BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — The newest two-way player for the Colorado Buffaloes is listed at 380 pounds and enjoys nothing more than throwing that weight around in the trenches.
Sophomore Chauncey Gooden has developed into the interior lineman version of former Colorado receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter. Gooden's primary responsibilities are at left guard and keeping quarterback Julian Lewis well-protected. But in goal-line and short-yardage situations,
the second-year player from Nashville, Tennessee, uses his 6-foot-3 frame to help clog up the middle.
In a season-opening 14-13 comeback win at Georgia Tech, Gooden played 65 offensive snaps and another seven on defense. He was the lone interior lineman in the Division I ranks last week to play both ways, according to research provided from the school.
There was no real lobbying for the assignment, either. It was just showing coach Deion Sanders that he could excel at an elite level on the offensive line. Once he did that, more responsibility was heaped onto his plate.
“Coach Prime just gave me the opportunity, like, ‘Chauncey, what can you do on that D-line?’” said Gooden, who was named the Outland Trophy national player of the week on Wednesday for his work on the line of scrimmage. “I was like, ‘Coach, I can go over here and show you now.’ So I went over there. I was just causing havoc and being myself and things like that. Next thing you know, he just trusted me to throw me in there.”
Memo to any other Buffaloes who want to play both ways: No need to mention it to Sanders.
“You’d be a fool to just tell me ‘I want to play both ways’. I should know that coming in,” said Sanders, whose team hosts Weber State (1-1) on Saturday afternoon with a chance to improve to 2-0. “When I recruited you, I should have known that’s part of it. You can’t just approach me and say, ‘I want play both ways.’ Then I’m going to say, ‘I want to see you play one way really good. Let’s do that first.’ That’s mainly the criteria.”
Sanders pointed out that even Hunter had to prove himself. He was primarily a receiver during his first spring in Boulder before getting the chance to shine on defense.
“Once he dominated one side, it was easy to say, ‘OK, now let’s venture off to the other one,’” Sanders explained. “He earned his right to get on that other side and do his thing. Chauncey’s earned it.”
Other players to play both ways at Colorado under Sanders include cornerback and receiver Isaiah Hardge and lineman Tyler Brown.
Gooden considers it an honor to even draw the smallest comparison to Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner now in his second season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hunter averaged roughly 120 snaps per game that season, which makes Gooden appreciate the feat even more.
“Best player to do that,” Gooden said. “The fact that I can do what he did even in the trenches, it’s just remarkable.”
Gooden played a part in helping a defensive front limit Georgia Tech to 51 yards rushing. On the offensive side, the Buffaloes ran it 49 times — the most in the Sanders era at Colorado — for 183 yards. The “Go-Go” offense, installed by new coordinator Brennan Marion, is certainly a hit with the offensive linemen.
“We can play free and physical," Gooden said.
Gooden improved his stamina in preparation for playing both ways. He recalled an exchange with Sanders during camp, when the coach told his guard that if he went all-out at a certain portion of practice, extra conditioning would be canceled.
“So I go out there, and I pancake two people straight,” Gooden said of knocking his defensive teammates to the turf. “He was trying to get through my head.”
The ploy worked — even if it turned out to be a ruse.
“We still ended up doing conditioning that day. We had a long conversation about that after practice,” cracked Gooden, who saw action in the final four games last season as the team finished 3-9. “I trust Coach Prime and what he's got to do for me.”
Gooden arrived at Colorado after playing at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, where he worked at times with NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman Kevin Mawae and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer.
It fostered discipline, which serves him well in Boulder.
“Coach Prime told me to just be me out there on that field. Be that dawg,” Gooden said. "He just brings me the confidence to be able to go out there and get the job done.”
___
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here
