During his five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, Jesse Bates developed into one of the best safeties in the NFL, under the tutelage of Robert Livingston.
Now that Livingston is in Boulder as the defensive coordinator of the Colorado Buffaloes, he sees some Bates-like qualities in the Buffaloes’ Shilo Sanders.
“I mean, that’s a great role model, I think, especially every Tuesday when (Bates) gets a check,” Livingston said this week. “But Jesse is the best. Jesse came to me as a 20-year old kid, ability to go kind of go red line to red line. Jess was not that big his rookie year and his ability to play the deep part of the field was rare and that’s why he is who he is.
“So, with Shilo it’s something we strive on. I think nowadays, kids like watching people they can be like, so there’s some examples that way with Jesse, with Justin Simmons, with those guys who play in the post and go get the ball for sure.”
Between Sanders and fellow senior Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, the Buffs have a pair of safeties that Livingston believes he can lean on in the back of the defense.
“I think they’ve done a great job,” Livingston said. “I tell them all the time leaders gotta lead from the front and I think that’s their key. They are the heartbeat of this defense right there in the middle. They’re our quarterback. That’s why we run the meetings the way that we run them. They’ve got a vested interest and a say in this defense.
“I think communication is imperative and they’ve done a great job grasping where they fit in the defense and once you do that, the game slows down.”
Sanders is a veteran who played at South Carolina and Jackson State before coming to CU last year. He finished second on the team with 67 tackles, while also forcing four fumbles and intercepting a pass he returned 80 yards for a touchdown.
“Right now, (Livingston) is working with me like Jesse Bates, and that’s just cool having a guy like that,” Sanders said. “Studying him and just having a pro coach that was just in the NFL … he’s fresh from the NFL and I couldn’t ask for more. Honestly, the experience with (coaching in) the Super Bowl and what more can you ask? If you’re a DB, what situation would you more want to be in?”
Sanders displayed some big play ability last year and is also known as a hard-hitting safety, but he feels he’s developing more to his game this spring.
“I can just play more free and use just instincts really,” he said of Livingston’s defense. “That’s my biggest thing this season. I’m trying to use more instincts. You all know I’m gonna fill the run game. I just need to be more rangey at safety. Most of the time I be there, but they just got to throw it at the end of the day.
“If you’re gonna get a pick someone has to throw it, but as long as I’m in the right position … and I think I could be more instinctive to make some more plays happen.”
Silmon-Craig, who played with Sanders at Jackson State, displayed big-play ability last year, as well. Playing part of the year at nickel, he finished with 44 tackles and tied for the team lead with three interceptions.
Like Sanders, Silmon-Craig is enjoying the potential he sees in Livingston’s defense, especially for himself and Sanders.
“That’s the thing about coach Livingston,” Silmon-Craig said. “He came in, he knew who we are, he knows the players he’s got. So he’s playing to our strengths so that’s our strength and that’s what we’re gonna do.
“We’re out there playing fast and for the most part coach Livingston preaches fun. You make zero plays with a frown on your face. So, we’re just out there having fun for the most part. That’s the word of my spring, just have fun and do what I gotta do. No pressure. We just doing what we got to do.”
There is a sense of urgency, though. The Buffs, who went just 4-8 last year, struggled on defense throughout the 2023 season and they are motivated to change that this year.
“Of course; 4-8, you think about it every day,” Silmon-Craig said. “They were able to run the ball on us a lot last year, they threw the ball on us a lot, so we got nothing but motivation. We have nothing to piggy-back on and say, ‘We did this good; we did this good.’ We don’t feel like we did anything great. So we’re just trying to do everything great. So there’s a lot of motivation.”
