Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 14-13@ Georgia Tech | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 52-21vs Weber State | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#10
Makari Vickers
Six months after open-heart surgery, Makari Vickers walked onto the field against Delaware and broke up a pass in the first quarter. Deion Sanders called it one of the most inspiring stories in the Buffs' locker room. Now the comeback is over and the harder question begins: can he actually win a starting job?
6′1″ · 190 lb · Tallahassee, FL · Robert F. Munroe
Returning to Colorado for 2026
Recruiting
4★
S recruit
No. 76 nationally · Signed with Oklahoma
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Six months after open-heart surgery, Makari Vickers walked onto the field against Delaware and broke up a pass in the first quarter. Deion Sanders called it one of the most inspiring stories in the Buffs' locker room. Now the comeback is over and the harder question begins: can he actually win a starting job?
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Oklahoma in 2023.
- Transferred from Oklahoma to Colorado in 2025.
Six months after open-heart surgery, Makari Vickers walked onto the field against Delaware and broke up a pass in the first quarter. Deion Sanders called it one of the most inspiring stories in the Buffs' locker room. Now the comeback is over and the harder question begins: can he actually win a starting job?
The story everyone in Boulder already knows is the one Vickers can't outrun, and wouldn't want to. He transferred from Oklahoma in December 2024 with two quiet seasons behind him, then posted in mid-March that he'd undergone heart surgery. He missed all of spring, came back for fall camp, and made his Colorado debut roughly six months post-op, logging a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry in a 31-7 win. Coach Prime framed it as a triumph, and it was.
The 2026 chapter is colder math. Vickers is one of just three holdovers (with RJ Johnson and Kole Mathis) in a cornerback room Sanders gutted and restocked through the portal again. Notre Dame transfer Cree Thomas locked down the No. 1 spot in spring, with Prime flatly saying "Cree is that guy." The other outside corner is genuinely open, and the line for it is long: JMU's Justin Eaglin, Tennessee's Boo Carter, Lamar's Paul Omodia, App State's Emory Floyd, plus the returners. Vickers' case is the one nobody else has — a former four-star (No. 73 nationally) with real positional flex, used at corner, nickel, safety and dime in 2025, when he posted 8 solo tackles and 2 pass breakups in limited snaps.
That versatility is his floor and maybe his ceiling: it keeps him on the field even if he doesn't win a starting boundary job, but it can also typecast him as the Swiss-army defensive back who never quite owns one spot. The forward stake the boards are circling: in a room this deep, does the comeback story turn into a starting role, or does Vickers spend 2026 as the most valuable utility piece in Coach Prime's secondary?
How he plays
No play-by-play percentiles exist for Vickers' 2025 sample, so this is a scouting read. He's a long, 6-1, 191-pound former safety who plays like one — comfortable bailing to deep middle, sliding into the nickel, or matching tight ends in dime, which is exactly how Colorado deployed him on return. The four-star pedigree shows up as smooth hips and recovery speed rather than press-man bully traits; his 2025 line (8 solo tackles, 2 pass breakups, a quarterback hurry on a blitz) reads like a rangy chess piece feeling his way back, not a finished boundary lockdown corner. The projection is a versatile, ball-aware defender whose value is positional flexibility more than shutdown isolation reps.
src
- SI: Colorado DB Makari Vickers makes triumphant return after heart surgery
- Yahoo Sports: Colorado cornerback shines after offseason heart surgery in inspiring Buffs return
- SI: Deion Sanders has found his top cornerback (Cree Thomas) in spring practice
- SI: Incoming Colorado transfer CB Makari Vickers recovering from heart surgery
The story
The story everyone in Boulder already knows is the one Vickers can't outrun, and wouldn't want to. He transferred from Oklahoma in December 2024 with two quiet seasons behind him, then posted in mid-March that he'd undergone heart surgery. He missed all of spring, came back for fall camp, and made his Colorado debut roughly six months post-op, logging a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry in a 31-7 win. Coach Prime framed it as a triumph, and it was.
The 2026 chapter is colder math. Vickers is one of just three holdovers (with RJ Johnson and Kole Mathis) in a cornerback room Sanders gutted and restocked through the portal again. Notre Dame transfer Cree Thomas locked down the No. 1 spot in spring, with Prime flatly saying "Cree is that guy." The other outside corner is genuinely open, and the line for it is long: JMU's Justin Eaglin, Tennessee's Boo Carter, Lamar's Paul Omodia, App State's Emory Floyd, plus the returners. Vickers' case is the one nobody else has — a former four-star (No. 73 nationally) with real positional flex, used at corner, nickel, safety and dime in 2025, when he posted 8 solo tackles and 2 pass breakups in limited snaps.
That versatility is his floor and maybe his ceiling: it keeps him on the field even if he doesn't win a starting boundary job, but it can also typecast him as the Swiss-army defensive back who never quite owns one spot. The forward stake the boards are circling: in a room this deep, does the comeback story turn into a starting role, or does Vickers spend 2026 as the most valuable utility piece in Coach Prime's secondary?
SOURCES
- SI: Colorado DB Makari Vickers makes triumphant return after heart surgery
- Yahoo Sports: Colorado cornerback shines after offseason heart surgery in inspiring Buffs return
- SI: Deion Sanders has found his top cornerback (Cree Thomas) in spring practice
- SI: Incoming Colorado transfer CB Makari Vickers recovering from heart surgery
His career
No play-by-play percentiles exist for Vickers' 2025 sample, so this is a scouting read. He's a long, 6-1, 191-pound former safety who plays like one — comfortable bailing to deep middle, sliding into the nickel, or matching tight ends in dime, which is exactly how Colorado deployed him on return. The four-star pedigree shows up as smooth hips and recovery speed rather than press-man bully traits; his 2025 line (8 solo tackles, 2 pass breakups, a quarterback hurry on a blitz) reads like a rangy chess piece feeling his way back, not a finished boundary lockdown corner. The projection is a versatile, ball-aware defender whose value is positional flexibility more than shutdown isolation reps.
Written by our staff.
20235 games
- Signed with Oklahoma4-star out of Robert F. Munroe Day School
20256 games
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coach2023–2026
Colorado
Played his entire career under Deion Sanders.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023Oklahoma10-3HC: Brent Venables · Balanced
2024Oklahoma6-7HC: Brent Venables · Run-leaning
2025Colorado3-9HC: Deion Sanders · Run-leaning
2026Colorado2-0HC: Deion Sanders · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 0.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Deion Sanders
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
Tackle volume for the position at the early end of the ladder.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 52–21
vs Weber State
1 PD
Dominant 31-point win at home against Weber State.
With J. Lewis — 366 yds · 4 TD · 0 INT · QBR 85.2 · -23 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD · D. Greaves — 51 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 57 LONG
Game log
How he plays
Play style
No play-by-play percentiles exist for Vickers' 2025 sample, so this is a scouting read. He's a long, 6-1, 191-pound former safety who plays like one — comfortable bailing to deep middle, sliding into the nickel, or matching tight ends in dime, which is exactly how Colorado deployed him on return. The four-star pedigree shows up as smooth hips and recovery speed rather than press-man bully traits; his 2025 line (8 solo tackles, 2 pass breakups, a quarterback hurry on a blitz) reads like a rangy chess piece feeling his way back, not a finished boundary lockdown corner. The projection is a versatile, ball-aware defender whose value is positional flexibility more than shutdown isolation reps.
Our classifier reads him the same way: doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
2026 Outlook
Colorado
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Colorado
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +4 net (42 in / 38 out)
2026 Award watch
- Jim Thorpe
Colorado · Last season: 3-9 · Talent rank #39 · 2026 recruiting class #67
DNA match
Player DNA
Cover Corner
Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Delvon Gulley’s 2025 season.
85%match
Matches Delvon on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Vicari Swain's junior season at South Carolina (2025).
Matches Vicari on
Class year
Height
Weight
Differs from Vicari on
Tackle volume (lower)
Player DNA
Players who play like Makari Vickers
Background
AT COLORADO 2025 (So.) Played in eight games during the 2025 season, starting in two. Made his first collegiate start at home against Wyoming in week four. Missed four games due to injury. Finished the season with 13 total tackles, seven unassisted tackles, three pass breakups, and one quarterbac...
The secondary · Colorado
- #4Naeten Mitchell92 tackles · 2025
- #7Randon Fontenette51 tackles · 2025
- #8Emory Floyd49 tackles · 2025
- #30Justin Eaglin35 tackles · 2025
- #10Makari Vickers12 tackles · 2025
15 more on the roster · Colorado team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology