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Maybe it shouldn’t be all that surprising that the secondary is the most interesting unit on Deion Sanders’ football team. The group has a little bit of everything: a star in Travis Hunter, depth with Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig and DJ McKinney, and more than a couple new transfers that could play right away.
Chief among those, most likely, is Preston Hodge. Hodge, who’s listed at 6’0 and 195 lbs on the Buffs’ website, will have one year of eligibility in Boulder. He previously spent the last two years at Liberty where, over that span, he had 60 tackles, two interceptions, three TFLs, 13 passes defended, one forced fumble and one touchdown on an interception return. He also had PFF’s ninth-highest pass coverage grade this season (88.8) and was ranked as the 4th best transfer safety available.
He’ll definitely find playing time somewhere this fall, but where exactly is a little more unclear right now. During the Buffs’ spring practice, cornerbacks coach Kevin Mathis tipped his hand a little bit: when talking about Travis Hunter’s versatility, Mathis explained how he’s “been playing the majority inside and when we can have him do that and be strong and outside with Preston (Hodge) and DJ (McKinney), it’s gonna be a sight to see and we are excited about that.”
And while that aside about Hunter moving into the slot in a close-to-full-time role is probably the more interesting part of that quote, it seems at least somewhat noteworthy that Hodge was the fist guy who came to the secondary coach’s mind when asked about other starters.
Assuming that Hodge holds on to the starting job through camp, he’ll bring some much-appreciated experience to a secondary that – like most of the Buffs’ other position groups – will look a ton different this year. Hunter, Silmon-Craig, and Shilo Sanders are all returning, but gone are Cormani McClean and Omarion Cooper – two guys who were expected to contribute a lot this year. Even Trevor Woods, one the Buffs’ starting safety last season, made the move to linebacker.
If Hodge plays anywhere close to the way he did at Liberty, the Buffs’ secondary has the potential to be one of the better units in the Big-12. With Hodge, Hunter, and McKinney (not to mention the safeties), Buffs games may end up 38-35 instead of 49-42.
by camellis
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