Colorado Coach Andre’ Hart Hints at Buffaloes' Offensive Game Plan Ahead of Georgia Tech

Colorado Buffaloes assistant linebackers coach Andre’ Hart says Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense turned fall camp into a chess match. Georgia Tech gets the first live look at it.

Deion Sanders enters his fourth season at Colorado with Brennan Marion running the Buffaloes’ new Go-Go offense. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Smart, tough, fast, discipline with character. Colorado coach Deion Sanders has leaned on this set of standards since he arrived in Boulder. This fall, Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense has tested every part of it from the inside.

Georgia Tech gets its turn against the Go-Go on Thursday, Sept. 3, but Colorado’s defense has had months of preparation against it from the other side. The shifts, unusual backfield pictures and quarterback run threat have turned practice into a daily puzzle, giving The Buffs an inbuilt test for Georgia Tech’s movement-heavy run game.

Brennan Marion brought his Go-Go offense to Colorado after leaving Sacramento State in December. | Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Marion brought his Go-Go offense to Boulder from Sacramento State in December. Assistant linebackers coach Andre’ Hart, who has worked alongside Sanders for nearly two decades, was asked Tuesday what that daily matchup really feels like.

“Oh, it’s awesome, man. It’s awesome, because you look at film and seeing, I mean, you know, I don’t wanna give anything away, but you seeing some really funky looks and how they’re getting people in positions for mixed matches. And you get the taste of that. So we’re learning. And it’s going to be kind of similar to where Georgia Tech does in a sense of how they move around,” Hart said.

The benefit has developed over time. Hart said that seeing those looks through the spring, summer, and now fall has made Colorado a better team, while giving the staff more to communicate and teach from.

“It's been really good stuff to communicate and talk about and teach off them,“ he continued.

Chris Marve’s defense has spent fall camp working against Marion’s movement-heavy Go-Go offense. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Marion Wrote the Book On It

Marion wrote it for real. The Go-Go playbook is available online, and it runs 68 pages, carries an introduction from longtime coach Gus Malhazan, and starts with a simple picture (a quarterback in the shotgun, two running backs side by side, then misdirection built around a run-first plan). Marion has compared it to basketball on grass. Some Buffs players just call it backyard football.

The appeal goes beyond the funky looks. Colorado has not produced a 100-yard rusher since Alex Fontenot went for 108 at USC on Nov. 11, 2022, so Marion also arrived with a run-game problem to fix.

The timing makes these reps useful right away. Georgia Tech ran for 320 yards on 47 carries in a 27-20 win at Folson Field last season, and Brent Key still wants his offense on the ground. Colorado has used the offseason to practice defending shifts, movement and a quarterback who counts in the run math.

The Two Staffs Keep Score

The chess match does not end when practice does. Defensive coordinator Chris Marve’s coaching staff and Marion’s offensive coaches compete all week, then trade ideas once the whistle goes quiet.

“We don’t let them know that, but then we kind of get on them and me, Marve and them, we’ll go back to the coaching room: ‘That was good. We need to run that more. We gotta figure that out.’ Something on defense, though, sometimes we’ll mess up execution of a blitz or a pressure, and it hits home, like, We’re gonna put that in. That may work pretty good,” Hart said. 

“So you have fun with that, man. That’s just the creativity of learning and being with these coaches, man. It’s a great group of coaches.”

Julian Lewis is projected to run Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense in Colorado’s opener at Georgia Tech. | Julian Lewis/CU Buffs

Redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Lewis is projected to run Marion’s offense in Atlanta, while Georgia Tech counters with Indiana transfer quarterback Alberto Mendoza, who has never started a college game either. Both quarterbacks arrive with little starting experience, putting even more weight on how well each system travels from camp to game day.

Sanders, meanwhile, has already made his confidence in Marion crystal clear.

“Coach Marion, he’s unbelievable,” Sanders said. “I was going to say genius. I don’t want to call anybody a genius because you’re going to hold them accountable to that. But he’s unbelievable at getting guys the ball in the manner they’re accustomed to getting it.”

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