Mario Buford

Honors & Awards » Three-Time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll » Academic All-Big Ten (2025) » Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2025) 2025 (Redshirt) Mario Buford played in two games and redshirted in 2025. 2024 (Freshman) Buford played in 11 games as a true freshman, totaling eight tackles. He saw extensive playing time in the secondary against Northern Iowa, finishing with the first three tackles of his career. Buford also saw extended action in the secondary at Purdue, totaling two solo tackles. He recorded two more tackles at Indiana while posting the first pass breakup of his career. Buford's final tackle of the season came on kickoff coverage in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College. Before Nebraska (DeSoto [Texas] HS) Buford joined Nebraska from powerhouse DeSoto High School in Texas. Buford helped the Eagles to back-to-back state championships under Coach Claude Mathis. DeSoto went 15-0 in Buford’s senior season, winning the school’s second straight 6A D-II state title while earning a top-10 national ranking. According to MaxPreps, Buford totaled 42 tackles as a senior. He also helped DeSoto to a state championship as a junior when he recorded 32 tackles and forced a fumble. Buford saw action on the varsity team as a sophomore, finishing with 18 tackles. Buford also competed in track and field at DeSoto. He boasted a personal-best time of 23.85 in the 200 meters with a personal-best long jump of more than 20 feet. A four-star recruit, Buford was ranked among the nation’s top 25 cornerbacks by On3, which also ranked him as the No. 180 overall recruit. Personal Mario is the son of Marques Buford Sr. and Roslin Blasingame-Buford. Mario is a child, youth and family studies major. Mario's older brother, Marques Buford Jr., was a Husker defensive back who played in 53 games with 30 starts from 2021 to 2025, recording 136 career tackles.