Arden Walker grew up listening to stories about Colorado football, as his father, Arthur, was a star for the Buffaloes in the late 1980s.

“I’ve been hearing those stories since I was probably … I’ll say probably 3 or 4 is the earliest I remember,” Arden said this week. “There’s so many stories that I’ve heard on everything you can possibly think of on the field, off the field.”

Arden is now helping to create stories to tell his own kids one day, as he is playing a key role in helping the 18th-ranked Buffs (7-2, 5-1 Big 12) contend for the Big 12 title. CU will host Utah (4-5, 1-5) on Saturday at Folsom Field (10 a.m., Fox).

Arthur Walker was a part of the famous “H-Boys” trio, which included Kanavis McGhee and Alfred Williams.

All three were from Houston, and all three were All-American defenders for the 1989 Buffs that went 11-1.

Arden, now in his second season at CU after starting his career at Missouri, is part of a resurgent defense that is leading the Big 12 in sacks (29), while ranking second in tackles for loss (64).

After posting his first career two-sack game last Saturday at Texas Tech, Arden has three sacks and 3.5 TFLs this season, along with 24 tackles and four QB hits.

“It’s an honor,” he said of making an impact on the CU defense.

“I’m one of the legacy Buffs on this team, so I look at it a different way. With me wearing the CU emblem on my helmet and on my jersey, like, I feel just knowing the history and just how much it means to the people before me, I take pride in what I do. So every time I step on the field, it’s just like, I can make a difference.”

Walker and his teammates have been piling up sacks in recent weeks. The Buffs had just five through the first four games, but they’ve had 24 in the past five.

CU already has more sacks than in each of the previous five seasons. If they continue their torrid pace of the past five games, the Buffs could hit the 40-sack mark for just the sixth time in program history. The last team to reach 40 was the 1995 squad. (The school record, counting bowl game stats, is 50 in 1969).

“We just continued to stay consistent (after a slow start to the year),” Arden said. “We all kept encouraging each other, just trying to throw out moves that work for each individual. Each person in my room, no matter D-tackle or D-end, we’re all different rushers. We all have different moves, different bags, and we’re different body types and stuff like that.

“I feel like we just continue to keep working on it and see where we go from there. By this time in the season, it’s now like, OK, we know what we want, we know what we need to get and what moves need to work. So I feel like it’s just been working in our favor.”

Locking in

At Vanderbilt, Will Sheppard was the unquestioned leader in the receiver room. At Colorado, he’s not, but the 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior is putting up impressive numbers as one of the more valuable members of an explosive offense.

Sheppard is third on the team in catches (35), receiving yards (469) and receiving touchdowns (four).

Although on pace for almost the same numbers he put up as Vandy’s top receiver last year (47 catches, 684 yards, 8 TDs), Sheppard has adjusted to a new role.

“I think it goes back to just that unselfish mindset the whole group has,” he said.

“Nobody complains when things aren’t going their way, because we know every day is not gonna be your day. Every day you’re not gonna have 10 catches, 150 yards. That’s just not how it’s gonna go, especially with a room this stacked. But just knowing that, when your time does come, just make the play.”

Although he didn’t have a lot of production, and a couple of drops, early in the year, Sheppard has scored in four of the past five games.

“Obviously I’ve had moments of uncharacteristic things,” he said, “but I think the thing I’m most proud of myself for is just sticking through it, prevailing through it, showing people that those things don’t affect me long term, and that it’s just a blip.”

Notable

Sheppard is closing in on 200 career catches, with 187 going into Saturday. … With one more sack, CU would reach 30 as a team for the first time since posting exactly 30 in 2018.