Colorado University Athletics
Preston Ashley Embracing Competition, Opportunity at Colorado
April 08, 2026 | Football
BOULDER – Freshman defensive back Preston Ashley arrived at Colorado with a four star pedigree and a reputation for versatility, but it is his voice, energy and relentless edge that have quickly set him apart as the Buffaloes continue spring practice.
Ashley talks like he plays.
Fast. Physical. Violent.
The words come quickly and confidently, the same way the freshman defensive back says he attacks every rep on the field. But beyond the swagger, the trash talk and the confidence of a player who arrived in Boulder as one of the top defensive backs in Mississippi, Ashley wants people to understand there is more to him than football.
"I'm a guy that loves to get to know people," Ashley said. "I'm a guy that loves people in general. I love being around people. I love interactions with great people. I love learning new things and trying new things. Don't just look at me as a football player at face value. Look at me as the person."
That perspective has helped shape Ashley's early months at Colorado, where the Brandon, Miss., native has already made an impression as an energetic, vocal and competitive young player in the Buffaloes' secondary.
Ashley, who turned 18 in October, arrived at Colorado with a strong résumé and an even stronger sense of purpose. A four-star prospect out of Brandon High School, he built his reputation as one of the top defensive backs in the state while developing into a player capable of moving around the secondary and impacting the game in multiple ways. But for Ashley, the recruiting rankings and accolades only tell part of the story.
His story begins with family, faith and the work ethic he watched every day at home.
"Definitely my dad and my mom," Ashley said when asked who had the biggest impact on his journey. "Just them going to work every day and doing things that they didn't want to do all the time and being able to provide for me and my little brother, it put a fire in me. I want to give back to them and live out my name the right way."
That same drive shows up in the classroom.
Ashley took pride in being an Honor Roll student in high school and says academics remain important to how he wants to be viewed as a student-athlete. He embraces the chance to challenge expectations and show that his identity extends far beyond the field.
"I want to be more than a football player," Ashley said. "Especially me being from the South, everybody sees a young Black guy and they say all he probably does is play football. But when they see a young Black guy that had a 28 on his ACT, a 4.0 in high school and now has great grades, it surprises them. I really want to surprise a lot of people by that. I love being a student athlete. I love school and I love learning new stuff."
That mindset helped guide one of the biggest decisions of his young career.
Rather than staying home to finish out his senior year in the traditional way, Ashley chose to leave high school early and enroll at Colorado so he could begin learning the defense, adjusting to college life and proving himself to the coaching staff.
"It was do I really want to stay home and be complacent, or do I want to go learn the playbook early and have a chance to prove myself to the coaches that I'm here to ball and give you everything I got," Ashley said.
The adjustment was real.
Ashley said the altitude hit him hard during his first couple of weeks in Boulder, and the food took some getting used to as well. But everything else felt natural. In fact, what surprised him most was how quickly Colorado felt like home.
"When I came up here for the first time, it felt like home," Ashley said. "Right after I committed, I cried because I knew CU was home. I'm from the South, so moving far away from that is definitely different, but when I stepped foot in Colorado for the first time, it felt easy to mesh."
He stayed in Boulder over spring break, another sign that the transition has already taken hold.
"I didn't want to go back home because this is my home," Ashley said. "I just love being here."
On the field, Ashley believes his versatility and football instincts make him a natural fit in Colorado's defense. He has played multiple roles in the secondary, and that experience has sharpened both his understanding of the game and his ability to react quickly.
"It definitely has put my mindset into learning situations and down and distance and everything," Ashley said.
"Being able to play faster since I know what type of formations the offense is in or what is coming, it helps me move faster and play smarter and make plays for my team."
He sees himself as a player who can do a little bit of everything.
"A jack of all trades," Ashley said. "You can put me at any position and I'm going to produce. I can cover. I can blitz. I can do so many different things that make me valuable to our defense."
That confidence is not manufactured. It is rooted in years of football knowledge passed down through his family.
Ashley comes from a football family. His father played at Ole Miss. His Uncles Rowell Preston (Ole Miss, Green Bay Packers) and Rock Preston (Florida State, won the 1993 National Championship) also played at a high level, and Ashley said that background gave him an early education in the game.
"I was learning Cover 3 when I was 6 years old," Ashley said. "Football is what we love in my family. It shaped me to be obsessed with the game."
He said his mother has been the one who keeps him most accountable, especially off the field.
"She keeps me grounded," Ashley said. "With school, with life, with the little things. A lot of stuff she used to tell me, I look back on now and appreciate it. A lot of guys wish they could have another conversation with their mom. So I'm definitely blessed."
That blend of family support, personal discipline and competitive fire has helped Ashley settle into a secondary room filled with experienced players and talented newcomers. Rather than being intimidated, he has embraced the challenge.
"It makes me so happy," Ashley said of competing against elite players every day. "I love going against guys like that because even if they get me, I know I'm getting good work. Iron sharpens iron."
Ashley has already identified leaders around him, leaned on veterans for guidance and built strong relationships with teammates on both sides of the ball. He describes himself as a teammate who will bring energy, jokes and honesty, someone who will encourage others but also challenge them when needed.
"I'm definitely going to be a teammate that tries to cheer everybody up," Ashley said. "But I'm also going to call you out when I know you're better than that. I want to build people up."
That same approach carries into his expectations for his freshman season.
"My expectation for my freshman year is to dominate and help my team any way I can," Ashley said.
It is a bold statement, but boldness is part of who Ashley is. He is vocal. He talks trash. He believes in backing it up. He plays with an edge that, in his words, comes from seeing the man in front of him as the one standing between him and his goals.
What Ashley wants to prove this season is just as direct.
"I want to prove that last year was a fluke and that we are the real Colorado," Ashley said. "Even if we put a freshman in the game, there is no drop off."
Long term, Ashley's vision is even bigger. He wants to leave his own mark on a program that has already produced stars who changed the trajectory of Colorado football.
"The legacy I'm trying to build here is just building off what Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders left," Ashley said.
"I want people to remember Preston Ashley and the Colorado teams that worked on everybody."
For now, that legacy is only beginning. But Ashley has already made it clear how he wants to be remembered.
Five years from now, he wants people to say one thing when they think back on the first time they saw him take the field in black and gold.
"That's one of the greatest players I've seen in my time," Ashley said.
For a freshman still learning the pace of college football, it is a big statement.
Then again, Preston Ashley has never been afraid to say exactly who he is.
Fans can see Preston and the Buffaloes this Saturday, April 11 at the annual AT&T Black and Gold game.
Fans looking for a first glimpse of the 2026 Colorado Buffaloes can secure tickets now for AT&T Black and Gold Day and experience the team inside Folsom Field.
Season tickets for the 2026 campaign are also on sale. Fans are encouraged to lock in their seats for six home games this fall and be part of the pageantry and energy that define one of college football's most unique game day environments.
Ashley talks like he plays.
Fast. Physical. Violent.
The words come quickly and confidently, the same way the freshman defensive back says he attacks every rep on the field. But beyond the swagger, the trash talk and the confidence of a player who arrived in Boulder as one of the top defensive backs in Mississippi, Ashley wants people to understand there is more to him than football.
"I'm a guy that loves to get to know people," Ashley said. "I'm a guy that loves people in general. I love being around people. I love interactions with great people. I love learning new things and trying new things. Don't just look at me as a football player at face value. Look at me as the person."
That perspective has helped shape Ashley's early months at Colorado, where the Brandon, Miss., native has already made an impression as an energetic, vocal and competitive young player in the Buffaloes' secondary.
Ashley, who turned 18 in October, arrived at Colorado with a strong résumé and an even stronger sense of purpose. A four-star prospect out of Brandon High School, he built his reputation as one of the top defensive backs in the state while developing into a player capable of moving around the secondary and impacting the game in multiple ways. But for Ashley, the recruiting rankings and accolades only tell part of the story.
His story begins with family, faith and the work ethic he watched every day at home.
"Definitely my dad and my mom," Ashley said when asked who had the biggest impact on his journey. "Just them going to work every day and doing things that they didn't want to do all the time and being able to provide for me and my little brother, it put a fire in me. I want to give back to them and live out my name the right way."
That same drive shows up in the classroom.
Ashley took pride in being an Honor Roll student in high school and says academics remain important to how he wants to be viewed as a student-athlete. He embraces the chance to challenge expectations and show that his identity extends far beyond the field.
"I want to be more than a football player," Ashley said. "Especially me being from the South, everybody sees a young Black guy and they say all he probably does is play football. But when they see a young Black guy that had a 28 on his ACT, a 4.0 in high school and now has great grades, it surprises them. I really want to surprise a lot of people by that. I love being a student athlete. I love school and I love learning new stuff."
That mindset helped guide one of the biggest decisions of his young career.
Rather than staying home to finish out his senior year in the traditional way, Ashley chose to leave high school early and enroll at Colorado so he could begin learning the defense, adjusting to college life and proving himself to the coaching staff.
"It was do I really want to stay home and be complacent, or do I want to go learn the playbook early and have a chance to prove myself to the coaches that I'm here to ball and give you everything I got," Ashley said.
The adjustment was real.
Ashley said the altitude hit him hard during his first couple of weeks in Boulder, and the food took some getting used to as well. But everything else felt natural. In fact, what surprised him most was how quickly Colorado felt like home.
"When I came up here for the first time, it felt like home," Ashley said. "Right after I committed, I cried because I knew CU was home. I'm from the South, so moving far away from that is definitely different, but when I stepped foot in Colorado for the first time, it felt easy to mesh."
He stayed in Boulder over spring break, another sign that the transition has already taken hold.
"I didn't want to go back home because this is my home," Ashley said. "I just love being here."
On the field, Ashley believes his versatility and football instincts make him a natural fit in Colorado's defense. He has played multiple roles in the secondary, and that experience has sharpened both his understanding of the game and his ability to react quickly.
"It definitely has put my mindset into learning situations and down and distance and everything," Ashley said.
"Being able to play faster since I know what type of formations the offense is in or what is coming, it helps me move faster and play smarter and make plays for my team."
He sees himself as a player who can do a little bit of everything.
"A jack of all trades," Ashley said. "You can put me at any position and I'm going to produce. I can cover. I can blitz. I can do so many different things that make me valuable to our defense."
That confidence is not manufactured. It is rooted in years of football knowledge passed down through his family.
Ashley comes from a football family. His father played at Ole Miss. His Uncles Rowell Preston (Ole Miss, Green Bay Packers) and Rock Preston (Florida State, won the 1993 National Championship) also played at a high level, and Ashley said that background gave him an early education in the game.
"I was learning Cover 3 when I was 6 years old," Ashley said. "Football is what we love in my family. It shaped me to be obsessed with the game."
He said his mother has been the one who keeps him most accountable, especially off the field.
"She keeps me grounded," Ashley said. "With school, with life, with the little things. A lot of stuff she used to tell me, I look back on now and appreciate it. A lot of guys wish they could have another conversation with their mom. So I'm definitely blessed."
That blend of family support, personal discipline and competitive fire has helped Ashley settle into a secondary room filled with experienced players and talented newcomers. Rather than being intimidated, he has embraced the challenge.
"It makes me so happy," Ashley said of competing against elite players every day. "I love going against guys like that because even if they get me, I know I'm getting good work. Iron sharpens iron."
Ashley has already identified leaders around him, leaned on veterans for guidance and built strong relationships with teammates on both sides of the ball. He describes himself as a teammate who will bring energy, jokes and honesty, someone who will encourage others but also challenge them when needed.
"I'm definitely going to be a teammate that tries to cheer everybody up," Ashley said. "But I'm also going to call you out when I know you're better than that. I want to build people up."
That same approach carries into his expectations for his freshman season.
"My expectation for my freshman year is to dominate and help my team any way I can," Ashley said.
It is a bold statement, but boldness is part of who Ashley is. He is vocal. He talks trash. He believes in backing it up. He plays with an edge that, in his words, comes from seeing the man in front of him as the one standing between him and his goals.
What Ashley wants to prove this season is just as direct.
"I want to prove that last year was a fluke and that we are the real Colorado," Ashley said. "Even if we put a freshman in the game, there is no drop off."
Long term, Ashley's vision is even bigger. He wants to leave his own mark on a program that has already produced stars who changed the trajectory of Colorado football.
"The legacy I'm trying to build here is just building off what Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders left," Ashley said.
"I want people to remember Preston Ashley and the Colorado teams that worked on everybody."
For now, that legacy is only beginning. But Ashley has already made it clear how he wants to be remembered.
Five years from now, he wants people to say one thing when they think back on the first time they saw him take the field in black and gold.
"That's one of the greatest players I've seen in my time," Ashley said.
For a freshman still learning the pace of college football, it is a big statement.
Then again, Preston Ashley has never been afraid to say exactly who he is.
Fans can see Preston and the Buffaloes this Saturday, April 11 at the annual AT&T Black and Gold game.
Fans looking for a first glimpse of the 2026 Colorado Buffaloes can secure tickets now for AT&T Black and Gold Day and experience the team inside Folsom Field.
Season tickets for the 2026 campaign are also on sale. Fans are encouraged to lock in their seats for six home games this fall and be part of the pageantry and energy that define one of college football's most unique game day environments.
Players Mentioned
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