Colorado enters Quentin Gibson’s second season with a familiar selling point and a bigger challenge: keep finding ways to get the ball in his hands.
The sophomore receiver already proved he can help in more than one phase. As a true freshman in 2025, Gibson played in all 12 games, made two starts and finished with 15 catches for 71 yards.
The receiving totals were quiet, but his work as Colorado’s primary kickoff returner stood out. He piled up 597 return yards, finished second in the Big 12 and averaged 23.9 yards per return.
Now he’s making it clear he expects more.
“I’m gonna show y’all a lot more than last year,” Gibson said per DNVR's Jake Schwanitz. “That was just a glimpse.”
That confidence has shown up early in fall camp. Deion Sanders has continued to give Gibson opportunities, and the Fort Worth, Texas, native has stayed busy working with the offense while also competing for special teams duties. One of the first week’s notable moments came when Gibson took a short pass from quarterback Julian Lewis, made a defender miss and turned it into a touchdown.
Gibson arrived at Colorado with a reputation for explosive production, and his high school resume backs that up. At North Crowley High School, he was the 2024 MaxPreps National Player of the Year after helping lead the Panthers to a 16-0 record and a Texas Class 6A state championship.
His senior season was packed with big numbers and big moments: 2,009 receiving yards, 36 receiving touchdowns, plus scores on the ground, through the air and on a punt return. He finished with 40 total touchdowns and was named offensive MVP after the state title game, where he caught seven passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns.
Colorado brought him in as a receiver who could help right away on special teams, and that’s exactly how his first year played out. He handled 25 kickoff returns, added four punt returns and even started the season opener against Georgia Tech, becoming the fourth true freshman in program history to start a season opener.
The next step is finding a bigger offensive role, and the timing is right. New offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s Go-Go system is built to move players around and create space for receivers who can do damage after the catch.
Gibson is competing in a deeper receiver room this fall, with Texas transfer DeAndre Moore Jr., San Jose State transfer Danny Scudero, Miami (Ohio) transfer Kam Perry, Sacramento State transfer Ernest Campbell and Joseph Williams, who returned after missing spring practice while recovering from a leg injury.
None of that has changed his mindset. Gibson said he still wants to prove he can impact games on offense and on special teams.
His biggest focus as a returner is simple.
“Just trusting my blocks more,” Gibson said. “If I see a hole, just hit it.”
That’s the natural next step after a freshman season that showed both promise and room to grow. Gibson found space regularly on kickoffs, but Colorado’s punt return game was less productive. The Buffaloes finished 2025 with 11 punt returns for 79 yards and no touchdowns.
Gibson accounted for four of those returns and totaled 29 yards. He shared the job with Quanell Farrakhan Jr., but the role is still up for grabs heading into the season.
Colorado has also mixed in Tennessee transfer Boo Carter, running back DeKalon Taylor and Ernest Campbell in return work during camp. Carter arrives with an SEC background after averaging 16.5 yards per punt return as a freshman in 2024, while Taylor was a two-time all-conference returner at Incarnate Word.
So Gibson has competition, but he also has experience. He’s already handled both return jobs in games, and he knows what it takes to wait on blocks and pick the right lane.
Colorado returned to Boulder after opening fall camp in Colorado Springs, where the Buffs practiced at Fountain-Fort Carson High School and spent a week away from their usual setting. With the Sept. 3 opener against Georgia Tech approaching, the rest of camp will help sort out the receiver rotation and the special teams picture.
For Gibson, the path is clear: more experience, a new offensive system and another chance to make himself a bigger part of the Buffaloes’ offense.
In Other News...
Julian Lewis Is Giving Colorado Fans Real Reason To Believe
Colorados offense is heading into a new era in 2026, and the attention is already starting to land on Julian Lewis. ESPNs Adam Rittenberg recently put the Buffaloes quarterback on a list of Big 12 passers to watch, a notable nod for a former five-star recruit entering his second collegiate season. Lewis is being mentioned in the same conversation as some of the sports most closely watched young quarterbacks, which says plenty about the expectations forming around him.
The timing matters for Colorado, too, because the Buffs are also adjusting to a new offensive coordinator in Brennan Marion. For a program looking to take a meaningful step forward, Lewis has become one of the clearest reasons for optimism, the kind of player who can shape how high this offense can climb if the new system clicks. The buzz is early, but it is real, and it is only going to grow once the offseason gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Colorado Recruiting Shift Is Starting To Look Very Different
Colorados 2027 recruiting class is beginning to show a different kind of blueprint under Deion Sanders, with more than 20 high school commitments already on board. For a program that has leaned heavily on the transfer portal in recent seasons, the current class suggests a more deliberate push to build from the ground up, with the staff putting a new premium on getting young talent in the door early.
One of the clearest signs of that shift has been the work done on the offensive line, where Gunnar White has become a steady presence on the trail and a central figure in the class so far. His emphasis on recruiting and developing high school players fits the larger direction around the program, as Colorado tries to create more long-term stability and lessen its dependence on quick fixes. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Is Betting This Fall Camp Reset Will Bring The Team Together
Colorado opened fall camp in a different setting this year, taking its work to Colorado Springs and practicing at local facilities while living in dorms at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The change of scenery has been framed internally as more than a logistical adjustment, with players and the athletic director describing it as a chance to tighten the group and strip away some of the usual distractions that come with being back in Boulder.
For a team trying to build chemistry before the season, the move is meant to create more time together and a sharper daily focus. Colorado is betting that a reset like this can do some of the quiet but important work of camp, helping the Buffaloes connect as a roster and carry a little more cohesion into the fall. [Read more 🡒]