SAN ANTONIO >> Jimmy Horn Jr. could not have asked for a better start to this senior season with the Colorado Buffaloes.

Horn caught seven passes for 198 yards and a touchdown in a season-opening win against North Dakota State on Aug. 29.

The four months since then haven’t gone quite as planned, but Horn is looking forward to ending his season — and his career — on the right note on Saturday when the No. 20 Buffs face No. 17 BYU in the Valero Alamo Bowl (5:30 p.m., ABC).

“I’m just thankful and blessed for this opportunity to be in a bowl game,” he said Thursday at an Alamo Bowl news conference. “I cherish this. I’m going to go out there and play real hard. So I’m just ready.”

Playing in a loaded receiver room and then dealing with nagging injuries that essentially wiped out his November, Horn has caught just 26 passes for 236 yards since the opener. He hasn’t caught a pass in a game since Oct. 26 against Cincinnati, missing all or most of the past four games. Horn has been healthy and going through bowl practices, however.

“I’ve been feeling pretty good,” he said. “The way I got through it, I go to treatment every day, you know. Just got to show up and get the treatment for my body, so I can go out there and perform.”

When Horn does perform, he’s exceptional. During his college career, which began with two seasons at South Florida, he’s caught 158 passes for 1,953 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“Jimmy was playing through a lot of injuries this year, so I take that personal that he wasn’t able to get the numbers and do what he was supposed to do because we had big plans, big everything with him and Omarion (Miller),” CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders said. “That hurt me, I will say, and he hasn’t been able to show his best yet.

“When he’s healthy, he is very unstoppable, and it’s tough to guard him in man coverage.”

Although the Buffs have Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award winner Travis Hunter, as well as stars LaJohntay Wester and Will Sheppard in the room, they would love to see Horn have a big game against BYU.

“Jimmy can make an impact,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “The thing about Jimmy is he’s fast-fast. We’ve seen it first series of the game against North Dakota State. If he catches the ball in the back end, he can score touchdowns. I think that’s the beauty of him.

“Then as you get to know Jimmy, he’s got a wonderful spirit. You’ve got to love Jimmy Horn, and you just root for him to have success. We’ll try to get him the ball this Saturday. If he does what he can do with the ball, that will be good for us. So we would like to send him out the right way.”

Whether he has a big game statistically or not, Horn is pleased to be finishing his career in a bowl. He went through 2-10 and 1-11 seasons at USF before coming to CU in 2023 and going 4-8. “It means a lot,” Horn said of playing in a bowl game. “It’s been a journey. It’s my first bowl game since I’ve been in college, so I’m real excited, man. I just want to thank all my teammates and everybody, the coaching staff, the coaches. It’s been a real journey, man.

“We worked real hard to get where we’re at. I can’t thank everybody enough because I wouldn’t be here without them.”