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Buffs double-down on Shenault brothers

Colorado Buffaloes add a wide receiver sibling to the potent corps. Freshman LaVontae Shenault joins his star brother LaViska in the wide receiver group.

BOULDER, Colorado — "Hey LaViska, can you sign my helmet? I'm a big fan bro!"

It's a joke from fellow teammate and wide receiver Tony Brown, but to LaViska Shenault, this is daily life.

"Me being so humble, I don't actually look at the big picture like I'm really doing this," Shenault said of his early success.

The junior wide receiver is already earning preseason all-conference honors and sitting in the top-20 of popular NFL mock draft lists. But even with all of this recognition, LaViska tries to shade himself from the limelight. 

"The people that are in my circle, we talk about it. We speak our goals into existence," he said. "But as far as it comes to media and everybody else, I don't need to do that. I just stay humble and I feel like if you stay humble, better things come and more better things come."

Shenault keeps his head down and his mouth pursed, but it's his work ethic that speaks louder than the public address announcer. 

It's a lesson he hopes he can pass along to his younger brother LaVontae, the newest buffs receiver, although he has a feeling they're on different pages.

"He's a little bit of a different person but once he understands the bigger picture around things and he grows up a little bit, he'll be something special too," LaViska said.

The frosh Shenault is already learning from example. 

"He's definitely someone I can always look up to because he's like a great person and being humble, that's the greatest thing you can ever be with being on the field, you've got to be humble," LaVontae said.

LaViska is a big part of the reason LaVontae chose to join the Buffs family, but it's not the only one.

"I chose this school because Coach Chiaverini showed love to me since sophomore year," he said. "Really from the jump, he was the first coach that come to me and he didn't go nowhere, all through my high school."

Still, LaViska respected his brother's freedom throughout the process.

"I just told him I wasn't going to get involved with it because I already knew how hard it was to make my decision so I just let him handle his own."

Now the duo has the chance to line up together on Saturdays, yet, the Shenault brothers understand the reality: LaViska will very likely leave after his junior year. They are not taking this opportunity for granted.

"It would mean something very special," LaViska said. "A lot of people don't get to play on the same team with their brother in college, so it would be special."

"It's really a blessing," LaVontae added. "A lot of people wish they could be on the same field with their brother or play with them. I knew this was a one time thing or one chance."

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