BOULDER • It’s going to be pretty weird when the Colorado defense takes the field this fall and No. 53 is no longer squarely in the middle of the huddle.

Nate Landman was the heart and soul of the Buffs for the past four seasons, finishing as a four-time All-Pac-12 player and near the top of just about every statistical category for inside linebackers in school history. But the Northern California kid, who was actually born in Zimbabwe while his dad was playing international rugby, is out of eligibility and has moved on to the NFL.

It would be natural to assume there would be some drop-off at that position when a player of that caliber exits the program. That might not be the case for CU this season.

The Buffs have three players capable of filling in for Landman, and all three will see the field a good amount this season, but it all starts with senior Quinn Perry, who started the final five games of last season while Landman was out with an injury and is now a key leader for the defense in camp.

“I was very fortunate to be able to be under (Landman’s) wing last year and learn from him every week,” Perry told The Gazette this week. “I think I’m filling the expectations as needed. The whole group as a unit is doing amazing and we’re rising to expectations and overcoming them as well. The scheme we’re doing now is very beneficial to the playing styles we have.”

Perry was a junior college addition for the Buffs before the 2020 season, coming from El Camino College in California and served immediately as a valuable backup to Landman. But last year was a bit of a breakout campaign for Perry, who finished the season second on the team in tackles, despite only starting five of the team’s 12 games.

“It was a big deal for me,” Perry said of the increased playing time last season, “especially in those Oregon State and Washington games when we fought long and hard games with low scoring. But it just raised my confidence, assuring (myself ) that I can play in this league and I’m a big-down player for the team.”

Perry, alongside former 5-star recruit and Oklahoma transfer Robert Barnes, helped solidify that position last season while Landman was out and played key roles in the Buffs’ two late-season wins, and the two have already established a good chemistry on and off the field.

But Karl Dorrell and his staff added a big-time player to the linebacker group when they brought in All-Big 12 player Josh Chandler-Semedo from West Virginia. Adding a player who was third in a Power Five conference in tackles a season ago is rare, and it was an easy decision for the Buffs to bring him in and shore up the heart of the defense.

“It popped on tape really quickly how smart he was,” Dorrell said. “He played both an inside linebacker position and an outside linebacker position, and he did both of them very proficiently. It’s been a seamless transition for him because his football IQ is really, really strong.”

That impact has been felt by those who are playing alongside him, as well.

“Josh is a great player,” Perry said. “He’s coming in and making a big impact right away. Me and him push each other every day on the field and in the weight room. He’s a great addition to the team and he raises the bar and the standard for how we play every day.”

The trio of Perry, Barnes and Chandler-Semedo already has the Buffs in a better spot than most people outside would have expected in the first season post-Landman. But Dorrell is also excited about the depth at the linebacker spot, as well. Early enrollee freshman Eoghan Kerry has been a name mentioned multiple times by the staff over the offseason and wouldn’t be a surprise if he and some other younger players made an impact right away in 2022.

“That’s a name that really hasn’t played yet, but he’s an integral part, same thing with Isaac Hurtado,” Dorrell said. “Those guys came in midstream and they don’t have any full snaps under their belts in terms of game snaps, but they’ve completely revamped our linebacker position. We have so much more depth and talent there. I feel really good about both our first- and second-team linebackers, I feel like there’s hardly any dropoff.”