BJ Green II was in his first week as a Colorado Buffalo this summer when he realized this would be a unique experience.
“My first week here, I think we were with the Marines, and we had to swim and I guess I wasn’t as proficient of a swimmer as I thought I was,” Green told BuffZone recently. “But we had to run a mile before that. Just, my body going beyond what I thought it could do, that was something that I’d never seen before.”
A 6-foot-1, 270-pound defensive end who spent the previous three seasons at Arizona State, Green is no stranger to hard work and pushing his body. But, he came to Colorado this summer for something different, and so far he hasn’t been disappointed.
“Hardest offseason that I’ve ever had being in college,” he said, “but it was necessary for this last ride. I like to joke around with people that I dang near had, like, four near-death experiences since I’ve been in this offseason training. But, I feel like it was necessary to push me to be who I need to be, not who I saw myself to be, because the vision that they have for me is bigger than what I even could have imagined for myself.
“I trust their plan for me and I take it day by day, just working at that and getting closer and closer to that.”
A second-team All-Pac-12 performer at ASU last year, Green is a former walk-on who became one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the Pac-12. He racked up 13.5 sacks during the past three seasons.
This year, expectations are high.
“I pride myself on causing havoc and disruption,” he said. “Playing sound ball, being able to give the same effort and relentless effort that people see in myself and I see in me.”
Green has been named to preseason watch lists for the Lombardi Award (top lineman), Outland Trophy (top interior lineman) and the Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player of the year). He’s earned preseason All-Big 12 honors, as well.
Head coach Deion Sanders is on record saying he thinks Green can be a first-round pick in the NFL draft next spring.
“It makes me feel good,” Green said of Sanders’ comments. “They believe in me. … With that expectation comes a standard of play. So anytime that I drift away from that, they’re like, ‘Hey, this is who you are, be that guy.’ … I appreciate that, because it prepares me for whatever is thrown at me.”
CU revamped its defensive line this offseason through the transfer portal and Green might be the centerpiece of the new-look group.
“BJ is an attitude. He’s a force to be reckoned with,” said Sanders, a Hall of Fame cornerback who played with great linemen. “He’s going to be a problem. He really is.”
Outside linebackers coach Vincent Dancy said: “He’s an Alpha Dog. … He came to us as a great player. He’s continuing to be a great player.”
Given how he played the last three years, Green likely would have been great at ASU this year had he stayed. But he came to CU to find another gear learning from Dancy, Sanders, Hall of Fame defensive lineman Warren Sapp, who joined the staff as a graduate assistant this offseason, and defensive line coach Damione Lewis, a 10-year NFL veteran.
“Just chasing that feeling of doing more and more and more than what I thought I could do,” Green said. “Like, being tired, but still giving an A-1 pass rush. Stuff that you need to do in order to make that transition to the next level. I feel like that’s what Colorado is giving me. It’s giving me those tools to be great because we’re surrounded by great players.”
Green said it was “a shock” when he first started going through offseason workouts with the Buffs. It was the type of experience some would have shied away from. Not Green.
“It was like, ‘I don’t know what this feeling is. My body feels like I’m dead, but somehow I’m still going,’” he said. “That was a unique experience. I appreciate our strength staff. I appreciate our coaches for doing that to us, because, you know, being able to feel like you’re at the bottom, there’s only one other way to go, and that’s up.
“That’s exactly why I came here. I didn’t want an easy last year.”
Green knew it wouldn’t be easy with Coach Prime, who coached him in youth football many years ago. As a Sun Devil, Green never imagined he’d be at CU, but he’s enjoying the change.
“Just a family environment,” he said. “Coaches that I’ve been with since I was a little kid. So I wanted to finish it out with the people that I started it with. That’s what I wanted for my senior year, just to be surrounded by people who don’t also look like me but who know me more than I know myself.”
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