During the offseason, when Demouy Kennedy’s name came up, Colorado linebackers coach Andre Hart and defensive coordinator Charles Kelly would light up.
They were excited about the potential of the Alabama transfer because of his size and speed at linebacker.
At the mid-point of the season, however, Kennedy has barely played. That could change when the Buffaloes (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) host Stanford (1-4, 0-3) at Folsom Field on Friday (8:20 p.m., ESPN).
“At practice this week, he’s been starting,” Hart said Wednesday. “So he should be getting in this week, as long as he keeps continuing to progress like he has been.”
It remains to be seen if Kennedy, who has played just 10 defensive snaps all season, will actually start or not, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if a new face was in the lineup.
One of the intriguing stories of CU’s first half has been the rotation at linebacker, as Hart continues to try to find the right guys to play in the middle of the Buffs’ defense.
“I like to keep them up at night. I don’t want them sleeping easy. I don’t want them thinking they’ve got it made because life is not like that,” Hart said. “So we build competition every single week, every single day. And it could be a new starter in there and you get your opportunity to play.”
Hart also said, however, that he doesn’t just make changes to make changes.
“I don’t really believe in changing people if things are going smooth,” he said. “I don’t go get my oil changed if I don’t need an oil change.”
Translation: It hasn’t always been smooth for the Buffs at linebacker.
Other spots on the CU roster — particularly cornerback and safety — have had rotation because of injuries, but the linebackers have had rotation to find a spark.
LaVonta Bentley started the season opener, but then came off the bench for four games. Last Saturday at Arizona State, he was back in the starting lineup, recording a season-high 11 tackles.
Prior to the ASU game, Juwan Mitchell started four straight games, averaging 54.3 snaps and 7.8 tackles. He went into last week as CU’s leading tackler for the season, but then didn’t play a single snap against Arizona State. Hart said he expects Mitchell to get playing time this week.
“Yeah, he was ready to go (at ASU),” Hart said. “It was a coaches decision not to play him.”
The decision, instead, was to start Florida State transfer Brendan Gant. After coming off an injury at FSU, Gant had played some on special teams, but only three total defensive snaps before getting the start at ASU.
Starting Bentley and Gant meant moving Mitchell and Marvin Ham — another four-game starter — to the bench. Ham came into the game in the second half after Gant was banged up.
Along the way, Jeremiah Brown also got a spot start at Oregon, but has played just 19 defensive snaps in the other five games.
“I think the best thing was that those guys didn’t see it as a slap in the face,” Hart said of the changes at ASU. “They actually came around, they were talking to each other, talking about the game plan, making sure we were still sharp, whoever was on the field. Thatap what I love the most about the chemistry between the guys, understanding that, ‘Hey, next week could be your week. Next day could be your day.’ So don’t get down because you’re not playing.”
Kennedy could be the next guy to get his shot to start. He suffered a season-ending knee injury on Oct. 1, 2022, at Alabama and has eased his way in with the Buffs. He’s played every game on special teams, but Hart said, “Now he’s up to full speed, he’s running. He’s been on special teams, starting on those aspects and doing very well and now we think itap time to give him a shot to play in the actual game (on defense).
“I can’t wait to see that, man, because when these teams get in different packages, like empty, he’s a guy you can put on a slot or outside receiver and he can cover them just fine, just like he’s a safety or a DB and now we don’t have to change packages. And I think thatap going to cause offenses problems.”
