In another installment in our off-season "Catching up with" series, we interviewed Sean Tufts, who played linebacker for the Buffaloes from 2000-03. He still works and lives in the Denver area with his wife and son.
You're a Colorado native, born in Aurora, and you played your high school football at Cherry Creek so it makes sense that you wanted to play your college football in Colorado. But your father David played at Colorado State in the 1960s... was there any pressure to follow in his footsteps to play for the Rams instead?
Sean Tufts: "My dad put a lot of pressure on me right up until signing day and then he donned all the black and gold and totally converted."
Even though you missed the majority of your senior season at Cherry Creek due to a torn ACL, you were a decorated high school recruit. Walk us through the recruiting process... what other colleges recruited you and what ultimately led to your decision to be a Buff?
"So the rest of my top five was Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, and Tennessee had an outside shot. You mentioned my ACL, the second game of my senior year I tore my knee and had a visit scheduled to Michigan the next day. I obviously learned a lot about the schools and their attitude towards both me and my injury, and how serious they were. Some tailed off after that. Some doubled down and re-committed, and those were the schools I really, really pursued. It came down to CU and Michigan. The investment at CU was just too great. I had a great position coach in Brian Cabral, and Jon Embree went to my high school, so there was just a family calling to Boulder. That is what I really responded to."
You mentioned Coach Cabral and Coach Embree... which assistant coach was responsible for your recruitment from the Buffs' staff?
"Jon started it really heavily because of his ties to Cherry Creek but as soon as I found out the lay of the land and who my position coach would be, who I'd be working with for 30-50 hours a week, that is who I really wanted to talk to most."
You played as a true freshman at CU in 2000 but only played 116 defensive snaps that season... was that valuable experience or in hindsight do you wish you would have redshirted your first year in Boulder?
"I don't think I would have made any different decisions because I got a lot of valuable experience at that time. My recommendation to kids going through that same decision making process now is, half a year as a 19-year old is much different than a full year as a 22-year old. So I try to always encourage people to get the most of their college career and invest in some of those later years more heavily. Now, you never know what will happen. CU needed me to play and I wanted to play, so it worked out pretty well."
You enjoyed a lot of individual success and team success in 2001... you started 12 games and made CU's Victory Club by grading out with a winning performance in at least eight games... when you look back to the highlights of your football career, from Pop Warner all the way through your professional career, does that season pop in your mind first?
"Yeah, undeniably the best football moment I had was coming off the field in the first quarter of the Nebraska game in 2001 and being up 21-3. I looked at Matt McChesney, shaking and saying, 'Don't jinx this!' For two local guys that had experienced the Colorado-Nebraska rivalry, having watched our team struggle so much with that rivalry, to come out and blow the doors off was truly unrepeatable."
