Colorado sophomore Chauncey Gooden, a 6-foot-3, 380-pound interior lineman, has become the Buffaloes’ latest two-way player under coach Deion Sanders, splitting time between left guard on offense and the defensive line in goal-line and short-yardage situations.
In Colorado’s season-opening 14-13 comeback win at Georgia Tech, Gooden played 65 offensive snaps and seven on defense. According to research provided by the school, he was the only interior lineman in Division I to play both ways that week. He was named the Outland Trophy national player of the week on Wednesday for his work on the line of scrimmage.
Gooden’s expanded role wasn’t the result of asking for extra playing time. It came after he proved himself at left guard first.
“Coach Prime just gave me the opportunity, like, ‘Chauncey, what can you do on that D-line?'” Gooden said. “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.”
Sanders made clear that players don’t get to volunteer for two-way duty — they have to earn it.
“You’d be a fool to just tell me ‘I want to play both ways’. I should know that coming in,” Sanders said. “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 drew a comparison to former Colorado standout Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who played primarily receiver before earning a shot on defense.
“Once he dominated one side, it was easy to say, ‘OK, now let’s venture off to the other one,'” Sanders said. “He earned his right to get on that other side and do his thing. Chauncey’s earned it.”
Other Colorado players who have played both ways under Sanders include cornerback and receiver Isaiah Hardge and lineman Tyler Brown. Hunter himself averaged roughly 120 snaps per game during his Heisman-winning season, a workload Gooden says he appreciates all the more now that he’s shouldering a similar dual role in the trenches.
“Best player to do that,” Gooden said of Hunter. “The fact that I can do what he did even in the trenches, it’s just remarkable.”
Gooden’s defensive snaps helped hold Georgia Tech to just 51 yards rushing. On offense, Colorado ran the ball 49 times for 183 yards — the most rushing attempts in the Sanders era — under new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s system.
“We can play free and physical,” Gooden said.
Gooden said he built up his stamina during camp to handle the two-way workload, recalling a moment when Sanders promised to cancel extra conditioning if Gooden went all-out in a drill.
“So I go out there, and I pancake two people straight,” Gooden said. “He was trying to get through my head.”
The deal turned out to be a ruse — the team still ran conditioning that day — but Gooden said he holds no grudge.
“We still ended up doing conditioning that day. We had a long conversation about that after practice,” Gooden said. “I trust Coach Prime and what he’s got to do for me.”
Gooden, who saw action in the final four games last season as Colorado finished 3-9, arrived in Boulder after playing at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, where he trained at times with Hall of Fame offensive lineman Kevin Mawae and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer.
Colorado hosts Weber State (1-1) on Saturday afternoon, looking to improve to 2-0.
