Tag: Robert Barnes

Four former Buffs playing in UFL’s first-ever postseason

A few former Buffs are competing in the first-ever UFL playoffs

Four former Colorado Buffaloes football players will take the field in the first-ever UFL playoffs.

Those who reached the postseason are wide receiver Devin Ross (Michigan Panthers) and linebackers Robert Barnes (San Antonio Brahmas), Drew Lewis (St. Louis Battlehawks) and Carson Wells (St. Louis Battlehawks).

Ross, the only non-linebacker of the four, hasn’t seen much action this season with the Panthers. He has seven receptions on the year for 112 receiving yards, according to the UFL’s official website. He has also played special teams, occasionally as a kick returner.

Barnes, on the other hand, has seen the most playing time among the four former Buffs. He played in all 10 of the Brahmas’ regular season games, finishing with 21 total tackles.

Lastly, the Battlehawks boast two CU alumni in Lewis and Wells. Lewis only played in two games this season while Wells played in nine. Wells finished with 17 total tackles, two sacks and a pass breakup.

In the USFL conference championship game on Saturday, the Panthers will face the Birmingham Stallions at 1 p.m. MT (ABC/ESPN). The Battlehawks will host the Brahmas in the XFL conference title game on Sunday at 5 p.m. MT (Fox).

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Five former CU Buffs to play in the UFL’s inaugural season

A few former Buffs are playing in the UFL this spring

Five former Colorado Buffaloes players will be playing in the inaugural season of the United Football League (UFL) this spring.

Although the UFL is new, the teams that comprise the league are not. In late December, the USFL and XFL announced plans to merge into the UFL, which will consist of eight teams and two conferences.

The USFL Conference features the Birmingham Stallions, Houston Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers, while the XFL Conference will have the Arlington Renegades, D.C. Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas and St. Louis Battlehawks.

The 2024 UFL season will kick off on March 30.

Below are the five former Buffs who are listed on UFL rosters this spring:

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:

Colorado football countdown to Week 1 kickoff: 20 days

We’re No. 20 Deion Smith and Robert Barnes days until kickoff

The Colorado Buffaloes have quite the duo sporting the No. 20 this year. Both linebacker Robert Barnes and running back Deion Smith will have big roles on their respective side of the ball in 2022.

Smith has been highlighted numerous times this offseason as he has risen up the depth chart and will be a valuable swiss army knife on both offense and special teams.

Barnes has been mentioned a lot by the coaches as a leader that has stepped up this offseason. Barnes has played both safety and linebacker in his college career but he’ll suit up at LB again for his final season in Boulder.

Onto day 20 of our countdown to kickoff against TCU:

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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Colorado’s two player representatives for Pac-12 Media Day announced

These two Buffs will be joining Karl Dorrell in Los Angeles

The 2022 college football season is so close you can almost smell the Folsom Field grass. Fall training camp begins the first week of August for the Colorado Buffaloes but first, the annual Pac-12 Media Day will be held on July 29 in Los Angeles… ironic.

Each Pac-12 program will be sending its head coach along with two player representatives. Joining Karl Dorrell this year, as announced on Monday, will be offensive lineman Casey Roddick and linebacker Robert Barnes.

Roddick was one of the Buffs’ best linemen in 2021 and he enters 2022 as a two-year starter. After transferring from Oklahoma prior to last season, Barnes played in 11 of Colorado’s 12 games and finished eighth on the team with 44 total tackles.

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Colorado football state of the position: Outside Linebackers

Colorado’s outside linebackers will play a big role in 2022

CU is being tricky this year with its position groupings. The Buffs have a group of defensive ends we previewed last week listed as outside linebackers, while all of the linebackers are listed as inside linebackers. So, we could see some players moving around a bit.

Regardless, we will be highlighting the listed inside linebackers who we believe will be playing more on the outside, got it? As we highlighted earlier this month, the 4-3 alignment utilizes two outside linebackers, a SAM (a strong side LB that moves with the tight end) and a WILL (a weak side LB that positions himself away from the TE).

Let’s dig in with our projected depth chart coming first followed by some analysis:

How did Oklahoma football transfers perform with their new teams in 2021?

How did former Oklahoma Sooners like Tanner Mordecai and Chandler Morris perform with their new schools in 2021?

The transfer portal has created a new era of college football akin to NFL free agency. But without the contracts. Players get much more freedom to move than they did a decade ago and are taking advantage of the opportunity to find new places to play that might provide a better chance to perform than their original home.

2021 was a good year for some former Oklahoma Sooners who departed via the portal, some making significant impacts in the chase for conference championships across college football.

Though several will still be playing in bowl games as the 2021 season winds down, let’s take a look at how Oklahoma’s transfer portal departures performed in 2021.

How are Oklahoma football transfers performing with their new programs?

How are former Oklahoma Sooners like Tanner Mordecai doing with their new schools in 2021?

The Oklahoma Sooners have been big-time beneficiaries of the transfer portal over the years. The story on QBU’s been told, but Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts transferring in helped pave the way for Lincoln Riley’s tenure in Norman. As much as those players benefited from the transfer portal, there have been some who’ve benefited by finding a fresh start by leaving the Oklahoma Sooners and finding a new place to call home.

SMU and Tanner Mordecai were off to a 7-0 start before dropping Saturday night’s game to Houston, whose only loss came to Texas Tech in the season opener. Mordecai has played great this year and set a single-game SMU record for passing touchdowns in the opener.

After Week 9, let’s take a look at what the players Oklahoma lost in the transfer portal in 2021 have been up to this year.