From the time he got to Colorado as a true freshman in 2021, Trevor Woods has proven to be a playmaker on defense.
At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Woods is a prototypical safety and he hits like one.
With CU (4-3, 1-3 Pac-12) struggling to find consistency in the middle of its defense, however, the coaches have found a new role for Woods.
A junior from Katy, Texas, Woods made his first career start at inside linebacker in the Buffs’ 46-43 double overtime loss to Stanford on Oct. 13 and it appears he’ll remain at linebacker for the foreseeable future. CU visits No. 23 UCLA (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday (5:30 p.m. MT, ABC).
“Trevor is a player, man,” head coach Deion Sanders said. “You’ve got to find a way to utilize him the best of his ability, his strengths and keep him at the place where he could be a force. He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s physical. He’s an asset, so we’ve got to find a way to keep him on the field and (moving to linebacker) was one of the ways we found to keep him on the field.”
Despite bringing in several transfers at linebacker in the offseason, the Buffs haven’t had much consistency there. LaVonta Bentley has been their best and most consistent inside linebacker, but even he lost his starting job for four games.
Juwan Mitchell might be CU’s best linebacker, but he’s dealing with off-the-field issues that have kept him out of the last two games. Jeremiah Brown, Brendan Gant and Marvin Ham have also started games at linebacker. Alabama transfer Demouy Kennedy was projected as a starter before the season, but he’s played only about a dozen snaps on defense this season.
Meanwhile, the Buffs have shown depth at safety, with Woods, Shilo Sanders, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, Rodrick Ward and Myles Slusher excelling at times.
Ward played just 10 snaps on defense in the first four games combined, but injuries forced him into the starting lineup Sept. 30 against USC. He’s now made three consecutive starts, with 26 total tackles in those games.
Ward’s emergence and the struggles of the linebackers have given Woods a different opportunity. He had six tackles in his linebacker debut against Stanford and is tied with Shilo Sanders for the team lead with 36 tackles on the season.
“He’s not only doing his job, he’s helping other guys do theirs by keeping them straight, making sure they know what they’re doing,” Coach Prime said.
Key recruit
Last week, CU got a verbal commitment from four-star quarterback recruit Antwann Hill, a 2025 prospect from Houston County (Ga.) High School.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Hill could be a significant addition for CU’s long-term future.
“Quarterback’s everything,” Coach Prime said. “You look at college football right now and you look at the consistent quarterbacks and you see consistency in the records. And, and you look at even the Pac-12, you can look at the quarterbacks. All the teams that are winning the most, that have been together for a multitude of years, not just the first year in a team like us, but they have a consistency at quarterback. And that’s tremendous. So you want to get a young guy in that could preferably learn from your stud, so he could emulate and imitate that and go on and carry us to places that we hadn’t gone before.”
Per NCAA rules, coaches are not allowed to talk about specific recruits. Hill’s name was not mentioned by a reporter or Sanders, but it’s clear Sanders is excited about his latest recruiting win.
“That kid is tremendous,” he said. “Mother and father is tremendous. His family – raised with love and respect and a very admirable kid. I can’t wait to get him in house and let’s get to work with him. He’s gonna change the game in several aspects.”
Respect
Sanders will coach against a former teammate on Saturday. UCLA linebackers Ken Norton Jr., was a teammate of Sanders in 1994 when they helped the San Francisco 49ers win Super Bowl XXIX.
Now Norton coaches a talented and tough group of linebackers for the No. 1 defense in the Pac-12.
“That defense that they feature is a pretty darn good unit, especially statistically,” Sanders said. “But it starts with the front four and that linebacker core. They get to the ball. They play just like their coach. They really do. So I’m proud of Ken. I played with him for a year. He was phenomenal. He was one of the best.
“Shoot, I don’t know why he’s not a head coach. I don’t know if he’s been given the opportunity but I know he’s been a coordinator before. I know he’s been a myriad of things. To me, Ken Norton should be a head coach somewhere.”