Buffaloes safety Ben Finneseth talks about spring ball and Deion Sanders' extension
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00:00My goodness, I was so excited. It's gonna help us in every aspect, especially recruiting
00:04I had a joke with him a little bit yesterday about buying me a yacht or something
00:08With the new money, he got a little bit to spend, but yeah, no, I'm super excited
00:12It's gonna be great for the program, great for the city of Boulder, and I'm super excited for where this place is gonna go now
00:15What are your thoughts coming into this year? You know, Coach Pollack talked about you being a leader in that special teams group
00:20But I know you'd also like to, you know, get some playing time and start a job at safety
00:24Yeah, what's your approach to this season?
00:26Yeah, it's, uh, I've been asked upon a new role to become a leader on the defense
00:32And so, it's a learning curve for sure, you know, I was thrown out there the first day of practice
00:36And I've never run with the ones before, so I was a little nervous, but, you know, I picked up on it pretty quick
00:42And, yeah, it's been a fun role to learn so far, and it's been tough, it's been really new
00:48We got a lot of new guys and a lot of new faces, so communication has been a really big emphasis
00:52And getting around the guys and getting to know each other, but it's been a good learning curve for all of us
00:56And we're getting a lot better, so it's been super cool
00:58Within two, just to follow up real quick, sorry
01:00But, I mean, your special teams role, too, I mean, with the way Pollack looks at you as a leader there
01:04Do you take that seriously as well, too, and have you enjoyed being a special teamer in the last few years?
01:08Oh, yeah, I've loved it. Midway through the season last year, they asked me to step up more and do more of a coaching role
01:13So, you know, I had to coach a lot of kids through a lot of things, too
01:16And so, I think that's what they're asking of me on defense, too
01:19But, yeah, I'm going to continue that role. My goal is to be a starter on defense and play on all four special teams
01:23So, I don't ever want to leave the field, so
01:25Do you think back to kind of the journey you've been on now, you're going into your senior season
01:29From where you started to now, like you said, getting those reps with the first team defense?
01:33Yeah, man, it's been a grind
01:36And I'm thankful to the Lord, I'm thankful for Coach Prine, for Coach Liv, for all the coaches
01:42It's been a grind, you know, as a walk-on, I've had to earn every single thing I've gotten
01:45And so, you know, I can't thank the people around me enough
01:48I'd be nowhere if it weren't for my teammates and my coaches
01:51So, I'm just happy to have made it healthy thus far and to continue to get better
01:57So, it's awesome
01:58As one of the few OBs left, how would you describe the progress you've seen
02:03From the start of Coach Prine's tenure to now, where you guys are heading into year three under him?
02:07As a team or as myself?
02:09Both, if you want to
02:10As a team, obviously, we've got a lot of new faces
02:12So, I don't know where, you know, I don't know how a lot of the guys started out
02:15But it's been cool to see how much better we've gotten through spring ball
02:18We're through, what, seven practices now?
02:19And we've gotten significantly better
02:21Obviously, we've still got a long ways to go
02:23But yeah, it's been good progress
02:25I've made great progress since Coach Prine got here
02:27He's really bought into me
02:28And that's one of the things that's been super cool for me
02:30Is the way that he's believed in me since day one
02:33And so, yeah, it's been a great process
02:35Overall, with just this new group of incoming players, what stands out to you the most?
02:40The D-line, I love my D-line, man
02:42They've been hunting
02:44Those guys are balling, you know
02:45We're turning a lot of the DBs except for Trav
02:47Or, well, I say the DBs, the corners
02:50So, we got Preston back and DJ and Colton
02:52So, those guys have been balling
02:55But I'm impressed with the D-line, man
02:57They make it easy for us
02:58We gave them a challenge at the beginning of camp
03:01Or the beginning of spring ball
03:03To ball out and make it easy on us
03:05And they've taken that challenge
03:06And they've eaten
03:07So, it's been super awesome to watch
03:08Ben, what's it been like getting to know Tawfiq Bayard?
03:11And what does he bring to your guys' team on the field?
03:13Oh, I love Tawfiq Bayard
03:14I've learned a lot from him
03:16He came from a similar structure defense
03:18Back at his old school
03:19So, we've been able to talk a lot of ball
03:21And I've learned a lot of things from him
03:22And I think he's learned a lot of things from me, too
03:24Just us talking
03:25You know, we ride together every morning
03:27So, we talk about ball and talk about the upcoming day
03:30And so, we've learned a lot from each other
03:32And he's been a great teammate
03:33So, I love him
03:34How much did Cam and Chylo help you
03:36Throughout the last couple of years?
03:37What did you learn from them?
03:38And kind of how much do you lean on them now
03:40As you're competing to try to take their forward routes?
03:42Oh, yeah
03:43I'll definitely be calling Cam with some words of advice
03:45I think one of the things that I learned from Cam
03:47Is just how to be the leader
03:49You know, obviously, I'm still learning
03:51How to step into that role
03:53But he was very good at it
03:55And I've learned a lot from him how to do that
03:57Same with Coach Livingston
03:58And from Chylo, just the energy
04:00I love Chylo's energy
04:01He's my dog
04:02He's one of my best friends
04:03And so, yeah
04:04I love the way that he played with high energy
04:06And was always hitting people
04:07So, that's what I've learned from him
04:08That's close enough, man
04:10What has this new iteration of the safety group
04:12Been like working with these guys?
04:14It's brand new
04:15A lot of new faces
04:16Except for, you know, me and Carter
04:18Carter Stoutmire
04:19So, we've had to get around each other
04:21I think that's been the biggest thing
04:22Get to know each other
04:23Get to know each other on a personal level
04:24The things we've been through
04:25And how we can lean on one another
04:27And so, we've had to learn how to communicate with each other
04:30And that's been a new thing
04:31You know, I'm used to communicating with Cam and Chylo
04:33And other guys
04:34So, that's been the biggest thing
04:36Is just understanding how we think
04:37What our strengths and weaknesses are
04:39So, that's been the biggest thing
04:40Thank you, man
04:41Thank you, guys
04:42You guys are the best
04:43Thank you, guys