BOULDER — It doesn’t take long for Jayvon McFadden to remind you he’s related to Jordan Seaton.

An offensive lineman, McFadden transferred to Colorado from Ohio State. He’s a cousin of Colorado’s former star left tackle, Seaton. Asked about his favorite memory from the team’s week in Colorado Springs to begin fall camp, McFadden thought of a joke someone said in the cafeteria when sitting with fellow linemen Demetrius Hunter, Bo Hughley, Jose Soto and others. 

“I can’t remember exactly what he said and (Hunter) just said a crazy joke and we were all just laughing,” McFadden said. “We were probably laughing right there for like 5-10 minutes about the same joke.”

Later in his first media session since arriving at CU, McFadden brought a similar energy while trying to explain why he’s enjoyed the hard coaching he’s received since joining the Buffs.

“When you shoot it straight forward with somebody, you’ve got no choice but to push forward. If I lie to you and tell you you’re the best reporter in the world, blah blah blah, you’ll get gas in your head,” McFadden said. “But if I tell you what you can work on to be a better reporter, now you know and now you can learn from it.”

Laughs included, McFadden, known affectionately by coaches and teammates as “Dough,” is enjoying himself in Boulder.

After watching from the sidelines during his lone season with the Buckeyes, McFadden entered the transfer portal last winter looking for a different kind of coaching. He said he had multiple coaches in the offensive line room while at Ohio State and the message from each was different.

That’s not what he found at CU, even though the Buffs currently have a quartet of voices doing the coaching in that room, led by Gunnar White. He’s assisted by Andre Gurode, George Hegamin and Grant Hammer.

“We’ve got four people that know exactly what they’re talking about and giving me exactly what I want,” McFadden said. “It don’t matter what time of the day it is or how I’m feeling, I can always go talk to every single one of those guys, starting with coach Gunnar (White) to coach (Gurode) to coach (Hegamin) to coach Grant (Hammer).

“This offensive line unit and coaching staff, they speak the same thing and the same language. It really helps out.”

That appears to be paying dividends ahead of McFadden’s first season in black and gold, where he is one of several players competing for a starting spot and has been one of the standouts of fall camp.

“He’s grown a lot since he first got here with us in January and I’m very proud of the strides he’s made on the field and off the field,” White said. “He’s a phenomenal kid.

“He’s violent and physical. It doesn’t matter if it’s run or pass, once he gets his eyes locked in on his target, it’s game over. I love everything that he’s doing.” 

McFadden looks like a player with something to prove. He does. He was a former four-star recruit who was the top-rated offensive lineman in Maryland as a high schooler. He wants to prove to his new coaches and new teammates why CU is the perfect place for him to thrive.

“I want to prove myself to my teammates, that they can trust me to be out there,” McFadden said. “I feel like trust is a very important thing and if you’re not out there practicing good then they won’t trust you to go get in the game. If you’re not out there giving what you got in practice, knowing your assignment and executing your assignment to the best of your ability, the coaches won’t trust you to put you in and also the players won’t trust you. 

“I’m a big believer in what Coach Prime and coach Marion and coach Gunnar emphasize. If you don’t practice good, you won’t play well. I’ve never been anywhere and the players didn’t practice well and then go play well.”

If McFadden plays well, that would make the loss of Seaton to LSU sting a little less.

“That’s my family. I’m always gonna talk to Jordan,” McFadden said. “Jordan’s been a great guy for me — even when I was in high school. He’s one to not complain. He’s one to not care what’s going on. He’s one that’s gonna want to work hard and outwork everybody and he instilled that into me.”