First, there had to be domination.
Then, just maybe, Chauncey Gooden would have a chance to step over to the other side of the ball.
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After biding his time last season, Gooden emerged as one of the unsung heroes of Colorado’s last-minute victory in last week’s opener at Georgia Tech. And by leading the Buffaloes’ impressive effort along the offensive line, Gooden also took a few shots along a defensive front that was named the Big 12’s best for Week 1.
“That’s all I wanted to do,” Gooden said. “Anything to help my team win at the end of the day.”
The Buffs did just that, topping the Yellow Jackets 14-13 in Atlanta, with Gooden playing a role on both sides of the ball. Through two weeks of the college football season, Gooden is the only player who has logged time on both sides of the ball as a lineman.
Offensively, Gooden started at left guard as the Buffs put together one of their best rushing efforts in years, finishing with 183 rushing yards on 49 attempts. The 183 yards marked the third-highest for the Buffs in 38 games under head coach Deion Sanders, and CU’s top four running backs — Damian Henderson II, Micah Welch, JaQuail Smith and DeKalon Taylor — averaged an impressive 4.8 yards per attempt.
Gooden played just eight snaps on defense and wasn’t credited with any tackles, but he was part of a unit that helped limit Georgia Tech to just 51 rushing yards on 30 attempts. Tech running back Justice Haynes managed just 38 yards on his final 15 carries, an average of just 2.5 per attempt.
After playing just 18 snaps over the final four games during his first season at CU last year, the offseason plan wasn’t necessarily to pencil in Gooden along both sides of the line. Gooden probably won’t soon be confused with Travis Hunter, who plied his two-way skills all the way to the Heisman Trophy for the Buffs in 2024, but Sanders said Gooden earned the opportunity.
“You can’t just approach me and say, ‘I want to play both ways,’” Sanders said. “I’m gonna say, ‘Let’s see you play one way first.’ Let’s do that first. That’s mainly the criteria. Even when Travis was coming to Jackson (State), I had to tell him once, you’ve got to dominate one side. Once he dominated one side, then it was easy to say, OK, let’s venture off to the other one.
“Chauncey’s earned it.”
A two-way star at Lipscomb Academy in his hometown of Nashville, Gooden is accustomed to NFL-caliber tutelage, as his coaches in high school included Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer and Hall of Fame offensive lineman Kevin Mawae.
How much Gooden plays on defense going forward will likely be dictated by matchups and injuries. Theoretically, Gooden’s two-way services shouldn’t be as critical going into the home opener against Weber State on Saturday (1:30 p.m., ESPN+), but he’s ready if called upon.
“Coach Prime just believed in me on the field,” Gooden said. “First off is on the offensive line. He made it clear that I need to handle what I need to handle on the offensive side to be able to play defense. But defense is always something I’ve had the heart for. When you see me play offensive line, you can kind of see the defensive line in me. I just like to be physical and things like that. Coach Prime said if you dominate on offense, then you’ll be able to play defense.”
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