Previewing Colorado football’s 2022 defense

Throughout July, we broke down the defense position by position to highlight how things stand heading into fall camp. Here are those breakdowns:

Defensive End

Defensive Tackle

Outside Linebacker

Middle Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

Colorado’s defense can be the strength of this team. The defense should feature six returning starters and the other positions are stocked with talent that got a lot of playing time last year. With a new scheme to match the positional groups the Buffs are most strong at, a lot of games are going to be tight as Colorado holds opponents down.

Let’s wrap up our defensive outlook for the 2022 season:

Position group most needed for success: Defensive line

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The Buffaloes have a lot of talent, size and experience along their defensive line, at both the ends and tackles spots. Jalen Sami, Na’im Rodman, Guy Thomas and Terrance Lang are all upperclassmen that have logged more than a few snaps in their careers at CU. All will be needed to bring this experience to the Buffs’ new defensive scheme. The defensive line has to be the dominant force they look to be on paper. If the line can hold its ground and eat space along the point of attack, linebackers will have room to roam and the young backfield will not be under constant assault from a quarterback who has a clean pocket.

Position I’m most excited about: The front seven

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I’m cheating here a bit by lumping the defensive line and linebackers together, but the players along the front seven have me dreaming of an impactful defense. The DL has a good mix of run-stuffing tackles, along with a group of rush ends that will come at opposing offenses in waves. Two players I am really excited to see hit the field together are Alvin Williams and Devin Grant. Both received playing time late last year and have put together solid springs that have the coaches singing their…