Colorado receiving room pushes each other amid team struggles
Brotherhood comes in many forms. For the Colorado Buffaloes, it comes from their receiving room.
After a tough 23-13 loss to the Baylor Bears, in which Colorado's receivers brought in 280 yards, that group is becoming tighter than ever.
Chief among them was third-year Joseph Williams, who caught 11 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, along with a 49-yard pass to Quanell Farrakhan Jr. in a breakout game. Farrakhan added 117 receiving yards of his own.
“Quanell is almost like a little brother to me,” Joseph Williams said in a press conference Tuesday. “I kind of took him under my wing this year as I was following DeAndre [Moore].”
Moore is among the 42 players who came in through the transfer portal. Coming out of Texas, Moore was one of the highest-touted recruits. He didn’t record any stats during the game Saturday due to an injury he suffered in the second quarter that required him to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the match.
“[My teammates] came up to me after I came too,” Moore recounted. “They were like, ‘Dude, you scared us.’ And I got to see real emotion from some of my teammates who don't necessarily show emotion. Like real tears, some real vulnerable moments.”
It was a scary moment for the Buffaloes, losing one of their top weapons, but also for Moore, who lay on the turf for several minutes.
“I think that was an unfortunate circumstance, but it was a really cool turning point in where we are in this brotherhood,” Moore said.
Moore also mentioned how important his relationship with Williams is.
“[Joseph] has made me proud, to say the least,” Moore said. “He's rallying the guys, the way that he's vocal out there.”
Williams dished it right back at Moore.
“[DeAndre has] been a great part of how successful I've been so far,” Williams said. “He’s pushed me every day, not only in practice, but in games.”
As Colorado turns its back to their quarterback carousel, the receiving unit has continued to rely on each other to uplift the team.
“With a quarterback change... you got to just tell him you're there for him,” Williams said. “Just keep telling him, no matter what, I got you.”
“Whether that be [Julian Lewis], [Isaac Wilson] or [Kaneal Sweetwyne], we've all been getting those reps, those throws, those certain little timing things,” Moore said. “If any quarterback needs to go in, we're good to go.”
Colorado fell to 2-2 after the loss last week, and has a tough upcoming schedule of No. 12 Texas Tech on Saturday and No. 13 Utah at home next week, which flanks their bye week before heading on the road to face No. 19 Oklahoma State.
Each position group has made it a point to stick together and not let the losses split them apart. It may be that much easier for the Buffs’ receiving core.
“Regardless [of] what jersey you got on, regardless [of] who's out there, we feel like we could play with whoever,” Williams said. “I'm dominating whoever's going to be out there in front of me.”
The Buffs have a middle-of-the-pack passing yards-per-game mark in the Big 12, but with the ability to push each other and with their brotherhood, they’ll look to help salvage the rest of the Colorado Buffaloes’ season.
“This receiver group has taken tremendous strides as far as um accountability, leadership, and relationship-wise,” Moore said. “It’s a really tight-knit group.”
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