Mikial Onu came to Colorado this season as a graduate transfer from SMU, with 36 games of experience under his belt and the hope that he could immediately boost a paper-thin Buffaloes secondary.
That hope was affirmed in Friday night’s Rocky Mountain Showdown at Mile High Stadium, where Onu had a pair of momentum-shifting interceptions off Colorado State quarterback Collin Hill in the Buffs’ 52-31 shootout victory.
“He’s got experience, he’s played in big games, and he’s a steadying force and presence in our secondary,” Buffs coach Mel Tucker said. “Obviously, you can see why we made it a point to bring him here. He’s a good player and we got good production from him tonight.”
Onu’s play was the highlight of a secondary that, as one of the team’s biggest question marks coming to the season, got otherwise torched by Hill for 348 yards and three touchdowns in the highest-scoring Showdown in the rivalry’s 91 years.
The safety’s first interception snuffed out Colorado State’s second drive, as Hill and the Rams were pressing to take a touchdown lead. Onu tracked down Hill’s slightly overthrown pass to Warren Jackson in the corner of the end zone, barely keeping his foot in bounds to complete the pick and touchback. The Buffs got a field goal on the ensuing drive.
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“I had a really good view of the ball the whole play,” Onu said. “My only concern was staying in bounds because I knew I had a chance to grab it. It was a huge stop for us after they drove down the field, so I was happy to make the play.”
In the second half, as it appeared Hill might have the air-raid capacity to answer the Buffs’ offense strike-for-strike, Onu quelled the Rams’ roll once again. This time, it was a Hill pass intended for Jackson that Delrick Abrams Jr. initially broke up and tipped before Onu snagged it along the sideline, again dragging his foot to complete the turnover.
“(Abrams Jr.) made a great play on the ball, and I was able to capitalize on it,” Onu said.
The Sugarland, Texas, native finished with four tackles, including three solo. Onu also showed leadership on a unit that lost two starters and a couple reserves to graduation last year, not to mention having projected starter Hasaan Hypolite dismissed from the team in the spring.
Onu was also the first Buffs player to don the team’s turnover boxing robe. New this season, Onu debuted the white robe, trimmed in black with a gold belt and the slogan “gimmie 2 claps” across the back in all caps.
“That robe looks good, so as soon as I got the interception, I was looking for the robe and trying to get some nice pictures with it,” Onu said. “It’s definitely one of those things that’s fun to celebrate.”
