Colorado football DC Robert Livingston shares empowering strategy for defense in 2024
First-year Colorado football defensive coordinator Robert Livingston plans on empowering his best players to take the reins in his schemes -- emphasizing the top six or seven guys being the "shooters" he'd build around in the vein of a basketball offense.
"We'll go 10 days of camp and then we'll kind of look at what they do well," Livingston told reporters after the Buffaloes' third preseason practice (h/t 247Sports). "It is our job as coaches to put these guys in a position to be successful. In any industry, the Cardinal sin, my biggest pet peeve, is when somebody says what somebody can't do. Let's look at what somebody can do.
"We only have X amount of scholarship players, X amount of walk-ons. If somebody is dynamic at one thing, well then here is a novel idea, let's do that and build around that. We've talked in the past, there are six or seven guys that are our shooters. They are our best players so we'll get them shots and then kind of adapt and adjust around that."
Colorado football defensive leader Shilo Sanders approves of Robert Livingston
Livingston is in the midst of earning the respect of his players; many of whom were brought to the program via Coach Prime and former DC and current Auburn co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly's recruitment.
One player Deion Sanders brought over who has immense respect for Livingston is his son, Shilo. Coach Prime's middle child shared his adoration of the long-time Cincinnati Bengals position coach.
“Right now, he’s working with me like,” Shilo said (h/t On3). “That’s just cool having a guy like that that could be like alright, this is who I want you to model right here. So, just studying him.
“Having a pro coach who was just in the NFL because I’ll be wondering how it is as a college player, what is it gonna be like in the league? How are the coaches in the league? And it’s like the league right now. He’s not even used to being in college still, like with the hashes and stuff. How we practice — we practice really hard. It’s still, like new. Cause they be taking care of each other in practice and stuff, but like he’s fresh from the NFL. I couldn’t have asked for more, honestly. The experience with the Super Bowl and what more can you ask for if you’re a DB? What situation would you more want to be in?”
Livingston has the chance to make a name for himself in his first coordinator role. Whether or not an eventual return to Cincinnati after 11 years with the organization is on his mind or not, either joining Zac Taylor or even outright replacing him, is unclear, but Livingston will immediately be a hot commodity if the likes of Shilo, Travis Hunter, BJ Green, Chidozie Nwankwo, DJ McKinney, Preston Hodge, among other potential "shooters," help elevate his first defense as a full-time coordinator.