady Russell among former Buffs signing NFL deals

Brady Russell was among a few former #cubuffs who were able to sign NFL deals post-draft

The 2023 NFL draft has come to an end, and the Colorado Buffaloes were one of just seven Power Five football teams to not have a player selected in the seven-round draft. However, a few Buffs did earn undrafted free agent contracts and minicamp invites, so there is some hope that one of these players can crack a spot on a 53-man roster.

Plus, former Colorado cornerbacks Mekhi Blackmon and Christian Gonzalez were both drafted.

Tight end Brady Russell was perhaps the most notable former Buff who heard his phone ring after the draft concluded.

Here’s a quick rundown of which recent Buffs standouts were able to crack a deal with an NFL team:

How did CU’s pro day compare to NFL combine numbers?

A few pro day Buffs compared well to NFL combine players

The Colorado Buffaloes held their 31st annual pro day on Wednesday with nine players participating. Pro days are held across the country for college players hoping to make the NFL. Scouts from 16 different NFL teams were in attendance to watch the Buffaloes’ talent showcase their skills.

College pro days are a great way for anyone who may not have been invited to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis to get in front of scouts. No CU player was able to snag an invite to the NFL combine, but that doesn’t mean the NFL is not in their future. A breakout performance at a college pro day can propel you into a tryout, or even better, becoming a draft pick. But how did this year’s CU group stack up against the players who were at the combine?

Thanks to Horton Barbell, we can compare each pro day Buff to the average NFL combine numbers for their position:

Buffs defensive player of the game vs. TCU: Quinn Perry

Trevor Woods, Josh Chandler-Semedo and Quinn Perry all stood out defensively for the Buffs

I know what you’re thinking: How can there be a defensive player of the game in a blowout?

Yes, it wasn’t a pretty season opener for the Colorado Buffaloes as TCU routed them, 38-13, at Folsom Field.

The Buffs’ defense allowed just one touchdown in the first half and looked to be keeping it close. But, the Horned Frogs scored 10 in the third and 21 in the fourth to send the 46,000-plus fans in attendance home in frustration.

Nonetheless, there were some notable performances on defense, and linebacker Quinn Perry is this week’s defensive player of the game for Colorado.

With the departure of Nate Landman and Carson Wells, everybody was wondering who was going to step up. Josh Chandler-Semedo showed why he was one of the top transfers in the country, but Perry stood out as one of the better defenders all night.

Perry had an excellent first half, and he wound up finishing the contest with six total tackles, tying Chandler-Semedo but two behind safety Tyler Woods for the team lead on a disappointing evening in Boulder.

All in all, the Colorado defense will need to fix these issues and find a way to rebound. Up next: Air Force and then Minnesota before diving into Pac-12 Conference play.

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Colorado is more loaded than you’d think at linebacker

The Buffs’ depth at linebacker has Karl Dorrell excited

The Buffaloes are replacing a pair of all-time greats this offseason as Nate Landman and Carson Wells have moved on to the NFL. Conventional wisdom would hold that Colorado’s linebackers group would take a step back with those leaders now gone.

Well, a funny thing has happened this year at the LB position for head coach Karl Dorrell (h/t Neil Woelk and CUBuffs.com):

“Right now, there’s eight or nine guys on that defensive unit that are all doing a great job of keeping everybody on the same page,” Dorrell said after a recent practice.

A talented trio of Quinn Perry, Robert Barnes and graduate transfer Josh Chandler-Semedo have stepped up to lead the defense. These three will be getting a lion’s share of the time at LB this year.

Behind these three are another wave of young LBs that have coaches pumped up for this position group. Players like true freshman Eoghan Kerry, second-year freshman Mister Williams and sophomores Marvin Ham II and Isaac Hurtado have made an impression on Dorrell (h/t CUBuffs.com):

“They’ve completely revamped our linebacker positions,” Dorrell said. “We have so much more depth and talent there than we’ve had. I feel really good about our first and second team linebackers.”

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CU Buffs set for rebound opportunity against Arizona State

Colorado has an opportunity to turn the page in its Pac-12 opener at ASU

Last week’s 30-0 loss is now in the past as the Colorado Buffaloes have a clean slate when they travel down to Tempe for their Pac-12 opener. From everything we heard this week, the Buffs aren’t pointing any fingers and are simply focused on Arizona State.

“In the wake of obviously the disaster last week, I think out players’ attitudes and our efforts and the urgency about getting things past us and moving forward is pretty evident right now,” Karl Dorrell said.

As for the biggest question mark for Colorado—its offense—there won’t be any drastic changes this week according to Dorrell. The second-year head coach said he’ll be more present in the offensive room and provide more game preparation help. “We think we’re off to a good start,” Dorrell said on Monday.

Without getting too into the numbers, CU’s offense, particularly in the passing game, has been rough. The Buffs are averaging just 91 passing yards per game, by far the lowest in the Pac-12.  Oddly enough, Arizona State and junior QB Jayden Daniels hold the second-worst average at 213 yards a game. But at the same time, the Sun Devils’ rushing duo of Rachaad White and Daniyel Ngata has produced the most rushing yards in the conference and is averaging over 225 yards a game. It’s looking like any offense generated on Saturday by either team will be on the ground.

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A big bright spot for Colorado last week was a linebacker group that had three members (Nate Landman, Quinn Perry and Guy Thomas) record at least 10 tackles. This trio and a hopefully healthy Na’im Rodman on the D-line will be the Buffs best chance at slowing down White and Ngata.

Another comforting fact is that Colorado has played well against Arizona State in recent years. Former CU QB Steven Montez led the Buffs to one-score victories in both 2018 and 2019. The 2020 rendition was canceled due to COVID-19.

Saturday will mark the Buffs’ latest kickoff time so far in 2021 with an 8:30 p.m. MST start in Tempe.

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Quinn and A with CU Buffs linebacker Quinn Perry

Q and A: CU Buffs linebacker Quinn Perry talks his 10 tackle game and more

First-year starting inside linebacker Quinn Perry has gotten better and better through the Colorado Buffaloes’ first three games. His 10 tackle effort against Minnesota was one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise uninspiring Buffs performance. I caught up with Perry this week to discuss his breakout performance and how his fellow linebackers are developing ahead of Saturday’s Pac-12 opener at Arizona State.

Q: How much of a confidence booster was your 10 tackle performance against Minnesota?

Perry: Nothing really too much. Obviously, we lost the game so it’s not the outcome we wanted. We could’ve improved everywhere. I had missed tackles, some minus plays, so I could have had more opportunities presented and I didn’t execute on a couple plays. There’s always room for improvement but it’s nice to have my first double-digit tackle game under my belt. It’s definitely ensuring that I can do my job correctly and to the best of my ability.

Q: What specifically are you working on improving this week?

Perry: My leverage. A lot of the time they (Minnesota) ran a quick bubble on the outside and our corner missed a tackle and when I came in to clean him up, it was going to be a really big hit, but I just had poor leverage. I kind of leaned back and it just made me miss my tackle.

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Q: How is the linebacker room meshing through three games?

Perry: Our linebacker room is great. We have the best linebacker room in the nation. We all think we have a bunch of versatility, a bunch of guys that can do everything (and) even guys who can play out of position.

Q: How have transfers Jack Lamb and Robert Barnes fit into the LB room?

Perry: Those are family to me now. Obviously, they’re both very dynamic athletes. They can play in a bunch of different positions… They bring the whole group up (and) they challenge me to play better or else they’ll come take my spot.

Q: After a tough loss against Minnesota, what are the keys to bouncing back against Arizona State?

Perry: Our thing is we’re not pointing a finger (on defense) because obviously, we gave up points. There’s no real ‘we lost because of this reason.’ It was a collective team effort. We lost as a team. We’re having a good week of practice to fix all the kinks and errors and then we’ll come back Saturday and bounce back.

Q: With it being your first season starting at CU, have you been doing anything different in terms of managing workload?

Perry: Obviously my body was pretty sore after the game Saturday, (it was) a pretty good physical game. I came in the next day (and did) ice tub, massages, chiropractor, laser, everything. It’s a lot of preventative work so that if I do get hurt, God forbid, it’ll be less than what it would be if I wasn’t working already.

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