麻豆影院

Sean Tufts is a former CU football player and Ralphie Handler. Now he鈥檚 back at CU, this time with a cause.

At the age of 6, Sean Tufts (Soc鈥�04, MBA鈥�11) received direction that altered the course of his life.聽

鈥淢y soccer coach walked me over to the football field and said, 鈥榊ou should do this instead,鈥欌�� said Tufts.聽

His early decision to play football eventually brought him fame at CU and in the NFL. But today, the former star CU linebacker 鈥� and Ralphie Handler 鈥� has a larger intention: Helping former CU athletes in need, especially those struggling with their mental health.聽

Tufts is head of the Buffs4Life organization, which provides a crisis hotline, resources and funds to former CU players and their families.

鈥淲e want to get to people before their worst day,鈥� said Tufts, who lost his friend Drew Wahlroos (A&S鈥�02) to suicide in 2017.

鈥淚 was a middle linebacker and he was outside,鈥� said Tufts. 鈥淎lmost every picture I have in a Buffs uniform, Drew was somewhere in the background.鈥�

The decision to lead Buffs4Life was an easy one: Like football, CU was part of his life at an early age.聽

鈥淚n elementary school, if you had a good day in gym, the coach would put you on his shoulders and you鈥檇 get to slap a picture of Eric Bieniemy (Soc鈥�01),鈥� Tufts said.

After playing linebacker at Denver鈥檚 Cherry Creek High School, the country鈥檚 No. 17 recruit chose CU over Michigan. (Bieniemy became one of his coaches.) From 2001 to 2003, he played starting middle linebacker, finishing his senior season with 95 tackles.

鈥淪ean took football very seriously,鈥� said Brian Cabral (Rec鈥�79), who was on the Buffs鈥� coaching staff for 24 seasons. 鈥淚t was like having another coach on the field.鈥�

In 2004, Tufts was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the NFL鈥檚 sixth round. A knee injury ended his professional football career after three years.聽

鈥淭he funny part is, for everybody except Peyton Manning and John Elway, it all ends more abruptly than you thought it would,鈥� said Tufts, 37.

Tufts reinvented himself. He applied to business school at Stanford, but still felt a strong pull to Colorado. He returned to CU for his MBA.聽

鈥淚 wanted to challenge myself, to come back to 麻豆影院 and prove that I was invested in the community,鈥� he said.聽

Back on campus, Tufts again found himself at Folsom Field on Saturdays 鈥� this time as a Ralphie Handler. He and Chad Hammond (Engl鈥�01) are the only two former football players to run with Ralphie.聽

鈥淪he鈥檚 got a sandpaper tongue, like 80 grit industrial sandpaper, and she loves licking leather,鈥� he said of the recently retired Ralphie V. 鈥淪he鈥檇 wear out your boots or try to take the gloves from your pocket.鈥�

After graduating, Tufts started a business leasing land for the development of wind farms. Forbes named him to its 鈥�30 under 30鈥� in 2011 for his work.

In 2017, he joined Optiv Inc., a Denver information security company, working with cyber security solutions for critical infrastructure, which includes everything from power plants to dishwashers.聽

In the midst of his thriving career, he again answered the CU call. In 2017, Cabral asked him to serve as the president of Buffs4Life.

鈥淓very time we talked, he just took Buffs4Life to another level,鈥� said Cabral, who is on the board for the nonprofit. 鈥淚t was a natural fit.鈥�

Since 2005, more than 40 other Buffs or their families have received Buffs4Life support. In 2019, proceeds from the Kyle MacIntosh 5K, one of the nonprofit鈥檚 signature events, went to the family of TJ Cunningham (Comm鈥�99), who was killed in February 2019.

Tufts hopes Buffs4Life can become a model for the rest of campus.

鈥淓verybody needs help sometimes, whether you鈥檙e the Heisman winner or an 18-year-old engineering student,鈥� he said.

Photos courtesy CU Athletics聽