Senior defensive back on Nebraska's 2025 roster.
5′11″ · 190 lb · Desoto, TX
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
ATH recruit
No. 1310 nationally · Signed with Trinity Christian School
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Nebraska's 2025 roster.
Marques Buford
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Marques Buford has played for three head coaches in five seasons at Nebraska. The receipt on tape: 5 tackles against Cincinnati, Week 1, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Scott Frost, Mickey Joseph, and Matt Rhule. Multi-era developmental context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles for loss (7th percentile).
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 · Per-game
2025 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 3.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Rhule
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Three-star recruit. Now #531 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #74 of 77 Big Ten DBs
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 9 · 2025
W 28–21
vs Northwestern
2 TOT
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 at home.
With K. Williams — 1 TD · 62 AVG · 95 LONG · A. Wilson — 55 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 58 LONG
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 9 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 20-17@ Cincinnati | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 68-0vs Akron | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 27-30vs Michigan | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-27vs Michigan State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-31@ Maryland | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 6-24@ Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 28-21vs Northwestern | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 16-40vs Iowa | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 22-44@ Utah | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
21 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
2026 Outlook
Nebraska
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Nebraska
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Nebraska · Last season: 7-6 (AP #25) · Talent rank #22 · 2026 recruiting class #88
Player DNA
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Andre Mack’s 2025 season.
Matches Andre on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Woodi Washington's graduate season at Oklahoma (2024).
Matches Woodi on
Player DNA