Given his background with the Go-Go offense, JaQuail Smith has been a voice of clarity in Colorado’s highly competitive running backs room.
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Smith and fellow running back Damian Henderson II both transferred to CU this year from Sacramento State, where they became well-versed in the Go-Go attack new Buffaloes offensive coordinator Brennan Marion has brought to Boulder.
As Marion and his two running back devotees make the transition to the power conference level at Colorado — Sacramento State was an FCS-level program that’s transitioning to FBS this year — Smith was asked if any wrinkles have been added to the attack, or if he’s essentially running the same offense he ran last year with the Hornets.
“Stay tuned,” Smith said.
Buffs fans will have to wait two more weeks to get their answer, as the Sept. 3 season opener at Georgia Tech inches closer.
The run game has struggled to gain traction throughout head coach Deion Sanders’ previous three seasons at CU, but Marion’s ground-based attack should change that. For instance, Henderson rushed for 565 yards for Sacramento State last year, while Smith added another 511 in just eight games. Those numbers ranked second and third, respectively, for the Hornets, but they would’ve led the 2025 Buffs by a significant margin.
Smith recorded four 100-yard games last year in his eight appearances, and he was part of a performance against Weber State — CU’s opponent in the home opener Sept. 12 — that saw Sacramento State produce three 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time in team history.
Given that combination of volume and efficiency, Smith said all that was needed for him to follow Marion to Colorado was to be asked.
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“I knew I was coming. There was nothing to talk about,” Smith said. “I knew I wanted to be here with him. It was a quick phone call. Coach Marion is a fun guy. Me being from Florida and going to Cali, I had to lean on him. He just made me a better football player and a better person overall.”
While Smith and Henderson bring Go-Go experience to the competition being overseen by first-year running backs coach Johnnie Mack, the crowded battle for playing time includes backs with an array of skills and strengths.
Richard Young was productive in limited chances during three seasons at Alabama and has recovered from an injury that limited him over the summer. Micah Welch was the Buffs’ leading rusher last year. DeKalon Taylor is a scat-back who’s a solid receiver out of the backfield.
Someone will get the start against Georgia Tech. But given CU’s depth at the position, and the array of formations and matchup mismatches the Go-Go offense looks to exploit, the Buffs likely will utilize multiple backs out of the gate.
Unless, of course, someone gets hot.
“Still competition right now,” said Mack, who joined CU more than a year ago as an analyst before getting promoted. “I know it’s two weeks away, but we don’t have a starter yet. I’m making these guys continue to compete ’til the end. Once we get to game week, it’ll really start to narrow down a little bit more. This week is still, to me, open competition, to give these guys another week to kind of compete more.
“We do a multitude of personnels. So we’ll have a multitude of guys to be able to play for us. But at the end of the day, once a guy gets hot, I’m gonna roll with the hot guy.”
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