There really is no way to replace only the second Heisman Trophy winner to play defense full-time and the highest-drafted cornerback in NFL history.
But that’s exactly what Colorado has to do in 2025 with Travis Hunter no longer in Boulder and now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That’s over 700 snaps, 35 tackles, four interceptions, 11 passes defended and a forced fumble worth of production that will not be on this year’s Buffaloes team. Oh, and Hunter was also one of the least-targeted cornerbacks in the country.
Colorado’s Travis Hunter holds the trophy after winning the Heisman Trophy as the outstanding player in college football, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in New York. (Todd Van Emst/Heisman Trust via AP, Pool)
Todd Van Emst
He isn’t the only NFL player in the secondary that has to be replaced, either. The starting safety duo of Shilo Sanders and Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig signed undrafted free agent deals with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively, and combined to make 44 starts over the past two seasons for Deion Sanders’ team.
That means just about every member of the secondary coached by Robert Livingston (defensive coordinator and safeties coach) and Kevin Mathis (cornerbacks coach) will be in line for an increased role this fall. Let’s meet the 2025 CU secondary:
The cornerbacks
If there is any way to try and replace a player like Hunter, it’s with another future NFL draft pick waiting to take the mantle as the team’s top cornerback. The Buffaloes have just that in junior DJ McKinney.
The Oklahoma State transfer thrived in his first season at CU, quickly establishing himself as the team’s other outside cornerback opposite Hunter — something the Buffaloes never quite found in 2023. McKinney was second only to Hunter in both interceptions (3) and passes defended (8) on last year’s team and now becomes one of the faces of the defense heading into the season, representing the program at Big 12 media days earlier this month.
Colorado junior cornerback DJ McKinney (8) is interviewed during 2025 Big 12 football media days on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at the Star in Frisco, Texas.
Tyler King, The Denver Gazette
The other spot likely locked up heading into the season opener is the nickel corner spot occupied by Preston Hodge, the former Liberty transfer who opted to return to CU this offseason for his final season of eligibility. The native Texan earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors despite missing the final four games of the season due to injury, making his presence felt in the nine games he did appear in with 33 tackles, seven pass breakups and two interceptions.
The main position in the secondary to watch heading into fall camp is the outside corner spot opposite McKinney.
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Earlier in the offseason, there didn’t appear like a battle was coming at that position as Colton Hood was primed to play a bigger role after showing he was more than capable in his limited reps last season. But Hood left the program in the spring and transferred back to the SEC (he came to the Buffaloes from Auburn a year ago) with Tennessee.
Despite a promising spring period from RJ Johnson, the former Arkansas transfer who played almost exclusively on special teams for CU in 2024, the loss of Hood prompted coach Sanders and his staff to reload at cornerback through the transfer portal.
Now, there are three newcomers that should have a chance to compete for that second outside cornerback spot in August.
Noah King is a former four-star recruit who redshirted at Kansas State last season and has a lot of promise. Illinois State transfer Teon Parks is coming off a strong campaign at the FCS level with a team-best 12 passes defended. Then there’s Wyoming transfer Tyrecus Davis, who had 60 tackles and a pair of interceptions over the past two seasons in Laramie.
The safeties
Just like McKinney is ready to step up at cornerback, the Buffaloes have another returning player ready to step up at the safety spot. Carter Stoutmire has impressed since stepping on campus as a true freshman two summers ago ahead of coach Sanders’ first season and while he has bounced all over the secondary since arriving in Boulder, he seems to have now found a home at safety.
Last season, Stoutmire started three games at safety while Shilo Sanders was hurt last season and then the final four at the nickel position in place of Hodge, but now seems poised to be a full-time starter at the safety spot Sanders occupied. His father, Omar, played with coach Sanders on the Dallas Cowboys and now Carter could be in for his breakout season that sees him emerge as a future NFL player.
Colorado safety Carter Stoutmire (23) stops Oklahoma State wide receiver Brennan Presley (80) in the second half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
David Zalubowski
The other safety position isn’t necessarily set in stone, but it is likely Tawfiq Byard’s to lose heading into preseason practices. The South Florida transfer and younger brother of All-Pro NFL safety Kevin Byard, he made his presence felt this spring and could play a similar role to that of Silmon-Craig.
Competing against him will likely be Tennessee transfer John Slaughter, who played in 22 games across the first two seasons of his college career and got his first career interception last year.
Other names to watch at the safety spot are Durango native Ben Finneseth, a former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship this spring and is one of the final remaining players from the pre-Coach Prime era, and Auburn transfer Terrance Love, a former four-star recruit out of Georgia who played in 22 games during two seasons with the Tigers.