Four Colorado Buffaloes Who Are Setting Themselves Apart Off the Field
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The Colorado Buffaloes are recognizing four players for work fans rarely get to see. Wide receivers Danny Scudero and Hykeem Williams, defensive back Randon Fontenette and defensive tackle Samu Taumanupepe earned the football program's Student of the Week honors for Weeks 1 and 2.
Colorado shared the selections through its official football account on X, pairing Scudero with Fontenette in one graphic and Williams with Taumanupepe in the other. The announcement gives each player the same recognition as preparations for Saturday's game against Weber State are underway.
Danny Scudero and Randon Fontenette Earn Recognition
Scudero came to Boulder with plenty of reasons for fans to learn his name. The San Jos State transfer caught 88 passes for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, finishing the regular season as the nation's receiving-yards leader. He also earned first-team All-Mountain West honors.
His college path began at Sacramento State before taking him to San Jos State and then to Colorado. Now, while he settles into offensive coordinator Brennan Marion's system, the Buffaloes have included him among the players they are celebrating for their academic work.
Weeks 1 & 2 Students of the Week pic.twitter.com/atLbS6XpNU
– Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) September 10, 2026
Fontenette brings a similarly experienced background to the group. He played at TCU before making 24 starts across two seasons at Vanderbilt, where he totaled 125 tackles. His return to the Big 12 gave Colorado a veteran in a secondary with several new faces.
He quickly made himself useful, leading the Buffaloes with eight tackles in the season-opening win over Georgia Tech. he recorded a tackle for loss, too, giving CU an immediate return on the experience it added to the back end. The weekly academic honor follows a productive first outing in a Colorado uniform.
Hykeem Williams Has An Academic Honor In His Past
For Williams, recognition in the classroom has followed him across conferences. Colorado's official biography lists him as a 2023 All-ACC Academic Team selection at Florida State, where he began his college career before transferring to CU in 2025.
Williams caught nine passes for 81 yards in his first season with the Buffaloes and missed the final six games because of injury, according to his CU biography. The latest honor gives the returning receiver a positive early-season mention alongside three teammates who joined Colorado this year.
Taumanupepe arrived after stops at Texas A&M and Baylor. The 6-3, 375-pound defensive lineman chose Colorado during the winter transfer window after initially committing to Florida. He played six games for Baylor last season and joins Fontenette as a defensive representative among the four honorees.
Colorado Football Builds on a Record Academic Spring
The weekly selections follow a broader academic achievement for coach Deion Sanders' program. In its May 21 academic report, CU said football posted a 3.004 spring semester GPA, the team's best spring mark and its second semester above 3.0 in the previous four terms.
Across the athletic department, 309 athletes combined for a 3.275 spring GPA after setting an all-semester record of 3.296 the previous fall. Athletic director Fernando Lovo praised that work in the May announcement.
"Completing an academic year with back-to-back GPA records is truly remarkable and illustrative of our student-athletes' commitment to success in the classroom," Lovo said.
The fall and spring records covered the entire department. This week's selections put four football players in the spotlight individually, although Colorado did not release their GPAs or explain its selection criteria.
Colorado hosts Weber State at Folsom Field on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT. Scudero, Fontenette, Williams, and Taumanupepe will have a role to play as the home schedule begins. Their work as students has earned them a mention before kickoff, too.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/colorado as Four Colorado Buffaloes Who Are Setting Themselves Apart Off the Field.
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