Colorado Buffaloes most important players: #25 Dante Wigley

When the Colorado Buffaloes look for cornerbacks, they almost always have the same traits. They’re big, long-armed, physical players who excel in man-to-man and press coverage, and often they’re late-blooming JUCO transfers. In that way, it seems that Dante Wigley is the Buffaloesiest corner of the entire secondary.

Even among CU’s collection of physical corners, Dante Wigley stands out for his size and press coverage ability. His role will likely be working between the slot and taking on the opposition’s most physical receiver. The latter role will be crucial for the Buffs in 2018.

In an interview with Juwann Winfree last August, he said that of all the corners on the Buffaloes (including Isaiah Oliver), Wigley was his favorite to go against. Winfree is huge — he’s 6’3 and over 210 lbs. — and he loves going against Wigley because he’s the most physical, in-your-face corner on the team; Winfree said that Wigley is the player he challenges himself against. Wigley may struggle somewhat against smaller, quicker players in the conference, but against the big boys like Winfree, there’s no one more important than him.

On October 6th, the Buffs will host the Arizona State Sun Devils. ASU’s roster is a bit depleted, but they have a megastar in receiver N’Keal Harry. Harry is a legitimate All-America candidate and his presence could be make-or-break in Colorado’s matchup with them. He’s 6’4, 215-lbs. and he somehow plays bigger than that. It makes sense, then, that last season ShaDon Brown stuck Wigley on him. Though he allowed a touchdown to Harry, he did great to even contain the future NFL star. In 2018, Harry will be bigger, faster and ASU’s only target. There’s at least one game on the schedule where Wigley’s physical presence could decide the game.

Elsewhere on the schedule, Wigley will be likely play a huge role against USC (Josh Imatorbhebhe), Washington (Ty Jones), Oregon State (Isaiah Hodgins) and California (Kanawai Noa). Perhaps none of those games will be as crucial as his performance against N’Keal Harry, but in a Pac-12 loaded with giant receivers, Wigley is essential for the defense.