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The running back asked Deion Sanders to forgo the rest of the 2023 campaign
During Deion Sanders’ usual Tuesday media availability, the Colorado head coach dropped a bombshell. When asked about running back Alton McCaskill and how he was feeling, Coach Prime let the public know what the future will entail for his player.
“Alton came into my office yesterday and said he wanted to be redshirted. He’s one of my favorite human beings on this team. He wants it,” said Deion. “But he does understand it’s been a while since he’s had his full strength, potential and ability to cut and explode. He’s a great team guy, he’s a great young man.”
McCaskill deciding to redshirt for the remainder of the 2023 season is a big deal for the Buffaloes. With McCaskill gone, the Buffs’ biggest and most physical running back is no longer able to make an impact on the field. This should have major implications within Colorado’s offense, as they might have even more trouble running in between the tackles than they already do. To finish the season, the Buffs will likely use Anthony Hankerson as their sole short pickup option and Dylan Edwards as their quick outside threat with McCaskill gone.
It’s hard to blame McCaskill for wanting to redshirt this season though. The sophomore from Conroe, Texas tore his ACL while practicing with his former team in April of 2022. McCaskill has missed four of Colorado’s games this season due to his knee injury. McCaskill’s knee surely isn’t back to 100% health and he probably doesn’t want to risk injuring it any further. Also, having to run behind a struggling offensive line probably played a big part in Alton’s decision to stay sidelined for the rest of the season.
The immediate bad news is that Buffaloes fans won't be able to watch McCaskill to finish this campaign off. McCaskill has been productive when on the field, as he is averaging 4.2 yards per carry. The good news is we’ll hopefully get to see McCaskill for an extra year (if he decides to stick around and not jump ship with Deion if/when that eventually happens). Hopefully McCaskill can make a full recovery from that nagging knee issue and will be ready to dominate behind a revamped offensive line in 2024.
by RylandScholes
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