The Most Pivotal Player on the Colorado Buffaloes Defense

Heading into the 2026 season, the Colorado Buffaloes are hoping to see significant improvement as a team, but specifically on the defensive side of the ball.

With the defense needing a significant improvement, coach Deion Sanders and the rest of the coaching staff opted to make several changes on defense, with one player on the defensive line being crucial for Colorado’s success next season.

Defensive Tackle Santana Hopper

Without question, one of the more important players for the Buffaloes is defensive tackle Santana Hopper, who transfers from Tulane and may have a significant amount of pressure on his shoulders.

In 2025, Colorado struggled to stop opposing rush attacks as well as put pressure on the quarterback in the pass game.

Last season, the Buffaloes allowed 222.5 rush yards per game, which ranked 135th in the nation. The inability to stop the run constantly put Colorado in tough situations and made it very difficult to get off the field.

In the pass game, the Buffaloes also could not get enough pressure on the quarterback, as they recorded 13 sacks, which was 129th in the country. With the lack of pressure that Colorado generated, it constantly put more pressure on the secondary to hold up for longer, which is something that the Buffaloes cannot afford to let happen again.

With the addition of Hopper, Colorado gets a player who can be productive and disruptive as a run defender but also as a pass rusher. In his 2025 campaign with Tulane, Hopper recorded 31 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery.

Throughout the 2025 season, Hopper was able to constantly be disruptive in both aspects of the game and should be able to help Colorado in a similar way next season. Standing at 6-2 and 265 pounds, Hopper can contribute at defensive tackle but could also provide value as a versatile piece on the edge and in some cases could potentially line up at nose tackle to use his speed and explosiveness against opposing centers.

Regardless of how Colorado decides to use Hopper, based on the struggles they had up front in 2025, the pressure on him to perform may be high, but with what he has shown, Hopper has the talent, size, and ability to be productive and become one of the best players for Colorado on defense.

Run Game Disruption

With the struggles that Colorado had stopping the run, generating negative plays against opposing offenses could be something that helps the Buffaloes to be much better.

In 2025, Colorado recorded 60 tackles for loss, which ranked 102nd in the country. Last season, the Buffaloes just didn’t have enough playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, which made it very difficult to stop opposing ground attacks.

On the other hand, Tulane was able to record 85 tackles for loss, which ranked 22nd in the country, with the help of players like Hopper. With the explosiveness that Hopper has, it created a lot of problems for opposing offensive lines, and even when he didn’t make the play, the extra attention that he got allowed his teammates to make the play.

As Hopper heads into his first season with Colorado, being able to generate these negative plays will be crucial to help the Buffaloes stop the run, but also help the Colorado secondary and pass rush to be in a much better position to succeed in the first year under new defensive coordinator Chris Marve.

Great Defensive Tackle Duo

In addition to Hopper, Colorado was able to add Ezra Christensen, Dylan Manuel, Tyler Moore, and Sedrick Smith in the transfer portal to strengthen the defensive tackle room. As one of the more noteworthy transfers, Hopper must continue to perform and give the rest of the room opportunities to make plays with the attention that he requires.

Christensen also has shown the ability to be a very disruptive player on the interior of the defensive line after a solid season with New Mexico State. In his 2025 season with New Mexico State, Christensen totaled 42 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, two pass deflections, and one forced fumble. The only question with Christensen is his eligibility, which is still in question, but if he can play next season, Christensen could be very disruptive as well.

With Marve now leading the defense, his emphasis on physcilaity, violence, and versatility could be a perfect fit for the duo of Hopper and Christensen to find similar success to their past stops.

As the Buffaloes head into the 2026 season, the duo of Hopper and Christesen could be one of the disruptive defensive tackle duos in the Big 12, but also one of the more disruptive duos in the country.

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