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We don’t need to relitigate it too much, but the Buffs’ pass rush was bad last year. They had the 7th-best sack total in the Pac-12, and individually only had two guys – Lavonte Bentley and Jordan Domineck – with at least five. Bentley will come back for one last season in Boulder, but besides that, it didn’t look like there was a whole lot of passing rushing production returning for 2024.
That’s why BJ Green was such a big get for the Buffs. Considered one of the Top 25 available portal players, Green brings proven pass rushing production to a team that so desperately needs it.
Green spent the first three seasons of his college career at Arizona State, where he lead the team in sacks as a freshman preferred walk-on. He was the highest-rated pass rusher on the defense that season, and according to ASU’s website, Green had the highest-rated efficiency numbers of any pass rusher in the Pac-12 too. The program offered him a scholarship a few months after the season ended.
His box score production dropped as a sophomore (despite still having PFF’s best pressure rate), but Green rebounded to put up career-best numbers last season as a junior. In 12 games for the Sun Devils last year, he had six sacks and 21 solo tackles, 11 of which were for a loss. He ended his ASU career on a high note when he was named to the second-team All Pac-12.
Not long after announcing his plans to transfer to Washington, Green flipped to Colorado, in part because Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer took the Alabama job. But Green also has a history with Deion Sanders, going back to his days playing youth football in Atlanta. In a video interview he did with the Pac-12 network, Green talks about how it was Sanders that convinced him to move from running back to defensive line.
On the field, Green figures to step in and immediately be one of the more impactful players on the Buffs’ defense. At 6’1 and 170 lbs, he’ll be one of the smaller players on CU’s defensive front, but has experience playing both inside and on the edge to go along with his elite pressure stats. Green is the major piece on a defensive line that’ll feature a bunch of new faces this year, including Pittsburgh transfer Samuel Okunlola (who also had six sacks last season) and Houston transfer Chidozie Nwankwo.
by camellis
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