Tyler Martinez waited a long time to experience a Saturday at Folsom Field. His first run behind Ralphie provided everything the Colorado linebacker expected, and maybe even a little more.
“Man, that first run out was awesome,” Martinez said. “It was loud. The first couple of drives, I had to cover my earphones because I couldn’t hear the call on the green dot. And then the flyover, that gave me goosebumps. That was awesome.”
The fifth-year linebacker did more than enjoy the atmosphere during Colorado’s 52-21 victory over Weber State. Martinez finished with seven tackles and one tackle for loss, trailing only Jah Jah Boyd’s eight tackles among the Buffaloes.
Colorado’s offense generated most of the attention after producing 578 yards and seven touchdowns, but Martinez emerged from the home opener as an important voice for a defense that left the stadium dissatisfied.
“The effort was there for the entire game,” Martinez said. “I think even to the last second, the effort was all the way there. And then just the communication. We were on the same page the whole game.”
The results, however, did not meet Colorado’s expectations. Weber State scored 21 points and found opportunities through missed tackles and breakdowns in technique.
Martinez included himself in that criticism.
“Just kind of sloppy technique,” he said. “Too many missed tackles, including myself. I missed two or three. I know that. So, cleaning up tackling and then just cleaning up the details.”
Martinez embraces Colorado’s standard
Tyler arrived in Boulder after playing at New Mexico Military Institute and New Mexico State. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker started all 12 games for the Aggies in 2024 before an injury limited him to four games in 2025.
He still recorded 27 tackles, four pass breakups, one tackle for loss, one interception and one forced fumble during that shortened season. Despite that production, 247Sports listed him as the No. 1,302 overall player and No. 100 linebacker in the transfer portal.
Those rankings did not prevent Martinez from quickly taking on an important role in Colorado’s defense. He now handles the green-dot communication and is becoming one of the experienced players expected to hold the entire unit accountable.
“I think that’s our next step in our room, being a little bit more vocal,” Martinez said. “We’re pretty vocal already, but that next step is holding other people accountable and other position groups accountable.”
Martinez also understands why Deion Sanders was visibly frustrated after a 31-point victory. Colorado improved to 2-0, but Sanders made it clear that the Buffaloes cannot commit the same mistakes when the competition becomes more difficult.
“Our goal for the season isn’t to win two games,” the senior linebacker added. “We want to win the whole thing, and you can’t win the whole thing with some of the stuff that we had going on today.”
Bigger goals remain ahead
Coach Prime's defense delivered when it mattered during its season-opening victory over Georgia Tech. Against Weber State, the offense carried more of the load.
That balance has helped the Buffaloes remain unbeaten, but Martinez knows Colorado must become more complete as it prepares to face Northwestern in Evanston.
“We just need to learn and notice that we’re not as good as we want to be yet, and this isn’t the end goal,” Martinez said. “Our goal as a team is to win the Big 12 and go to the College Football Playoff and win a national championship. In order to do that, we’ve got to clean up some of this stuff that we keep messing up.”
One encouraging development was the performance of Colorado’s reserves. Martinez said the younger defenders who entered late showed the Buffaloes have players capable of contributing beyond the starting lineup.
“Some of those guys who came in late in the game played their butts off, and they did good,” Martinez said. “Knowing that they can come in and provide support when we need them to, that’s a big deal for us on the defense.”
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