University of Colorado Athletics
The Hardest Thing First: How Practicing Against The Go-Go Built A Defense Ready For Thursday Night
August 30, 2026 | Football
BOULDER — Every day of fall camp, Colorado's defense lined up against the strangest offense it will see all year.
That was the plan.
"As a coach, you always want to give your players the hardest thing first, and it's just a blessing to have Brennan Marion's Go-Go offense, because that's one of the more unusual offenses you're going to face," linebackers coach Andre Hart said. "I'm not going to say any offense is simpler — it's not that it's simple, but there's not so many variations. I think it makes it easier to get the information across to the players. So, yeah, I love that we did the hardest things first."
Ask the players who have chased Marion's shifts, motions and option looks around the practice field since spring, and they describe the same finishing school.
"Coach Marion challenges us every day," fifth-year linebacker Tyler Martinez said. "Like, he comes out in the most exotic looks you'll ever see, and it challenges you to communicate with the defense and just do your job — versus trying to be a superhero and making every play you can. We're finally going to get to go against somewhat of a normal offense."
"Going against an option offense tests every single rule of your defense," fifth-year linebacker Gideon Lampron added. "You get so many exotic looks, so they definitely help us prepare for anything that we could see."
The timing could not be better. The Buffs open Thursday, Sept. 3 at Georgia Tech (6 p.m. MT, ESPN) against a team built on a physical, quarterback-inclusive running game — the exact stress the Go-Go applies daily. Fourth-year linebacker Liona Lefau has spent all camp fitting runs where the quarterback is a live threat.
"Anytime you practice fitting in a plus-one run game — which is when you account for the quarterback as well — it really helps," Lefau said. "It really challenges your rules at times. So just having the quarterback accounted for in each of our run fits, it helps when we prepare for a team like Georgia Tech, who also runs their quarterback."
Hart sees the film-room carryover, too. Studying his own offense, it turns out, doubles as an early scouting report.
"You seeing some really funky looks, and how they're getting people in positions for mismatches, and you get to teach to that," Hart said. "It's going to be kind of similar to what Georgia Tech does, in a sense of how they move around. To be able to see that through the summer and through the spring, and now in the fall, I think it just makes us that much better."
None of it works without the connective tissue. Hart's stated keys for Thursday — "elite communication and smooth operations" — have been rehearsed the hard way. The defense hasn't practiced with the green-dot helmet communication yet, and Hart wouldn't have it any other way.
"I love that we're not practicing with the green dot yet, because now it makes everybody accountable," Hart said. "Don't just rely on the green dot. Make sure you're communicating with the people on your side you need to communicate with."
His linebackers have absorbed the message.
"We're all in charge of communicating," Martinez said. "It's a team responsibility. It's not just one person."
There's a cost to sparring with the Go-Go daily: sometimes the offense wins the rep. The defense has learned to treat those as tuition.
"When you're in it, it sucks. It's more like, dang, he got us," Martinez said. "But it's good, because it's always a competitive practice. There's never one side just completely obliterating. It's always competitive, back and forth. I think that's the best thing we've seen this fall camp — just the overall competitiveness of this team."
Come Thursday, the assignment finally simplifies: one opponent, one identity, a run game to stop. Lampron's marching orders sound almost relieving after a month of chaos.
"The biggest thing for us is just doing our job, not playing selfish," Lampron said. "Trying to make plays within the scheme of the defense. Don't be freestyling out there."
And if the Buffs' defense catches people off guard under the Thursday night lights, Hart already knows what it will look like.
"Our play style. I think that's the biggest thing," Hart said. "It's not the call; it's the play style, and I think people are going to be really excited about how we play ball."
That was the plan.
"As a coach, you always want to give your players the hardest thing first, and it's just a blessing to have Brennan Marion's Go-Go offense, because that's one of the more unusual offenses you're going to face," linebackers coach Andre Hart said. "I'm not going to say any offense is simpler — it's not that it's simple, but there's not so many variations. I think it makes it easier to get the information across to the players. So, yeah, I love that we did the hardest things first."
Ask the players who have chased Marion's shifts, motions and option looks around the practice field since spring, and they describe the same finishing school.
"Coach Marion challenges us every day," fifth-year linebacker Tyler Martinez said. "Like, he comes out in the most exotic looks you'll ever see, and it challenges you to communicate with the defense and just do your job — versus trying to be a superhero and making every play you can. We're finally going to get to go against somewhat of a normal offense."
"Going against an option offense tests every single rule of your defense," fifth-year linebacker Gideon Lampron added. "You get so many exotic looks, so they definitely help us prepare for anything that we could see."
The timing could not be better. The Buffs open Thursday, Sept. 3 at Georgia Tech (6 p.m. MT, ESPN) against a team built on a physical, quarterback-inclusive running game — the exact stress the Go-Go applies daily. Fourth-year linebacker Liona Lefau has spent all camp fitting runs where the quarterback is a live threat.
"Anytime you practice fitting in a plus-one run game — which is when you account for the quarterback as well — it really helps," Lefau said. "It really challenges your rules at times. So just having the quarterback accounted for in each of our run fits, it helps when we prepare for a team like Georgia Tech, who also runs their quarterback."
Hart sees the film-room carryover, too. Studying his own offense, it turns out, doubles as an early scouting report.
"You seeing some really funky looks, and how they're getting people in positions for mismatches, and you get to teach to that," Hart said. "It's going to be kind of similar to what Georgia Tech does, in a sense of how they move around. To be able to see that through the summer and through the spring, and now in the fall, I think it just makes us that much better."
None of it works without the connective tissue. Hart's stated keys for Thursday — "elite communication and smooth operations" — have been rehearsed the hard way. The defense hasn't practiced with the green-dot helmet communication yet, and Hart wouldn't have it any other way.
"I love that we're not practicing with the green dot yet, because now it makes everybody accountable," Hart said. "Don't just rely on the green dot. Make sure you're communicating with the people on your side you need to communicate with."
His linebackers have absorbed the message.
"We're all in charge of communicating," Martinez said. "It's a team responsibility. It's not just one person."
There's a cost to sparring with the Go-Go daily: sometimes the offense wins the rep. The defense has learned to treat those as tuition.
"When you're in it, it sucks. It's more like, dang, he got us," Martinez said. "But it's good, because it's always a competitive practice. There's never one side just completely obliterating. It's always competitive, back and forth. I think that's the best thing we've seen this fall camp — just the overall competitiveness of this team."
Come Thursday, the assignment finally simplifies: one opponent, one identity, a run game to stop. Lampron's marching orders sound almost relieving after a month of chaos.
"The biggest thing for us is just doing our job, not playing selfish," Lampron said. "Trying to make plays within the scheme of the defense. Don't be freestyling out there."
And if the Buffs' defense catches people off guard under the Thursday night lights, Hart already knows what it will look like.
"Our play style. I think that's the biggest thing," Hart said. "It's not the call; it's the play style, and I think people are going to be really excited about how we play ball."
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