Will Tucker’s shorts return?

B OULDE R » The long-term forecast calls for mid-70s and mostly sunny skies in Boulder on Oct. 5 when the Buffs host Arizona. Which begs the question for CU coach Mel Tucker: Shorts?

Or slacks?

“It’s a free country,” Tucker said with a grin after the Buffs’ bye week practice wrapped up here Tuesday.

Tucker has become the first CU coach since Rick Neuheisel in 1995 to notch two top 25 wins in his inaugural September. That was the big news coming out of last Saturday night’s 34-31 victory at then-No. 24 Arizona State. That and the injuries that knocked star wideout Laviska Shenault and defensive standout Mustfa Johnson out of the game.

But once social media grabbed a hold of Tucker’s sartorial choice in Tempe — black shorts instead of pants — it really hasn’t let go.

Perspective: A typing of the words “Mel Tucker, Buffs” early Tuesday afternoon on Google’s search engine brought back approximately 2.2 million results.

“Mel Tucker, Colorado”: 2.78 million.

“Mel Tucker, Shorts”: 11 million.

Suddenly, Boulder finds itself home to the hottest pair of knees in college football. And, you know, all sorts of wacky marketing possibilities.

“We’ll see what happens, on that, right?” Tucker said third and 2, Benjamin, ASU’s dynamic tailback, turned to what he thought was daylight and a Sun Devils lead. Then, in an instant, the 6-foot-2 Rakestraw crashed through the hole, throwing Benjamin down for a 1-yard loss.

“The hole opened up because (linebacker) Nate Landman was blitzing,” Rakestraw recalled. “The guard had to pick him up, and the hole opened. I just stepped right into it. I had to show up.”

He did. Repeatedly. In his first start of the season in place of the injured Aaron Maddox, the Georgia native led the Buffs with nine tackles — including that big stop near the goal line that forced ASU to attempt a chip-shot field goal instead of pushing for the lead.

The Rakestaw highlight package included a fourthquarter interception of Sun Devils quarterback Jayden Daniels that helped the Buffs (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) hang around before pulling out a 34-31 victory, the program’s first over Arizona State in Tempe.

“Coach (Mel) Tucker stressed that we’ve all got to be ready, anytime,” Rakestraw said. “Definitely, he pushed all of us. We’ve got a lot of really good defensive backs and we can all play. One guy goes down, we wouldn’t lose too much.”

Guys were going down like crazy in the desert, most notably wideout Laviska Shenault (undisclosed), defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson (ankle), cornerback Delrick with a laugh.

Will the shorts make a return now that they’re 1-0 in the Pac-12? What would Tucker’s mentors, Jim Tressel and Nick Saban, have to say about that?

“I hadn’t heard from those guys,” Tucker replied. “Obviously, I felt good. That was the main thing.”

Injury updates. With the short-term futures of Shenault and Johnson — among others — in doubt, Tucker told reporters Tuesday that he’d offer health updates on the players injured at the Arizona State game before the end of the bye week.

Shenault, the CU wide receiver who was averaging a 73.0 combined receiving and rushing yards per game, was seen leaving the field for treatment after a 23-yard gain in the first quarter against the Sun Devils. CU has remained tight-lipped as to the nature and severity of the injury, which forced the native Texan to watch the second half of the game in street clothes

Johnson, the 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive lineman, also left last Saturday’s game with what was reported to be an ankle problem. He was leading the Buffs’ defense with three sacks through the season’s first three games.

Tucker said updates on safety Mikial Onu (leg) and cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. (shouder), should come soon, too.

“It’s a long list,” the coach said. “I don’t have anything for you (today). I should have something later in the week, though.” Abrams Jr. (shoulder) and safety Mikial Onu.

But such is the trust in Coach Tucker right now — the trust and the preparation — that a roster largely built by someone else is still selling out, to a man, for the cause.

“I mean, (we) see him every day,” Tucker said Tuesday of Rakestraw, who’d come to CU as a former prep wide receiver and track star. “(Derrion) works really hard. We coach all of our guys. And ‘next man up,’ that’s not an original concept.”

A hockey assist, too, to former coach Mike MacIntyre, who originally suggested Rakestraw’s move from wideout to defense — cornerback, at first — in the summer of 2017. And to former CU secondary coach ShaDon Brown, whom Rakestraw credited with shepherding his conversion to safety.

“We had a lot of good receivers at the time,” the Buffs junior said. “(And MacIntyre) was saying it would be a good opportunity for me to get on the field, especially with my size, my speed and my height — all the things that NFL scouts are looking for in defensive backs.”

That and playmakers. Guys who aren’t afraid of the moment, who relish winning the 1-on-1 battles, especially if it’s against a tailback, in space, rolling with a head of steam.

“There’s some stuff I’ve got to work on, too,” Rakestraw said. “It’s good to see positive plays, to see all the work pay off, to eventually make it happen.”