Colorado’s offense had just enough against Georgia Tech, but one obvious name barely showed up in the opener: Ernest Campbell.
The Sacramento State transfer didn’t catch a pass and saw very little action Thursday, even though the Buffaloes could have used another jolt in a game where the offense sputtered for long stretches. That matters because Campbell looks like a natural fit for what Colorado wants to do, and if he stays on the margins, the Buffs could be inviting future transfer questions.
He’s Colorado’s fastest receiver, and in a “Go-Go” offense built on pace and quick-hitting routes, that kind of speed is a weapon. Campbell can run past defenders on vertical routes, but his 145-pound frame doesn’t keep him from working inside, either.
On slants and similar concepts, he has the burst to turn a routine throw into something bigger. If an opponent leans on man coverage, Colorado has a clear path to use him to stress it.
The speed is real, too. Campbell also runs track, and in his freshman season at Texas A&M he posted a 10.02-second 100-meter dash.
Per MileSplit, that works out to a 4.18-second 40-yard dash. As a college freshman, that would have put him ahead of the NFL Combine’s current 40-yard dash record of 4.21 seconds, held by Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
The production is there for a bigger role as well. In 2025, Campbell led Sacramento State with 755 yards and eight touchdowns on 37 catches, averaging 20.4 yards per reception. That came while current Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion was the Hornets’ head coach, so Campbell’s best work already came in this same offense.
He also showed he could do damage against stronger competition. Against Nevada, Sacramento State’s only FBS opponent in 2025, he had three catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. Later that season, he delivered the biggest game of his career against Montana, piling up 206 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions against a team that reached the FCS National Semifinals.
So the issue doesn’t look like ability. It looks like opportunity.
Colorado has plenty of receivers, and that depth is a good problem to have, but it also means not everyone is going to get the touches they want. Still, after what the Buffs showed against Georgia Tech, there’s room to shuffle things around.
Campbell could be used in all kinds of ways right away. Colorado could send him on decoy routes over the top, get him the ball on screens and let him work after the catch, or simply use him as the deep threat he was brought in to be.
There’s another opening, too. Colorado used cornerback Boo Carter and wide receiver Quentin Gibson in the kick and punt return game, and neither made much happen.
The Buffs can keep that rotation in place, but adding Campbell into the mix would make sense as an experiment. His speed gives him the kind of return ability that can flip a field in a hurry, and it would also give Carter and Gibson a break.
Next up is Weber State, and that matchup should give Colorado a chance to test Campbell in different roles. The Buffs are expected to handle their FCS opponent, which makes it the ideal setting to see whether he can carve out a larger part of the offense. If he delivers, Colorado may not have much choice but to keep feeding him.
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Colorado did not get the clean, straight-set evening it might have wanted, but the way it handled the late stages mattered just as much. The Buffs steadied themselves after a tense stretch early in the match and found another gear when it counted most, an encouraging sign for a team still sorting out its identity while protecting an undefeated record. [Read more 🡒]