"I'm impressed with Travis & Bentley": CSU's Jay Norvell gives his assessment of Deion Sanders' Colorado ahead of Week 3 game
Colorado State Rams coach Jay Norvell and Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders had bad blood between them in the lead-up to last year's Rocky Mountain Showdown, which the Buffs won 43-35. However, this time around, the case seems to be different.
In a recent press conference, Norvell talked about the upcoming game against Sanders' unit. The coach praised two of Colorado's receivers making up for a good challenge this Saturday:
"I'm very impressed with Travis Hunter and was impressed with him last year, but he’s a really dynamic player, playing at a high level," Norvell said. "And I’m also really impressed with number 20, their inside linebacker, LaVonte Bentley. I think he’s a fabulous player."
Jay Norvell sings praise of Colorado's new offensive coordinator
Norvell also seemed to be impressed by Colorado's offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur, who was promoted to Sanders' coaching staff this year. Last year he served as an analyst and co-offensive coordinator:
"And, you know, they have a new coordinator. Pat Shurmur is a very experienced coordinator," Norvell added. "I’ve known Pat a long time, and he’s got a very diverse scheme that we have to be prepared for."
Shurmur brings a lot of experience to the team with himself. Before coming to Colorado, he was the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. He had brief stints as head coach for NFL and college teams, with his overall record being 19-46.
Jay Norvell also talked about the Buffaloes' offensive strategy, which heavily revolves around their quarterback, Shedeur Sanders. He also praised their wide receivers, including Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr. and LaJohntay Wester:
"As far as CU is concerned, they’re very similar to last year in the personality and strength of their team," Norvell said. "Everything starts with their offense and their quarterback, and they are very capable of being explosive. They have a lot of speed at wide receiver with Hunter, Horn and Wester.
"They mostly attack through the air, and everything runs through their quarterback, Sanders. So we’re going to have to do a good job of containing that. They can be explosive, and when they make big plays, they’re very hard to slow down," he added.
Both Colorado and Colorado State are coming into Week 3 with a 1-1 record. The matchup will be held at Fort Collins on Saturday. The Colorado Buffaloes have had a six-game winning streak since 2015 in the Rocky Mountain Showdown. The overall record in this matchup is also led by CU, 68–22–2.