For Buffs Safety Laguda, Accountability Is Personal
August 23, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — If there was one overriding, overarching characteristic of the Colorado defense a year ago, it was accountability.
Every player on defense, from the seniors who would hear their names in the April NFL Draft to the youngsters just getting their feet wet in college ball, held themselves accountable. They took big plays by the opposing offense personally, and did their best to make sure they did not happen again.
Over the last week, that attitude has started to surface again — and if the Colorado defense is to grow into one that can compete in the Pac-12, it is an attitude that will be integral to the growth process.
"We all have to be accountable, every person on defense," said CU safety Afolabi Laguda. "Big plays don't just happen. The offense is given big plays because of a bust in the secondary, not being in your gap, not being technically sound. That's how big plays are created. So, can you be accountable to your teammates?"
It is a theme that is especially personal to Laguda, voted one of six CU team captains this season after a standout season in 2016. Laguda started all 14 games for CU last year and finished second on the team in tackles with 80, as well as recording six pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception. He had three games with double-digit tackles, including a 12-tackle performance against Arizona.
But the game he remembers most? A 21-17 loss at USC.
"Every day of my life I wish I could go back and replay the USC game for those guys last year," Laguda said. "I gave up a lot of big plays in that game — but all I can do is move on and learn."
But Laguda has also turned that game into a teaching tool.
"I use that game as a platform for the team this year," Laguda said. "I tell our guys, 'Don't be that guy, don't have that feeling that I had for those seniors.' I definitely think guys are starting to get that and I think we're all starting to take it a little personal. It's accountability. I know that it made me step up my game last year and I think it's becoming contagious on this team. You can feel it spreading."
Laguda takes the lesson of accountability very seriously — and he believes it's more than just the CU football team.
"We have to be accountable to our teammates and to our community, because at the end of the day, it says 'Colorado' on our jerseys," he said. "It's not just about winning a game, it's about bringing pride to this state."
Laguda and the rest of his secondary mates have had a solid fall camp under the direction of new secondary coach ShaDon Brown. It is, for the most part, an experienced bunch, but it also includes some youngsters, including redshirt freshman Trey Udoffia, who is penciled in as a starting cornerback.
They have all been tested daily by a Buffs receiving corps that is generally considered to be among the best in the Pac-12.
"I think we've developing that energy, that competitive relationship," Laguda said. "That's what Coach Mac (Mike MacIntyre) coaches, that competitive edge, a winning edge. He talks about that all the time and I definitely think it's something that we're building and we will continue to build."
They will no doubt get a test in the season opener against Colorado State, where they will see veteran quarterback Nick Stevens and wide receiver Michael Gallup, who last year had 76 catches for 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns.
"We'll be ready," Laguda said. "We know we'll see their best and we plan to give our best."
BUFFS NOTES: Head coach Mike MacIntyre confirmed that safety Jaisen Sanchez is out for the season with a shoulder/pectoral injury. Sanchez missed all of last season with a knee injury, and could be a candidate for a sixth-year waiver if it is something he chooses to do down the line. "He was doing really well," MacIntyre said. "He had jumped to another level from where I'd ever seen him. I was really excited about how he was going to be able to help us this year." … MacIntyre also said the staff hasn't made any firm decisions on redshirt possibilities for some of the older players. Injuries and depth, he said, could be a deciding factor in the case of several of the players such as receiver Kabion Ento and running back Donovan Lee.
CSU GAME PLAN: The Buffs will no doubt be paying close attention to Saturday's Colorado State-Oregon State opener, as it will offer CU an opportunity to get a close look at their first opponent. The Buffs open the season Sept. 1 against CSU in Denver.
But they also have plenty of game film from last year, and given that the Rams return plenty of players on both sides of the ball, the Buffs believe they already have a good idea of what the Rams will be doing this season.
"Their offense last year was scoring at will about the last six games of the year, and defensively they got better and better," MacIntyre said. "We have looked at every game, and of course we'll see this next game and see if they've changed anything. Everybody changes a little bit, but as well as their offense was clicking, I don't know how much they will change because they were moving the ball on everybody they played."
LUNCHEON FRIDAY: The 29th Annual Boulder Chamber Colorado Football Kickoff Luncheon is set Friday in Balch Fieldhouse. Doors open at 11:15 a.m. with the program slated to begin at noon. Walk-up seating will be available for $40 per person.
PRACTICE NOTES: The Buffs were in light pads Wednesday for about a two-hour practice. They continued to work on situation drills — end of game plays, clock-specific situations, turnovers, etc. — as well as special teams.
"You repeat it and repeat it," MacIntyre said of some of the situation work. "A lot of them you do 30 times and they never come up in a game until the end of November — or you'll do them 15 times and three of them come up in the first game. You never know, so you keep repeating them, repeating them, repeating them, so they're ready for the situation and they know exactly what we're supposed to do in those situations." … CU's offense continues to pick up speed. Wide receiver Devin Ross had a couple of big catches in team work, including a deep ball from Steven Montez that went the distance. … The defense, however, also had its moments. Cornerback Isaiah Oliver had a terrific pass breakup, leaping high in the air and reaching over a receiver to tip the ball in the air, where it was grabbed by linebacker Jacob Callier for an interception.
MOVING ON UP: Wednesday was the last scheduled day of practice on the lower practice fields. Beginning Thursday, the Buffs will begin working out on Franklin Field, adjacent to the Indoor Practice Facility. Thursday's practice will be an early evening workout, and Friday's will be an afternoon practice (after the kickoff luncheon). The Buffs will take Saturday off, then begin "game week" on Sunday in preparation for the Sept. 1 opener.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Players Mentioned
