Afolabi Laguda, FS, Colorado 2018 NFL Draft Prospect

AT COLORADO: This Season (Sr.)—Opened the year with 11 tackles, one for a loss while also forcing a fumble that he recovered and returned 11 yards against Colorado State … Was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week By collegesportsmadness.com for his performance against the Rams … Picked off the first pass of the season against No. 7 Washington and helped hold Husky quarterback Jake Browning to just 11-of-21 passing and 160 yards after Browning entered the game completing 74.4 percent of his passes (ranked 10th nationally) and leading the Pac-12 in passer efficiency at 191.6 (seventh nationally) … Forced a fumble in the Arizona game, a contest in which he had eight tackles and one for a loss … Two weeks later, he forced his third fumble of the season at No. 15 Washington State … Had a second double-digit tackle game at Arizona State, finishing that contest with 10 tackles and one pass breakup in a season-high 88 plays … He was voted team captain for the first time in his CU career and will serve with five other teammates … His 1,029 snaps from scrimmage in his first two seasons at CU were the most of any returning defensive back at the start of the year … Athlon Sports selected him as a preseason third-team All-Pac-12 performer while Phil Steele’s College Football placed him on the fourth-team.

2016 (Jr.)—He started all 13 games at free safety plus the Alamo Bowl, finishing second on the team with 80 tackles in playing 792 snaps from scrimmage … Was credited with two tackles for losses, and an additional three for no gain, three third down stops, six pass breakups and he forced and recovered one fumble … Helped the CU secondary rank No. 3 in the country in pass efficiency defense at 98.12 while opposing quarterbacks completed just 48.3 percent of their passes on the Buffaloes and threw for only 182.5 yards per game, ranking as the 13th-best passing defense in the FBS … In his first career start, he recorded five tackles (four solo) against Colorado State, and also had five stops in week three at No. 4 Michigan … The next week in a win at Oregon he recorded eight tackles and one pass breakup … He had his first double-digit tackle game of the season at USC when he had 11 tackles in addition to forcing one fumble and returning another fumble nine yards – the forced fumble and recovery being the first of his career … Recorded the first interception of his career in CU’s 40-16 win over Arizona State, which extended CU’s streak of consecutive games forcing a turnover to 20 straight at the time … Played all 59 plays in the win over UCLA where he had seven tackles and one pass breakup … At Arizona he set a career/season-high with 12 tackles in a 49-24 win over the Wildcats … A third double-digit tackle game on the year came in the Pac-12 Championship game against No. 4 Washington, as he had 10 tackles (one for a loss) with a pass breakup … He was the recipient of the Hale Irwin Award, as selected by the coaches for being the most improved defensive back during spring practices.

2015 (Soph.)—He played in all 13 games (no starts), 12 on defense and in all on special teams … Was in for 237 snaps on defense and recorded 22 tackles (17 solo), with a tackle for zero gain, two third down stops, a caused interception and a pass deflection … Had a season-high five tackles (three solo) against Southern California, and had three tackles (all solo) against both Nicholls State and Stanford … The coaches selected him as the recipient of the Special Teams Belt Award, presented to the player for outstanding coverage unit achievement; he was fourth on the team in special team points with 21, on the strength of eight tackles (six solo, three inside-the-20), eight knockdown blocks, a downed punt and a caused penalty … He had six tackles (five solo) and two passes broken up in the four main spring scrimmages …  A junior college transfer, he enrolled at CU for the spring semester with three years to play three in eligibility.

AT BUTLER COMMUNITY COLLEGE (2014, Fr.)—He earned honorable mention KJCCC (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference) honors as a freshman, as he was in on 46 tackles, 24 solo with three for losses, along with two passes broken up and a forced fumble … One of those pass deflections saved a touchdown at the goal line against Coffeeville … He had at least four tackles in six games under coach Troy Morrell; BCC was 8-3 his one season there.

HIGH SCHOOL—He was a two-year starter at defensive back and wide receiver at Brookwood, though he suffered a broken fibula in his fifth game of his senior year that prevented him from earning any honors … He was in on 25 tackles, with an interception and three pass deflections before suffering the season-ending injury against Berkmar … As a junior, he recorded 30 tackles and broke up two passes … Played some reserve wide receiver both seasons … One of his top plays as a prep came when he recovered as onside kick to preserve a 21-19 homecoming win over Archer his junior season … Under coach Mark Crews, Brookwood was 7-5 his senior year, 8-4 his junior season and 15-1 his sophomore year (state champions).

ACADEMICS—He is majoring in Economics at Colorado … He earned his A.A. degree from Butler Community College in December 2014.

PERSONAL—He was born July 28, 1995 in Atlanta, Ga. … Among his hobbies include photography and music … An older brother (Charles Olatunji) played wide receiver at Auburn, and his younger brother (Lateef Laguda) was a receiver at Georgia State … He is fully ordained as a youth minister … He originally signed with Tennessee State out of high school.  (First name is pronounced aff-oh-lobby, last name la-goo-duh)

Laguda was under the off the radar coming out of high school. The means to attend expensive football camps that allows players to get exposure was not an option. Add in a broken fibula and the big time offers escaped him initially.

The Snellville, Georgia native, landed at Butler Community College before making his leap to the PAC 12 to play for Colorado. Immediately upon arriving, Laguda make his mark as a freshman, recording 46 tackles and being named honorable mention in the KJCCC (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference).

That helped place him on the radar for major programs across the country looking for a physically intimating safety, which is very gifted mentally to lead a defense. Without question one of his strongest gifts, is his mental make-up. Relishing in the style of play used by Sean Taylor and Ed Reed, Laguda is poised to impress on the all-star circuit.

Loves to hit and shows an aggressive passion when patrolling the back end of the field. He seeks the kill shot and will punish ball carries. He sees the quarterback and reacts quickly to the ball thrown in front of him. Excited to see him at the next level and how he can continue to develop his game. He possesses the ability to raise the game of others around him, which bolds well when ten other guys are on the field. Power in numbers.