Jeremiah Brown Highlights Colorado Buffaloes Freshman Who Could Star Next Season

BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes' linebacker room will again see considerable turnover this upcoming offseason with Reginald Hughes, Shaun Myers, Martavius French and Jeremiah Brown all navigating the final month of their respective college careers.

Fortunately for the Buffs, current true freshman Mantrez Walker appears poised to step up next season after getting his feet wet on special teams this fall. Brown, who has arguably been Colorado's best linebacker this season, shared some intriguing words on Walker while speaking to the media on Wednesday.

"He's gonna be a guy next year," Brown said. "Very smart, physical linebacker. The instincts he came with, he's very mature for his age. You don't see him on no lists. He don't miss meetings. He's always early for everything. He's early in the morning. He kind of do the routine I do, coming in and stretching and everything. I think he's gonna be on pace for a good season next year."

Mantrez Walker On Promising Trajectory

Jeremiah Brown Highlights Colorado Buffaloes Freshman Next Season Mantrez Walker Linebacker Football Deion Sanders Recruiting — Nov 8, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders walks along the sidelines late in the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

As Brown said, Walker is doing everything coach Deion Sanders would like to see from a freshman. It hasn't resulted in playing time outside of special teams yet, but Walker has a path to start at linebacker next season, depending on Colorado's transfer portal haul.

Walker has already played in the maximum number of games to maintain a redshirt (four), meaning he likely won't see the field against either Arizona State or Kansas State these next two weeks. This spring will be critical for Walker to prove he's ready for a greater role.

This past spring, Colorado linebackers coach Andre' Hart agreed with Brown when he noted that Walker had so far met early expectations.

"I think the speed of the game is the thing that they (freshmen) got to get used to," Hart said of Walker. "He is in a new system, so you want to develop him and keep him going forward and then get him with those guys who have been here so you can have a room of leaders lead him. If I got to keep coaching him, I think that is a problem. He has to be infectious with the team, and he is doing that so far."

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Colorado's 2026 Outlook At Inside Linebacker

Walker and former TCU transfer Kylan Salter are Colorado's only two scholarship inside linebackers set to return for the 2026 season, although the latter may consider leaving Boulder along with his older brother, quarterback Kaidon Salter. Walk-ons Bo LaPenna and Gage Goldberg are also in the room and likely to return.

While class of 2026 commits Colby Johnson, Rodney Colton Jr. and four-star Carson Crawford are all intriguing talents, linebacker should remain a priority position for "Coach Prime" when he attacks the transfer portal this offseason.