BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Warren Sapp strictly enforces Colorado players being in straight lines while stretching at practice. Marshall Faulk harps over and over on proper footwork.

These two Hall of Fame players turned coaches are sticklers for the little things. That's on orders from the third member of their gold-coat club: Deion Sanders.

Sapp and Faulk are part of a Buffaloes coaching staff that boasts 160 years of total NFL experience (playing, coaching or covering). The crew runs a no-nonsense, tight-knit operation, which came in handy when Sanders was away and fighting bladder cancer. The coaching staff keeps reaffirming what Sanders always stresses — paying attention to the details.

“It’s the little things that will make us great,” explained Sapp, who is the defensive pass-rush specialist for the Buffaloes this season. “It’s the tedious repetition of the little things, over and over and over again. That’s what we do.

"He (Sanders) has so much other things on his plate. I figured I'd handle the little things. ... We really don’t ask much of them, except, let’s go to work and that's what we're going to do.”

In addition to Sapp and Faulk, the list of coaches that Sanders has assembled with NFL experience includes offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, receivers coach Jason Phillips, defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Kevin Mathis, defensive line coach Domata Peko, and offensive line coaches George Hegamin and Andre Gurode.

Combined — and, of course, counting Sanders — that’s 27 Pro Bowls, five Super Bowl titles, an NFL MVP (Faulk), three Pro Football Hall of Famers (Sanders, Faulk, Sapp), two NFL defensive player of the year honors (Sapp, Sanders) and an NFL offensive player of the year recipient (Faulk, three times).

“When you have a whole bunch of guys that’s been there and done that, and played in the league, it’s definitely a blessing for us,” Peko said. “Everyone kind of checks their egos at the door, and we all just try to collaborate together.”

The Buffaloes may be adding more experience, too. Sanders said at Big 12 media day last month he’s trying to bring in ex-NFL QB Byron Leftwich and former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer to the staff.

“With those two added, that’s 204 years of NFL experience,” Sanders said, “and I want those years.”

Faulk and Sapp were both in Canton, Ohio, last weekend for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. There, they hung out with the greats of the game, with Sapp recording personal video messages from past players to show his impressionable Buffaloes.

“I just soak it up from them, and I bring it back to the babies, because just hearing it from me, they hear me all the time,” said Sapp, who had 96 1/2 sacks over his 13-year-career. “But when John Randle was on (the video), and I can see their eyes pop up I got a whole new message. ... I'm going to give them everything I got."

For Faulk, being in Canton just reaffirmed his passion for football — and coaching.

“I literally sold popcorn in the Superdome because I couldn’t afford a ticket to watch the sorriest team in the '80s — the Saints," cracked Faulk, whose Buffaloes open the season Aug. 29 by hosting Georgia Tech. “I just love football and to be around the guys (in Canton) who gave me the opportunity to play this game and left the game in my hands, there’s nothing like it.

“But it was the first time I’d been there and wanted to be somewhere else.”

Namely, working with his fleet of running backs.

Sophomore Micah Welch was in the lunch room when he heard about the hiring of Faulk in February. Welch went home that night and pulled up some highlight footage.

“It was amazing,” Welch said.

Faulk was dazzling on the field, a dual threat out of the backfield who spent his 12 seasons in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams. He rushed for 12,279 yards and 100 TDs, while also catching 767 passes for 6,875 yards and 36 scores.

He’s teaching his tailbacks the little things like footwork — “I’m a stickler for footwork,” Faulk said — along with how they receive a handoff from their QB.

“After that, go be creative,” Faulk said. “But we all start with the canvas and the paint brush the same way before we go make art.”

For Faulk, it was an easy decision to join Sanders in Boulder. They’ve been longtime friends.

“Coming here not just to win games on the field, but to win the game off the field, which is to make sure that these young men in life become what they want to become,” the 52-year-old Faulk said. “That’s the important part.”

Playing both sides of the ball is now part of Travis Hunter's regular routine with the Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Playing both sides of the ball is now part of Travis Hunter’s regular practice routine with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and the second overall pick in this year’s NFL draft played offense and defense during training camp Tuesday. He wore a teal, No. 12 jersey at receiver and then threw on a white, loose-fitting, No. 12 penny when it was time to line up at cornerback.

“It’s funny seeing him (go) back and forth,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “It’s pretty crazy. Never seen anything like it.”

Hunter had a minor issue with the sideline swap. Offensive teammates grabbed his baggy covering on several occasions, which helped them keep Hunter at bay during running plays; it won't be a problem during games since he won't have to change jerseys.

Hunter first switched back and forth during a scrimmage at EverBank Stadium on Saturday night, playing 17 snaps with the first-team offense and 21 with the first-team defense. He got similar work Tuesday, logging nine snaps on each side of the ball in 11-on-11 drills.

It’s the kind of versatility the Jaguars envisioned when they gave up a second-round pick and a 2026 first-rounder to move up three spots and select Hunter.

“It might not be every single day, but I would say it would probably be a little bit more normal than not,” coach Liam Coen said.

The Jaguars planned for months to get to the point where Hunter was working interchangeably on both sides. They used him solely at receiver to open organized team activities in May and then expanded his usage as the team stacked practices.

By the start of training camp last month, he was working a day on offense and then a day on defense.

But getting him to do both within minutes, sometimes seconds, was the next step in his NFL evolution.

“Hopefully, more offense,” Lawrence quipped. “Just the way he plays, the energy he plays with. Even just little things like interacting with the fans and the juice he brings into the stadium. That stuff does mean something.

“Not everyone necessarily has that personality, but he has something about him that’s just special. The energy he brings and the energy he plays with and the joy and all that stuff — the way he runs around — it’s fun to watch and it’s fun to play with a guy like that. I think he’s starting to play a lot faster now that he knows the system and can play free.”

Hunter gives the small-market franchise more star power than it’s had in decades — maybe ever.

He caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns last season at Colorado and had 35 tackles, 11 pass breakups, eight forced incompletions and four interceptions while allowing just one touchdown.

The Jaguars intend to use him primarily as a slot receiver on offense and as an outside cornerback in certain packages on defense. It’s familiar territory for someone who played more snaps (1,461) than anyone else in college football in 2024.

It’s unclear how much — if at all — Hunter will play in Jacksonville’s preseason opener against Pittsburgh on Saturday. Coen and his staff are “still working through it.” He even texted Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on Monday night to “get on the same page” regarding starters.

Coen was an assistant with the Las Angeles Rams, who rarely played starters and even rested backups, and with Tampa Bay, which played starters in the preseason in hopes of getting “some quality work.”

“That is the ultimate debate,” Coen said. “It’s definitely a difficult decision that we’ve been wrestling back and forth with a little bit, but we’ll have a better idea (Wednesday).”