Colorado Buffaloes Kicker Josh McCormick Reveals Impactful Message

With a fresh slate heading into 2026, the Colorado Buffaloes have a lot of work to do to be successful. However, for Colorado coach Deion Sanders and the entire program, football means much more than just being a great player.

Sep 7, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Colorado Buffaloes place kicker Alejandro Mata (16) kicks a PAT against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Josh McCormick isn’t here to be an exception. He’s here to change the expectation.⁰

At Colorado, he’s poured into by coaches who understand pressure, representation, and resilience. They’re not just developing a kicker, they’re equipping a leader.

That’s #BHM in Boulder. 🦬… pic.twitter.com/ye2ZjBGtnn
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) February 28, 2026

Kicker Josh McCormick

During the transfer portal, the Buffaloes brought in a new kicker in Grambling transfer Josh McCormick. This was done after former Buffs kicker Alejandro Mata finished his college career in Colorado.

McCormick has been through several schools during his career, but finally got his shot in 2025. Last season, he went 6-10 on field goals and 7-8 on extra points. Which, with that being his first collegiate experience, is solid and definitely has room for growth.

“My goals for the season are really just to trust my training to trust my process. Not get caught up in the critics, not get caught up in the stuff that doesn’t matter, and then I’ll be able to perform the way I want to," said McCormick.

For McCormick, as a kicker, that is really important to have a mindset like that because so much of football is a mental game. In the kicking game, everyone has eyes on the kicker because that is their one job, and any mistake that is made is potentially one that could cost the team a whole game.

With this mindset, it gives McCormick the opportunity to focus on himself and the coaching he is receiving in order to focus on what truly matters. Which is doing his job and being a good teammate.

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A Bigger Purpose For Josh McCormick

“My family has shown me how to excel. And I am blessed to have that opportunity and that leg up, so I see how hard they work. I feel honored that I have the opportunity for people who are black and would like to kick. I am playing for a bigger purpose other than myself. I think the black kicker thing is cool, but at the end of the day, I’ve been the first black kicker at every school I’ve been at. But this is not something new to me; I just want this to be something that’s normalized. So that other black kids can just be a kid kicking, they won’t have to be the black kicker," added McCormick.

In the new age of college football with NIL and the transfer portal, McCormick’s stated mission is something that could create more opportunities in college football for all. He is paving the way for opportunities that kids might not have visualized themselves doing until now. This is one of those moments on the field in 2026 that can mean a lot more than stats could measure.

Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders on the sidelines in the second quarter against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

McCormick will continue working and grinding to be successful on the field, setting an example as he fights for positioning on Colorado's depth chart.