Brennan Marion Has Impactful Message For Colorado During Spring Practice

The Colorado Buffaloes have made lots of improvements during spring, but offensive coordinator Brennan Marion has a message for the Buffaloes that they cannot afford to ignore.

Dec 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Legendary football and baseball player and father of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion Sanders on the sidelines prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Colorado coach Deion Sanders and his staff have seen the new additions in action, and so far, it does seem that the Buffaloes could be heading in a great direction for 2026

However, the Colorado Buffaloes as players seem to have potentially lost focus and motivation during spring practice. Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion addressed that lack of focus with a message that the players should not forget. 

Nov 29, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders hugs Colorado Buffaloes place kicker Alejandro Mata (16) during the fourth quarter after an extra point against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Brennan Marion’s Message At Colorado Practice

“We cannot give you a motivational speech every day to come out here at work. It shouldn’t take a guy calling you out, cussing you out, and screaming at you, motivating you to turn up. Get on this team. You do something. Turn it up, urgency. Are you gonna do it? You have to. So let’s step it up, and let’s stop with all the motivational speeches, and let’s come out here and let’s go get it every day,” said Marion via a practice video from Reach The People Media.

Throughout spring, there have been many instances of coaches bringing motivational speeches to get the team ready to go, not only for the spring but also for the fall. However, there could be a negative consequence of that, which is that the speeches are just speeches. 

Marion, just like everyone else in Colorado, Marion wants to be successful. If the Buffaloes do want to be successful, they cannot afford to lack motivation on a day-to-day basis. The teams that cannot motivate themselves to do even the simplest tasks, like spring practice, are teams that typically do not go far and underachieve their expectations. 

This is a wake-up call, so it will be interesting to see how the Buffaloes respond in tomorrow’s practice, as well as the rest of the practices to come and into the fall.

Sep 12, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders reacts after a play during the third quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Importance of Focus and Motivation

Marion comes from a background where he had to earn everything, and at times, he had nothing. He was his own motivation and would do whatever it took to get where he wanted to go. He was able to do that and become a very successful college player and almost had a long career in the NFL before injuries derailed that opportunity.

This is why Marion was so frustrated by the way the Buffaloes handled practice on Tuesday. He knows that with their talent, Colorado could be a great team, but if they lack motivation, the desire to get better will slowly diminish, and team success will become a near impossibility.

On the schematic side, the new offense Marion has installed, called the go-go, is very complex and will require lots of focus from the players, as well as being motivated to want to learn the ins and outs of the offense. The players must take initiative in this scenario otherwise, when the fall arrives, they will be overthinking everything instead of playing fast because they have been diligent in mastering the offense.

FSU linebackers coach Chris Marve at the FSU National Signing Day Party on Feb. 5, 2020. Img 4547 | Wayne McGahee III/Democrat, Tallahassee Democrat via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The same applies to the defense, with new defensive coordinator Chris Marve implementing a new style of defense. Because it is so new, the defensive players must enhance their desire to master the playbook. If they don’t, Colorado’s defense could struggle again in 2026 and be a reason the Buffaloes do not achieve what they hope to achieve.

This is a very important lesson for Colorado to learn, and they should learn it now rather than later. If the Buffaloes can significantly increase their motivation to attack practice every single day, there is no telling what the talent on this roster could accomplish, but an inability to do so makes success very hard to attain, especially at the highest level of college football.

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