In four years with the Broncos, Matt Russell, the team’s director of player personnel has played a big part in building the roster into what it is today.

On Thursday night, he will be inducted into the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame for his four-year career as a Buffalo, in which he earned first-team All-American honors as a linebacker.

“The University of Colorado means so much to me,” Russell told CUBuffs.com. “To be inducted into the Hall of Fame is something that you have for the rest of your life. It’s very humbling and it’s a great honor. To be honored by a university that you love so much, it’s incredible.”

The second all-time leading tackler in Colorado history culminated his career with one of the greatest honors a player at his position could receive – the 1996 Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker.

16 years later, Russell credits his teammates for the award.

“It’s obviously a great individual honor, but it was honestly a compliment to our whole defense,” Russell told the school website. “The Butkus Award is an award where you really have to be on a successful team. I was lucky to be surrounded by great teammates.”

Russell is one of 12 former Buffaloes that will be inducted into the 2012 Hall of Fame class. Remembering his four impactful years at Colorado, he said his decision to become a Buffalo is one that he will never regret.

“There’s a great sense of pride and a great sense of happiness when I think about being a Buff,” Russell told CUBuffs.com. “If I had to make the decision of where I was going to go to school all over again, it wouldn’t take me more than 10 seconds to go right back to CU. It’s great to be a Buff. I’m very proud.”

Tags: Colorado Buffaloes, Matt Russell

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