Analyst on ex-safety stepping up at LB for Colorado: ‘Wasn’t a choice’

BuffZone’s Brian Howell believes that there “wasn’t a choice” when it came to former safety Trevor Woods stepping up for the Colorado football program and accepting a change of positions to linebacker considering the dire needs of Deion Sanders and the Buffs coaching staff.

“When Colorado head coach Deion Sanders came up with the idea of moving safety Trevor Woods to linebacker, Woods didn’t flinch,” Howell prefaced before saying, “And, really, there wasn’t a choice. The Buffaloes needed some help at linebacker and Woods jumped out as the man that could fill that role.”

As Woods himself explained, the Katy, Texas native was simply doing whatever it took to stay on the field.

“Nah, it was (just) do whatever,” Woods said. “Whatever keeps me on the field, whatever helps us. It was more of like a dime package thing at first. But then, it was working really well and they were just like, ‘Hey, get in Trevor,’ because something happened (at practice). It happened just like that two days before the game.”

Colorado football LB Trevor Woods leading Buffs in tackles

Shilo Sanders’ absence in what turned out to be a spectacular near-comeback against USC certainly helped but through Week 9 of the 2023 season, Woods holds the tackle lead for the Buffs. That the third-year defender has been able to thrive in a new role in a new defensive system altogether is a testament to his tenacity.

Woods is one of the ultimate symbols of the buy-in in Boulder since Coach Prime came aboard. Even being .500 two-thirds of the way through the season is an impressive feat for a roster that returned 10 players total from the much-maligned 2022 roster.

That Woods is a critical part of it all, having watched most of his teammates asked to “jump in the portal,” is a major culture win for Coach Prime and Co.