It's no secret that Deion Sanders came from Jackson State to Colorado with a few of "his guys."
Sons Shedeur and Shilo joined him in Boulder and so too did the best player in college football: Travis Hunter .
An undersized defensive back — who plays much bigger and hits much harder than his listed measurables suggest — also followed Deion Sanders to Colorado. That would be Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig, the heart and soul of the Buffaloes ' much-improved defense.
"I've been seeing this consistently since he was a junior in high school," Deion Sanders said of Silmon-Craig after Colorado's 38-31 overtime win vs. Baylor . "Cam has played for us for a long time so I've seen his progress and I've seen who he is.
"I just told a scout, he's asking me about unsung heroes, I said 'Cam's the kind of kid if you allow him, if you draft him, he's not going to get cut. He's not going to allow you to cut him. He's going to play special teams, he's going to do this, he's going to do that and he's going to consistently show up on film.'"
Sanders is right. All Silmon-Craig did in Week 4 vs. Baylor was consistently show up on film.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound safety had five tackles on the Bears ' first seven offensive plays of the game. He finished the game with 13 total tackles (10 solo) and a quarterback hit.
"Thirteen darn tackles from the safety position? He has a nose for the ball and he practices like he plays," Deion Sanders said of Silmon-Craig. "I'm proud of him tremendously."
Silmon-Craig's biggest play of the night has largely gone unnoticed.
On the second-to-last snap of overtime, Silmon-Craig tackled Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson in a 1-on-1 situation at the two-yard line after a 13-yard gain. On the next play, Hunter forced a fumble at the goal line to clinch the Buffs' thrilling win.
Silmon-Craig has been making game-changing plays at the college level since he was a Jackson State Tiger.
"No, this is something I've been doing for a minute," Silmon-Craig said Tuesday when asked if this is the best football he's ever played. "I was an All-American, too, at one point. I was an All-American coming here so this is nothing new to me.
"Like 'Coach Prime' said the other day, I've been consistently being who I am. That's what I've been doing."
It's not hard to see why Deion Sanders wanted Silmon-Craig to join him at Colorado.
The Birmingham, Alabama native played in 25 career games at Jackson State, racking up 111 total tackles (10 for loss), five interceptions, 11 pass breakups, four sacks and a forced fumble. He was named first-team All-SWAC and an HBCU All-American for his final season with the Tigers in 2022.
Silmon-Craig transferred to Colorado and immediately became a fixture of the Buffs' secondary last season.
He played in all 12 games (10 starts) and tied Hunter for the team lead in interceptions (three). Former USC quarterback Caleb Williams (No. 1 overall pick in 2024 NFL Draft) threw his first interception of the 2023 season to Silmon-Craig.
Through four games of the 2024 campaign, Silmon-Craig leads Colorado in total tackles (30) and solo tackles (25) despite missing the majority of the season opener after getting injured in the first quarter. His presence in the run game is a big reason why the Buffs' defense is in much better shape than it was a year ago.
Colorado ranked 122nd among FBS teams in run defense grade last season, according to Pro Football Focus. The Buffs now rank 15th in FBS after four weeks.
That improvement can be partially credited to a talent who's used to being the smallest player on the field.
"Growing up, I always played a pound up in little league so I was always the smallest but I played middle linebacker," Silmon-Craig said. "So I kind of figured out how to maneuver my way through the box and just play to my advantages. I've just always been in the box as a smaller guy."
Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter on X .
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Why Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig is the 'unsung hero' of the Colorado football defense
Local News
Comments / 0