Colorado’s special teams have a name, and the Buffs are treating it like a mission.
At Colorado, it’s not just the third phase. It’s “wefense,” the term tight ends coach Josh Niblett uses to capture the way offensive and defensive players are being pulled together into one unit with one shared job. The idea, as Niblett put it, is simple: special teams should be built on the “best 11, not the 11 best.”
“One thing that I've always felt like: you have offense, and then you have defense,” Niblett explained. “Well, a lot of your offensive players and your defensive players, they've got to come together to form special teams. So it just makes for wefense.”
That approach has turned special teams into one of the more competitive parts of Colorado’s fall camp. The evaluations are still ongoing as the Buffs work toward a depth chart and, eventually, Georgia Tech game planning, but the tone has already shifted.
Early camp was about winning individual reps. Now, it’s about earning jobs.
“The next couple of weeks, we're gonna talk about win the game,” Niblett said.
Niblett said the group has embraced the challenge, with “synergy,” “clarity” and “alignment” driving the process. He said the players have taken ownership of the phase, and that buy-in has shown up across the depth chart.
“Our guys have taken a lot of ownership and a lot of pride in the wefense,” Niblett said. “I've been excited about that, because all of our guys have been locked in on it.”
Punter Damon Greaves has seen that competition up close, especially at long snapper, where he said all four candidates can handle game action.
“Competition's really strong,” Greaves said. “All four of those guys are capable of stepping in and taking reps in a game. Where we're at now is those guys are competing hard, and it's a friendly competition - they're pushing each other.”
“The more they keep pushing each other, the better quality of snappers we're going to have out there with us,” Greaves added.
Colorado also has flexibility elsewhere in the kicking operation. Greaves said newcomer Cadel Ayala can punt, handle kickoffs and kick field goals. Placekicker Elliott Arnold said he, Daniel Gerlach and Ayala have all shown they can drive kickoffs through the end zone.
“Honestly, all three of us - me, Daniel Gerlach and Cadel - we're all able to hit it out the back of the end zone,” Arnold said. “So I don't think we're really worried about that right now, because I know one of us three can do the job really well.”
Arnold said he has approached the placekicking battle with the same collaborative mindset. After redshirting last season, he has focused on consistency and on building trust with the long snappers and holders while working alongside the other kickers.
“I don't really see it as competition,” Arnold said. “I see it as: let's try and win some games and help each other be the best.”
The return game is another area Colorado wants to sharpen, and wide receiver Quentin Gibson is expected to be part of that picture. Gibson handled return duties last season and said special teams has become a daily part of the Buffs’ routine.
“We go over wefense every day, three times a day,” Gibson said.
He also said fans should expect more from him this season after flashing in the return game a year ago.
“Oh yeah, I'm gonna show y'all a lot more than last year,” Gibson said. “That was just a glimpse.
But besides that, yeah, we got a lot of different stuff going on. We got a whole different special teams going on.”
Arnold said the attention to special teams starts with Coach Prime, who has made an effort to build a relationship with the specialists and give them confidence that doesn’t rise and fall with a single kick.
“It means a lot, because usually a lot of head coaches don't really have relationships with their specialists as much,” Arnold said. “But Coach Prime really loves us, and he really cares about us, and he understands it.
He always tells me he's got my back no matter what, whether I miss or make. It's bigger than football, so I really do appreciate him.”
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