Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders may have another two-way star on his hands, and his biggest one yet. Not in the sense of popularity or social media followers, but in sheer size on the gridiron.
During Colorado’s 14-13 victory over Georgia Tech, it was hard not to notice No. 51 in Black and Gold playing on both the offensive and defensive line. Although there were many standouts across the team, none set the tone better than Chauncey Gooden.
“Chauncey is an unbelievable athlete. Chauncey is a dog out there, man,” Sanders said. “When you see some of his cutups from the game and what he did offensively to them. You'll understand why I allowed him to play defense.”
At 6-foot-3 and 380 pounds, Gooden is entering his second year in Sanders’ program and first as a starter. He’s primarily played offensive guard until he surprised everyone by making his defensive debut.
It wasn’t just for one series or in a package, but as a consistent rotator.
All camp, coaches and film told the story that Gooden would be CU’s most violent player, but he needed to showcase it on game day when it really matters. With a D-line unit that was short on depth, Sanders felt confident with Gooden’s performance.
“That was our deal. You're not going to play defense unless you're whooping the guy in front of you on offense, and he was,” Sanders said. “And when he got in there on defense, he did his job.”
During Thursday’s game, the Buffs rushed for 183 yards on 49 carries against the Yellow Jackets defense. That was good for the second-highest rushing total in the Coach Prime era. Defensively, they limited GT to 51 yards rushing on 30 carries.
That was a drastic change from the 320 rushing yards given up to the same opponent a year ago. While it's very early in the season for CU, having a player committed to helping the team in any way possible speaks volumes about the program's culture shift.
No doubt the physicality in the trenches led to Colorado’s first road victory since 2024.
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