BOULDER, Colo. — About 90 minutes before Saturday's kickoff, Colorado assistant coach Tim Brewster took a lap around Folsom Field, stopping near where USC quarterback Caleb Williams was going through his pregame routine.
Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, had the standard set of TV cameras and smartphones pointed toward him as he head-bobbed to music.
But it hardly compared to the paparazzi-like throng parked in front of Colorado's tunnel in the northeast corner of the stadium.
First came the visiting athletes: C.C. Sabathia, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, DeAndre Jordan and Desean Jackson, then others who are frequently hanging with coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes, such as Terrell Owens and Warren Sapp.