Colorado coach Kevin Mathis provides update on Buffs cornerback awaiting heart surgery
On March 17, Vickers revealed on Instagram that he underwent heart surgery ahead of the 2025 season. This follows his transfer to Deion Sanders' team after spending two seasons with the Oklahoma Sooners.
On Thursday, Buffs beat writer Nikki Edwards posted on X a video featuring Colorado defensive back coach Kevin Mathis giving an update on Vickers' status. Mathis shared that the cornerback is recovering and could potentially return by Colorado's fall training camp.
So, I'm excited to see him on the grass. It's going to be a while. You know what I'm saying? He just had surgery. So, he's going to be out, you know what I'm saying, until the fall camp, but I'm excited man. He brings a lot of versatility to us," Mathis said (0:22 onwards).
Earlier in the discussion, the defensive back coach praised Vickers' skill set and said that Colorado could utilize his talent in multiple ways.
"He's a guy that coming out of high school, man, was a great player. You know what I'm saying? I think he got caught up with some injuries down there at Oklahoma, but he's a good player man. He brings a lot of versatility to our secondary. He can play on the outside at our corner, he can go back and play safety, and we also got him playing some nickel," Mathis said (0:01 onwards).
Vickers hopes to have an opportunity to play a key role in the Buffaloes' defense. Last season, he played four games and got one tackle in Oklahoma's 34-3 loss to the Texas Longhorns on Oct. 12, 2024.
His sophomore year was a step backward from his opportunities in the 2023 season. As a freshman, Vickers competed in eight games with eight total tackles (four solo).
He'll try to recover fully before the start of the season so that he can be ready to compete in Colorado's first game.
Colorado Buffaloes cornerback options for the 2025 season
Although Kevin Mathis is excited to have Makari Vickers, the defensive back coach pointed out that the team has other versatile players in the secondary. Another cornerback that Mathis praised in the press conference, posted on X by Nikki Edwards on Thursday, was Preston Hodge.
"He's going to be huge man. I think he's a guy on our football team that actually got another chance. He was actually supposed to be...he exhausted all his years, so I think he's going to come back with a new attitude. He played well for us last year, and I expect from him to play much better than what he did last year because his mindset is different," Mathis said (0:01 onwards).
Colorado also has cornerbacks DJ McKinney, Colton Hood and Isaiah Hardge returning for the 2025 season, which could create competition for playing time when Vickers is available for fall training camp.