First half of Spring Practice in the books and on film

The first half of CU spring football practices are in the books as the Buffs completed the eighth of fifteen practices, including the second scrimmage on Friday.  There was a decent amount of press recently, even some national attention, although nothing surprising or of great interest.  Coach MacIntyre and his staff are still feeling out the team and the players and evaluating the film, so we really won’t have too much to talk about until the coaching staff releases its first “pencil” depth chart sometime this week.

ESPN.com  coverage: I can’t believe the Buffalo Football team had three mentions on ESPN.com on the same day, especially this time of year, but…

How bad is it here in Boulder?  Ivan Maisel called it a dirty job, definitely the toughest in college football, maybe one of the worst?  Do you agree? http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9065139/new-coaches-face-different-kinds-spring-challenges-college-football 

Maisel also had a blurb in his 3-point stance on the facilities: “Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said that the Buffs’ facilities are fine, even as the university has begun a campaign to add to them. Adding and renovating are a necessity in the Pac-12, he said. “USC has built a $70 million complex, and Washington has built a $400 million complex and stadium, and Cal has built a $350 million complex and stadium,” MacIntyre said. “They just kind of raised the bar.”

Lastly, there was also this tidbit on the QBs in the “Insider Rumor Central”: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/college-football/rumors/post?id=3189

Practice and player notes: MacIntyre was so generic with his post practice notes Tuesday it’s not worth typing or copying any of them. 

Thursday gave us a little more: “They’re starting to learn how to rush off the edge. Chidera (Uzo-Diribe) and Samson (Kafovalu) did a really good job. They sacked the quarterback four of five times. They hadn’t been getting near him. They were rushing too far inside, going too head up on the (offensive) tackle. They’re just starting to understand. Jim Jeffcoat does a great job of teaching them how to read a tackle, and how to rush. I think they’re starting to see that”. 

MacIntyre also reiterated what anyone has said about P-Rich: “Really quick and fast, and catching the ball well. He hasn’t had any issues with the knee. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him, and worked really hard at it.”

MacIntyre praised DD Goodson many times and could end up being the slot receiver that gets a lot of looks.  LB Derrick Webb said, “He’s pretty much a natural at wide receiver…haven’t seen him drop a ball yet…things he can do after the catch is pretty awesome.”

DB John Walker, who was in the mix for playing time last fall before a hand injury, is making a good impression again with the new coaches on defense and special teams.

Senior offensive lineman and possible captain Gus Handler is 100% healthy and working hard to impress his third set of coaches and make the most of his last season.  He said it has been harder adjusting the new strength and conditioning coaches and work, than the football coaching.  It would appear he is the frontrunner for the center position, especially in light of Munyer’s injury (see below).

Adam M. of Rivals on the Buff Stampede podcast had a few things to say, at least that he thought he could share publicly without drawing MacIntyre’s ire, about the practices and team so far.  He re-stated the fact that practice is being run at a very high tempo, running a lot of reps, and trying to get everyone equal reps here at the beginning.  He also noted there is much less yelling and swearing than in the past.

 -He said there is nothing to worry about that WR Paul Richardson didn’t play in the scrimmage and wore a yellow “no contact” jersey.  He is one guy they don’t really need to evaluate and they will be very cautious with him.  However, WR coach Troy Walters said if he didn’t know the history, watching Richardson, he wouldn’t know he was coming off a serious knee injury.

 -Other players that have stood out a little are converted RB, DD Goodson, who has turned some heads at WR, caught a long TD in the scrimmage and actually almost had another that Hirschman misthrew. Gerald Thomas also got a mention as looking very good so far. RB Josh Ford, never the biggest or fastest back just goes out and gains yards, has good vision and gets yards after contact.  Kaiwi Crabb has looked good on the offensive line and could work his way into the discussion of the interior. 

-Clay Norgard has transitioned back to his more natural defensive role, and has done well, but Adam doesn’t expect him to contribute much or challenge Brady Daigh, who he expects to be the starter at the “Mike” LB inside.

David G of Ralphie Report is as curious as anyone as to what this team will look like, especially the QBs, both lines and the DBs: http://www.ralphiereport.com/2013/3/19/4124712/2013-colorado-buffaloes-football-a-nother-new-era

A picture was tweeted out from CU of safeties coach Charles Clark jumping up with a group of players celebrating an interception.  It looks like he has enthusiasm and will be a “sidelines” guy.  Clark is one of four coaches younger than 33 years old - Brian Lindgren (OC), Klayton Adams (TE/RB), Andy LaRussa (CB).  The staff also includes WR coach Troy Walters who is very connected to the younger generation.

Second scrimmage A few changes to the schedule probably made for not the best scrimmaging situation ever. First, and it was a classy move by Coach MacIntyre, they moved the scrimmage back to 5:15 so the players could watch the men’s NCAA game in the Dal Ward Auditorium.  (I wonder how many of them were at Coors Saturday night for the women’s game in their backyard?).  Then, of course by that time it was snowing quite hard, so they went inside the practice bubble, which is not even a whole field length, has almost no sideline space, and punts can often hit ceiling. 

-They did get in 88 plays and “most” of the work they wanted to, minus live punting and kickoffs.  Much of the focus was situational -red zone, 2-minute drill, offense starting backed up deep-with over half of the 67 offensive plays in these specific areas, with the defense generally getting the best of the offense. 

Highlights and stats: WR Tyler McCulloch caught a 4^th-and-2 42-yard TD and Terrel Smith had a 103-yard pick six of a John Schrock pass. 

-The QBs only went a combined 18-40 for 196 yards, while the RBs only rushed 25 times for 70 yards, only 2.8 yards per carry.

Possible starting corners Kenneth Crawley and Greg Henderson also each had an INT. 

-LB Lowell Williams was again one of the leading tacklers with 5, along with DB John Walker and DT Justin Solis, who also had a sack.

-There were 21 total special teams plays with 4 PATs (Justin Castor and Wil Oliver were each 2-2) and 12 (mostly short) FGs; Oliver had the longest with a 47-yarder, but also the lone miss of a 37-yarder.

What were the other six ST plays if there was no punting or kickoffs?

-Here’s the complete stats page: http://www.cubuffs.com//pdf9/1743585.pdf

QB Battle: Although no one had great stats in the scrimmage, Shane Dillon told Adam M. of BuffStampede that he thought he had done enough to “make the cut” and be one of the three or four guys who continue getting decent reps.  He only got two drives, while the rest of the healthy QBs got four-does that mean he is a frontrunner and they wanted to see what the others had?  Overall, he got the least work in the two scrimmages, but I think coaches know he is one of their post-spring break guys, going 5-11-70-0-1 (comp-att-yards-TD-int).

-Terrel Smith said he thought he heard the most talk about Nick Hirschman, who does have the most experience besides Webb and has been in the program the longest.  However, Hirschman tweeted earlier in the week that he was excited there only three days until spring break-is that the attitude the team wants as its starting QB?  I wonder if we will see him as one of the top three or four after the break. Hirschman had similar stats to Dillon with a TD: 6-11-70-1-1.

-Jordan Webb re-injured his hand earlier in the week and did not participate in the scrimmage.  MacIntyre said to be fair, it was likely that Webb would be included in the next round. Webb was 5-11-98-1-0 in his only scrimmage.

-Connor Wood got a lot of work but was not consistent, going 7-20-124-1-0 and appears to be on the bubble.

-Although he ended up getting the most pass attempts, I haven’t heard or read much about Stevie Joe Dorman (17-28-137-0-1) anywhere so I would think it is safe to say he is out of the picture.  Likewise for John Schrock, whose only mentions have been interceptions (11-16-111-0-2, sacked three times).

Stuart from CUattheGame.com breaks down the QB competition and numbers:

http://www.cuatthegame.com/2013/colorado-daily-8/

Together the six QBs combined to throw for a 44% completion rate and a 3-to-1 INT to TD ratio in the scrimmages (and I don't attribute all to our outsnading defense).

S Parker Orms said he usually doesn’t even notice who the QB is on any given play, focusing on his assignments and what is happening with the offense as a whole.  LB Derrick Webb said he has seen all the QBs play well, as well as make mistakes.

MacIntyre said nothing has been decided yet before evaluating all the film, but I think it will be the main three guys-Webb, Hirschman, Dillon-continuing to get equal reps after Spring Break, with Schrock, Dorman and probably Wood on the outside looking in, unless coaches see something on film.

The running backs have had similar equal opportunity distribution and no one has stuck out yet.  It will be interesting to see how they narrow down this competition after break and if anyone moves elsewhere on the roster.

Position changes: Surprisingly, from what coaches said going into the spring, we haven’t heard much yet about other players working out at more than one position.  I would expect more after spring break, as guys fall on the depth chart at their current position, and coaches are concerned about depth at another.  Can Dorman or Wood play anywhere else?

Injuries: CB Yuri Wright (“working his way back with individual work”) and WR Jeff Thomas (not sure if he is still out but did not scrimmage last week) have been held out of practices because of nagging leg injuries and may not practice until after spring break.  Besides Webb, Parker Orms also sat out the scrimmage with some swelling in his knee.  Offensive linemen Daniel Munyer, thought to probably be one of the starting guards broke his leg Thursday, and although it is not considered serious, will have surgery and miss the rest of the spring.

Because of so many injuries (mainly Alex Lewis and Munyer), the offensive line will definitely still be up in the air through fall practices.

I am most curious to see the defensive depth chart as all three groups have a lot of guys and a lot of questions.

WR Austin Vincent can practice with the team, but since he practiced while enrolled full-time at both small schools (Sam Houston St. and Cisco College) he attended over the last year or so, he will not be able to play in games this fall.

At the end of the first half of practices MacIntyre said he thought the defense had caught up a little to the offense.  He praised DD Goodson again, Stephane Nembot’s development at offensive tackle, consistent punting and kicking, and the secondary as a whole for starting to make plays on the ball.  Coaches will now spend a couple of days re-watching all the film of all the practices so far and sketch out their “pencil” depth chart, which will still be very open and flexible.  They will then plan out the next five practices before the Spring Game on April 13.  Troy Walters tweeted Saturday that they were already “grinding, evaluating roster, recruiting, summer camps, #ChasingGreatness”

Here’s the remaining Spring practice schedule, most sessions 3:45-6:15PM on the lower Boulder Creek fields.

 Spring Break

Tuesday, April 2                   Practice (no tackling)
Thursday, April 4                 Practice
Friday, April 5                       Practice (scrimmage)
Tuesday, April 9                   Practice (no tackling)
Thursday, April 11                Practice

Saturday, April13                                 Spring Game, 10:30AM, televised on Pac-12 Network

Tuesday, April 16                 Final practice (shorts/helmets only)

Other Buff Notes: Congratulations to both 2012-13 Buff basketball squads, who each had their own great season, but bowed out of their respective tournaments in the first round.

The Pac-12 is the only conference that will have every one of its teams’ spring game televised, most on its own network.

One time Buff, Lynn Katoa, a four-star LB with tons of potential and tons of problems, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and felony menacing from a 2011 incident that landed him on Boulder police’s “most wanted” list.  Since Katoa was on probation at the time, he faces the aggravated sentencing range and faces a mandatory three to six years in prison, with sentencing on May 10. Katoa never even made it on the field, like a few of his fellow recruits in hawkins’ highly ranked class of 2008, from which seemingly more players left or never even joined the program (most because of negative circumstances) than actually found success on the field.  Eight guys either never finished, or even started their CU football career-Katoa, Darrell Scott, Bryce Givens, Steven Hicks, Chance Blackmon, Ryan Wallace, Max Tuioti-Mariner, Vince Ewing, with the last two by injury.

RIP Lyndie McCartney.

First Scrimmage in the Books

We had the first scrimmage of the Spring, and although I don’t think we learned anything monumental yet about this team, practices have me amped up and with the added potential bonus of prizes I gave in and purchased my season tickets, not that I ever considered not actually doing so, and I even anted up the $20 to mildly upgrade my seats for the csu game, albeit only an assurance that I will be in one general area in one corner near student section.  However, as long as the Bohnhead is in charge, I won’t give another added cent.

Players will be getting ipad minis for playbooks this year.  Wow, the money must be flowing in for a program that did not even provide water for its coaches last year.  How’s that facilities upgrade comin’ Mikey Mcbohn?

Practice Notes: Tuesday’s practice was conducted in the ugly practice bubble, which MacIntyre said was fine to keep them out of the mud for now, but he would prefer the future facilities.  In the first practice with pads he said the team wasn’t quite as sharp as they were last week. Thursday was the first day of tackling, but not much was reported.

MacIntyre talks a lot about linebackers in general, how Baer has had great success with them in the past, even playing young kids early.  He has talked about the two frosh he lured from San Jose, Markeis Reid and Addison Gilliam a lot so far, but I have not heard that much about returnees Webb, Daigh, Greer, Vigo or Washington.  This will be an intriguing position group to watch leading up to opening day and once the defense is on the field.

D-line coach Jim Jeffcoat has 15 linemen to work with, 10 of which are frosh or soph.  He says they will focus fist on improving against the run, because that will make everything easier.  He likes the word relentless and wants his players to play that way.

Nice article on new Buffs WR coach Troy Walters, who is a favorite on Twitter.  He likes what he has to work with and that they are hard workers: http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3843&SPID=255&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=206766362&DB_OEM_ID=600

First scrimmage The second half of practice Friday was up in Folsom Field.  MacIntyre said the scrimmage would be very basic, with quarterbacks off limits.  And I guess it was.  They ended up running 116-120 plays (depending on reports) in 80 minutes with about 90 offensive snaps and 25+ on Special Teams.  The word of the day was tempo, and as they have been doing with all practices, they packed in a lot of work and plays.  Guys are always moving and they are snapping the ball quickly, mainly to prepare for at least 8 teams that run some form of no huddle. Article and Stats: http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=206785663

The offense moved the ball (515 yards) but was only able to score three times. The highlighted plays on offense were a 45-yard pass from Connor Wood to Gerald Thomas and a 46-yard TD from Hirschman to DD Goodson.  They spread the ball around a lot with 24 guys touching the ball, 15 of them catching at least one; Keenan Canty and Austin Vincent each had 4 receptions, with Thomas netting the most yards with 66 on 3.  Nobody had more than 6 carries either (Donta Abron 6-24, Josh Ford 4-42 with a one-yard TD) as they wanted to get a look at everyone.  They did throw more than 50 times while only rushing 30 plays.

Parker Orms led the defense with a few big plays including a 31-yard pick six.  Greg Henderson also had an interception and Samson Kafovalu and Tyler Henington each had 2 sacks.  Never-used So. LB Lowell Williams led team with eight tackles.

The kickers Castor and Oliver were both perfect, although they didn’t take any long kicks.  O’Neill and Wilhelm both had 2 nice punts. There was very little talk about the return game so I am not sure if they were live for returns.

QB Battle: In the scrimmage Webb was 5-of-11 for 98 yards and the two TDs, Hirschman was 4-of-7 for 61 and 1 TD, Wood was 3-of-6 for 59 yards, Dillon was 4-of-9 for 56 (with the only interception of the frontunners), Stevie Joe Dorman was 10-of-14 for 79 yards, running an efficient two-minute drill, and John Schrock was 7-of-9 for 54 yards and a pick.  They also wanted to get everyone a few drives so no one has a huge sample size.

All three 0f the returning guys are acting as if they plan on winning the job.  Most are still betting on Shane Dillon beating them all out.  The three “vets” are all playing for the chance to be the back-up, if Sefo doesn’t beat them all. 

WR Paul Richardson, who will be the winner’s favorite target, said it was too early to know who the QB will be, that they are all competing.  No matter who wins, P-Rich still thinks this team has six wins and a bowl game in it and will surprise a lot of people.  He also said he has moved on from Embree, even though many were shocked and bitter at first, and that he thinks MacIntyre came at the “perfect time”, inheriting a hungry, under-rated group. "I feel incredible.  I know I'm more explosive than I was before. I know I'm faster than I was before. I'm more mature. I'm stronger. I'm a better leader. Conceptually, I'm grasping the offense and I'm able to pull guys along with me."

Position changes: Surprisingly, from what coaches said going into the spring, we haven’t heard much yet about other players working out at more than one position.

Injuries: WR Jeff Thomas and CB Yuri Wright have been held out of practices because of nagging leg injuries and may not practice until after spring break.  No other reported injuries out of practice or the scrimmage.

Totally unrelated to practices, DB Sherrard Harrington, who has never gotten on the field due to hip and knee injuries, won’t be playing in 2013 because of the hip, and maybe never.  He first announced via twitter Monday that he was retiring from football, but now it is being reported that he will take a medical redshirt.  This is certainly not great for a 20-year-old and wish him all the luck getting back on the field.

Here’s the remaining Spring practice schedule, most sessions 3:45-6:15PM on the lower Boulder Creek fields.

Tuesday, March 19              Practice
Thursday, March 21            Practice (no tackling)
Friday, March 22                 Practice (scrimmage)
          Spring Break

Tuesday, April 2                   Practice (no tackling)
Thursday, April 4                 Practice
Friday, April 5                       Practice (scrimmage)
Tuesday, April 9                   Practice (no tackling)
Thursday, April 11                Practice

Saturday, April13                                 Spring Game, 10:30AM, televised on Pac-12 Network

Tuesday, April 16                 Final practice (shorts/helmets only)

Former players in attendance at the scrimmage: Former CU linebacker Ron Woolfork ('93), now an assistant to former CU coach, Bob Simmons, at Boulder High School and former safety Marcus Washington ('97) is now the defensive coordinator at Aurora Hinkley.

Another off the field issue? Not yet, nor any further updates on RB Davien Payne (no football activities indefinitely) or DE Samson “Kool Aid” Kafovalu (who has  participated fully in the first few spring practices).

Other Buff Notes: So fitting to read that the bohnhead is the lowest paid AD in the Pac-12.

Congratulations to the CU Ski team which won its 19^th National Championship!

Also to both the men’s and women’s basketball teams for the NCAA berths!

CU Pro timing day for 2013 draft eligible players Wednesday was the day scouts are on hands to time and observe all 6 draft eligible players (plus two 2011 grads), whether they went to the combine or not.

Nick Kasa, who pulled his hamstring at the combine run, but still ran a scout-pleasing 4.7 said at Tuesday’s practice that he wouldn’t run the 40 again, and only caught some basic passes.  Kasa has said he has been told 2^nd (yeah, right) to 6^th (much more likely).

David Bahktiari got himself over the “300” plateau (he only weighed 299 at combine).  Bahktiari has been given a similar range to Kasa, although he must feel he is on the high end since he came out early, to which he said he has no regrets.

Those are the only two with chance of being drafted. 

Jon Major ran a 4.82 40 and Wil Pericak a 5.01, with 24 reps of 225 pounds, but probably did not help themselves and will be hoping to be signed to a undrafted free agent contract.

Eric Richter, who never really did anything on the field, defensive or offensive line, but was always “the strongest guy on the team”, benched 48 reps of 225 pounds.

Others to work out for the 27 scouts from 23 teams were Ray Polk and Doug Rippy, along with 2011 graduates and still trying to live the dream, Tyler Hansen and Ryan Deehan.

More timing day stats: http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3843&SPID=255&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=206760572&DB_OEM_ID=600

First Practice Notes

Spring Practice has me amped up and with the added potential bonus of prizes I gave in and purchased my season tickets, not that I ever considered not actually doing so, and I even anted up the $20 to mildly "upgrade" my seats for the csu game, albeit only an assurance that I will be in one general area in one corner near student section, instead of somewhere across half of the stadium.  However, as long as the Bohnhead is in charge, I won’t give another added cent.

First Practice Notes: The first practice, with 101 players coming out to the field for the opening of yet another era of CU football, went well according to head coach Mike MacIntyre: “A good first day, we got a lot of good work in.”  Having learned from Bill Parcells, MacIntyre runs a tight ship and up-tempo practice. He hopes to pack in as many reps as possible to see as much as he can of each player in these first eight practices (one or two scrimmages) before the coaching staff sets a depth chart and narrows down who gets the remaining reps in the final seven practices, including a scrimmage and the Spring Game.

MacIntyre’s comments on the second practice: “They’re listening and getting better. I was pleased with how they did today, I really was. They’re doing very well. They are taking notes in meetings, they are listening out here. They are taking coaching very well. To me that’s a part of discipline – that they listen.”

Many people in attendance on Thursday commented on the fact (no leakage here) that it was strange not to see or hear Brian Cabral on the field.  The last time he wasn’t there was before the 1988 Freedom Bowl.

WR Paul Richardson was back at full speed doing everything (hope it’s okay someone “leaked” this), even fielding punts. QB Shane Dillon said he caught three TDs, including two 60-yarders. Richardson said he was always a hard worker, but that now he is more motivated than ever, trying to figure out the little things to get better, constantly asking questions to learn and understand more. WR Coach Troy Walters said of him: "He's been awesome. The first thing that really stuck out was his willingness to learn and to grasp what I had to share. He's by my office every day. He wants to learn. He wants to get better." 

One poster leaked that if players made a mistake they did push-ups on the spot; with Embree’s crew it was often some running where the player would then miss out on a couple of reps away from the group..

Christian Powell was working with the running backs without restrictions.  We will see if that is the case Tuesday, the first day in pads, or first day with some real hitting.

QB Battle: Not a lot to report yet here after only two days in “pajamas” and very little of the offense installed, but MacIntyre said, “I thought they picked up the offense well today what we were doing. They were getting the signals, getting them lined up, getting the snap count. 

We didn’t have a lot of miscues on the snap count or the snap of the ball.” 

Athlon’s Pac-12 Spring Preview wrote this somewhat scary but not so unlikely prediction: “Considering the uncertainty surrounding this position, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Colorado start more than one quarterback in 2013.”

Supposedly Shane Dillon is the frontrunner, as he would have been with the last coaching staff; one NetBuffs poster wrote: “from what the buzz is out of Boulder is that Dillon is the man on and off the field.” Another commented that although Dillon has gained over 20 pounds, but (hope this isn’t a crucial leak) said he still looks “thin”.  Dillon himself is still very confident and says he has met with both Lindgren and MacIntyre to talk about the things he likes and doesn’t like in offensive plays.  John Henderson of the Denver Post did a nice piece on Dillon: http://www.denverpost.com/cu/ci_22756771/cu-buffs-quarterback-shane-dillon-powered-by-perspective

Nothing mind-blowing or even new information, but nice piece on the QBs by Pacific Takes’ 

Jack Follman: http://www.pacifictakes.com/2013/3/7/4037462/colorado-spring-football-preview-macintyre-tries-to-unravel

Position changes: No leaks yet on any other position movement or experiments, but we should start to hear some more (leaks) about position changes and experiments this week. MacIntyre commented, “Nothing these first two days. Mainly, we’re just playing where they are, and evaluating as we go along.”

Clay Norgard has enjoyed his switch from FB back to his more natural spot of LB on defense. 

DD Goodson actually told MacIntyre he thought he would be better suited as a slot receiver in college football and they went with it. “He’s done real well after the first two days. He can run after the catch. He’s a quick guy. Hopefully he’ll be able to help us. I think he will.”

Injuries: No new injuries were reported in the first two practices, but offensive lineman R-Fr. Marc Mustoe was hit on his bicycle in January without a helmet and is out indefinitely with lingering concussion symptoms.  Mustoe was thought to be the guy to get the most reps at LT with Alex Lewis already out.  He hopes to be back for at least some of spring ball.  In the meantime, Jack Harris will play a lot of LT, Stephane Nembot a lot of RT, with most everyone else better suited for the inside.

Here’s the remaining Spring practice schedule, most sessions 3:45-6:15PM on the lower Boulder Creek fields:

Tuesday, March 12              Practice (first day in pads, no tackling)
  Wednesday, March 13              CU Pro timing day for 2013 draft eligible players

Thursday, March 14            Practice (first day tackling)
Friday, March 15                  Practice (scrimmage)
Tuesday, March 19              Practice
Thursday, March 21            Practice (no tackling)
Friday, March 22                 Practice (scrimmage)
          Spring Break

Tuesday, April 2                   Practice (no tackling)
Thursday, April 4                 Practice
Friday, April 5                       Practice (scrimmage)
Tuesday, April 9                   Practice (no tackling)
Thursday, April 11                Practice

Saturday, April13                                 Spring Game, 10:30AM, televised on Pac-12 Network

Tuesday, April 16                 Final practice (shorts/helmets only)

Another off the field issue? RB Davien Payne has been suspended from any team activities for violating team and university policy (not law enforcement) and is out indefinitely, and according to his coach, has a lot of work to do to get back in the good graces of the team and univerisity.  This doesn’t bode well for a guy at a position with lots of bodies and on a roster that is currently six over the limit for the fall.

No word on any consequence for DE Samson Kafovalu and his frat house bouncer and brick wall incident, although his new nickname appears to be “Kool-Aid” http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/samson_kafovalu_can_play_for_me_any_day/13055812

Other Buff Notes: Saturday was Colorado High School Junior Day and a bunch of local junior football players toured campus and the facilities-athletic and academic and I am sure viewed the “plans” for the new-fangled future renovations and upgrades-and then went to the CU-Oregon St. basketball game. I don’t think there are any out-of-staters so the weather will have no bearing on kids’ view of Boulder.

There seemed to be a quite a few large, letter jacket-wearing young men wandering around the Coors Events Center.  WR coach Troy Walters tweeted out that there were “a lot of great Colorado players on campus.”  A few of the names that were definitely there  include coveted Thunderidge OL prospect Sam Jones, two of his teammates QB Brody Westmoreland and WR Mark Hopper, Highlands Ranch’s DL Tanner Smith, Kyle Moorcones; Silver Creek was also well represented with coaches’ son LB Andre Apodaca, K Ryan Charles and 6’8” two-way lineman Isaac Miller (who was supposedly offered Saturday).

CSU-Pueblo coaches with CU ties-John Wristen, Donnell Leomiti, Paul Creighton, Bernard Jackson-were at practice observing Thursday. Former d-lineman Josh Hartigan was also in Boulder.

Two former Buff standout defensive backs and graduate assistants have landed jobs: Cha’pelle Brown as a Grad Asst. at Oregon and Ryan Walters as Cornerbacks Coach at North Texas.

Frequent commenter BoulderDevil has started his own blog on Colorado Athletics and here is his first football post: http://buffwatch.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.html

Finally, Spring Practices Begin!

Spring Practices start today (Thursday, March 7^th) and will be open to the public, as long as fans are not posting too much on the internet.  I won’t be able to make the first two practices, but will try to attend at least one session in each of the other weeks, and I will try not to give too many secrets away here. 

Here is the tentative spring schedule (15 total days of spring practices, generally starting 3:30 or 3:45 and going until as late as 6:15PM):

Thursday, March 7                First practice

Friday, March 8                     Practice
         Saturday, March 9        Junior Day

Tuesday, March 12                Practice
         Wednesday, March 13  Pro timing day

Thursday, March 14              Practice
Friday, March 15                    Scrimmage
Tuesday, March 19                Practice
Thursday, March 21               Practice
Friday, March 22                   Scrimmage
                        Spring Break

Tuesday, April 2                     Practice
Thursday, April 4                   Practice
Friday, April 5                                    Scrimmage

Tuesday, April 9                     Practice
Thursday, April 11                  Practice

Saturday, April13                   Spring Game, 10:30AM, televised on Pac-12 Network, radio KOA 850 AM

Monday, April 15                    Final practice

There is no official depth chart going into the spring (it’s actually just alphabetical) and there are not even any specific positions on the offensive and defensive lines, or with the linebackers or defensive backs.  MacIntyre said seniority would play a role in getting reps at the beginning.  The general plan is to keep it simple at the start, slowly implementing just the basic concepts of the offense and defense, and very few of the “wrinkles”.  The first two days will be light though, with MacIntyre saying they will practice in their “pajamas”.  They will try to evaluate everyone during the first eight practices and figure out exactly what they are working with to create a depth chart.  Those on the two-deep will earn the reps in the latter half of practices and the scrimmage. 

The team will work 25 minutes a day on Special Teams, under the supervision of a special teams coordinator. If this unit is not vastly improved this year then we really do have a talent issue.

Buffnik on AllBuffs posted this great chart of the entire roster for each position, each year and total number of scholarships (they will indeed be six over the limit when all frosh show up so expect some type of attrition after spring ball): http://www.allbuffs.com/showthread.php/84499-2013-Colorado-Football-Roster-(with-14-commits)

Roster break-down from Stuart of CUattheGame: 97 players/71 scholarship, 17 seniors, 29 juniors, 28 sophomores, 23 freshmen (18 red-shirt/5 true), with 63 returning lettermen (29 on offense, 30 on defense, and four specialists), including 18 starters (9 offense; 9 defense-although these may not mean much after all the spring dominoes are done). 

Here is the list of new walk-ons for spring practices: Wesley Christiansen, WR, Jr.; James Carr, OL, Soph.; Tim McLaughlin, LB, Fr.; Blake Allen, SN, Fr; John Finch, SN, Fr.; and Kevin Murphy, SN, Fr.

Position changes: Coaches have made no secret of the fact that they will try guys at a variety of positions and there will definitely be movement within units as MacIntyre said there are no positions at four of the groupings (O-line, D-line, LBs, DBs). 

DD Goodson (WR from RB/DB) and Clay Norgard (LB from FB) have already made position switches, and many others will be tried out at more than one position as coaches see what they really have the first two weeks.

Could one of the SIX quarterbacks change positions?  It doesn’t appear that any have much experience playing elsewhere, but with five scholarships (and a 6^th in Sefo in the fall) and six over the limit as a team, this is an area to thin out.  Could Nick Hirschman play TE?  He is also graduating in May and could transfer to another program with two years of eligibility, like Jordan Webb did.  I could see Connor Wood transferring again to an FCS school where he wouod not have to sit out a year and where he might better fit.  What about Stevie Joe Dorman-does he have any talent anywhere on the field?  Someone has to go from this group.

Injuries: Defensive lineman Juda Parker will be out with a shoulder injury.

Offensive lineman Alex Lewis, who should compete for the LG and/or the LT spot, is out of action.

RB Terrence Crowder will also still be out recovering from his second ACL tear.

WR Colin Jonhnson (walk-on?) is also listed out with a knee.

We still don’t know who the two (?) Buffs MacIntyre referenced earlier that may not play at all in 2013 due to concussions. Speculation is that RB Christian Powell is one of them, and LB Kyle Washington may be the other.  Both suffered multiple concussions last year, among numerous injuries, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see one or both on the sidelines for spring ball.

Other Buff Notes:

CU received a $1.6M donation from Jeannie and Jack Thompson, who also organized some matching donations to bring in over two million dollars!  That means only 48 million to go for the new facilities…oh wait, that money is actually for the Jazz studies program, not for athletics or the new upgrades at all, so I guess it is still 50 million to go to get the shovels moving.

Here’s the latest from the CU video department (everyone is raving about it): http://vimeo.com/60876285

We can probably pencil in Daniel Munyer somewhere on the offensive line as he appeared with MacIntyre at his pre-spring press conference.  Munyer said all the right things about the new regime without trashing the old one, too much anyway.  He said, “I liked Embree but I believe Mac can get it done.”  He also said that the new “mentality is going to weed out all the bad attitude we’ve had here and undisciplined behavior… We went 1-11. Something was going wrong.”

TE Vincent Hobbs, whose father is dealing with a few issues back in Texas, remains the most likely to transfer after the spring, more based on his dad than anything else.  Most of the other murmurings seem to have subsided, but we will see in April.

Former Buff LB Doug Rippy is preparing for the NFL draft hoping to catch some team’s eye and be drafted in the 7^th round or signed as a free agent.

There seems to have been no official statement from MacIntyre or CU about the first incident of the MikeMac era after defensive lineman Samson Kafovalu was arrested for trying to force his way into a frat party.  Kafovalu has now agreed to a plea deal will perform 24 hours of community service and take some classes.  If he stays out of trouble, the charges will all be dropped in a year. Will the new coach give any comment and/or punishment now that the case is settled?  Will there at least be a one-game suspension, something harsher, or just some extra running?

Eric Bienemy and Bill McCartney have both been nominated for the College Football Hall of Fame (Beinemy obviously based on his playing not coaching) again.  Nate Kreckman wondered if anyone else was rooting for them “just for the awkward ceremony with Bohn at Folsom Field.”

Go Panthers!  Boulder High Football has decided to get serious in hiring Bob Simmons, former Oklahoma St. head coach, to head up their high school program.  Simmons was a former CU assistant under Bill McCartney, and was many people’s choice, including Coach Mac’s, to replace him in 1994, but administration went instead with the hot, young name (dare I say white? yes, I think I will) Rick Neuheisel.  The crosstown rivalry has just gotten a little more interesting and has a very distinct flavor with Coach Mac’s son (Fairview coached by Tom McCartney) vs. his former assistant.

Spring is about to be sprung

It’s been awhile, but not much has happened in Buff Nation.  However, here’s a little preview of spring practices which open this week, as well as a few other items of note.

Spring Practices begin this week on Thursday, March 7^th and will be open to the public.  Here is the tentative spring schedule (15 total days of spring practices, mostly set for afternoon):

Thursday, March 7             First practice, in pads

Friday, March 8                   Practice
         Saturday, March 9             Junior Day

Tuesday, March 12              Practice
         Wednesday, March 13        Pro timing day

Thursday, March 14            Practice
Friday, March 15                  Practice
Tuesday, March 19              Practice
Thursday, March 21            Practice
Friday, March 22                 Practice
                                Spring Break

Tuesday, April 2                   Practice
Thursday, April 4                 Practice
Friday, April 5                        Practice

Tuesday, April 9                    Practice

Thursday, April 11               Practice

Saturday, April 13                Spring Game, 12 noon, televised on Pac-12 Network

Monday, April 15                   Final practice

Defensive Coordinator Kent Baer, who has coached all over the country, will start slow in spring practice to make sure his players know exactly what is expected of them. He will be working with basically the same group of coaches from San Jose State last year so they all know what is expected of each other.  They will have two guys, Charles Clark and Andy LaRussa, coaching the secondary, which is very talented but very young.  Here’s Kyle Ringo’s article: http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-college-sports/ci_22692840/football-kent-baer-ready-rebuild-cu-buffs-defense?source=rss

As I had thought previously, rising sophomores Marques Mosley, Yuri Wright and Kenneth Crawley all confirmed separately that they did not get a lot of one-on-one coaching from Greg Brown last year as he was swimming in running the entire defense. Here’s Ringo’s article on the renewed emphasis on coaching the DBs: http://www.buffzone.com/football/ci_22675171/football-cu-buffs-secondary-set-new-coaching-style

Offensively the Buffs have to find a lot of starters, with only P-Rich and maybe two o-linemen who can count on having starting jobs.  They are installing a completely new approach with a new staff and everyone will get their shot, at least in the first half of practices.  Like the QB position, coaches will let everyone get some reps over the first 6 practices before spring break.  Over break they will look over the tape and narrow down to the mostly two-deep, who will get the majority of the reps in the second half and the scrimmage.

We still don’t know who the two (?) Buffs MacIntyre referenced who may not play at all in 2013 due to concussions.  We may get an indication of who they are when we see who is not suited up at the first practices.

Coaches will run “position” groups on and off the field to keep players physically fresh and more players involved in the game.  This strategy is employed by Boise St. among others (hawkins tried this some also).  This will definitely be apparent in the WR ranks, some with the RBs and TEs, certainly the defensive line, possibly the linebackers, maybe the nickel package to some extent.

Position changes: Coaches have made no secret of the fact that they will try guys at a variety of positions and there are already rumors of numerous such switches before the players even take the field. 

One such case is DD Goodson, who has played RB and a little DB, will now try to line up as a wide receiver.  I have always thought that Vincent Hobbs was better suited as a big receiver than as a TE.

FB Clay Norgard announced right when MacInytre came on that he would be moving back to his more natural position as a LB/DE.  Many “tweener” guys like him may be auditioned both as outside linebackers and defensive ends, while the bigger guys make get looks outside as ends as well as inside as defensive tackles. 

I am not sure if anyone is classified yet as a corner or safety, just as defensive backs. A few of them could even see some time on offense at RB or WR, and vice versa. 

I’ll predict that there will be at least one starter who is not currently listed at the position he will lead.

Other Buff Notes:

We have the first incident of the MikeMac era with Samson Kafovalu getting arrested “on charges of threatening bodily injury, trespassing, consumption of alcohol by a minor and use of fighting words” after trying to force his way into a party and threatening a bouncer while knocking over a small brick wall, although he was allowed to leave the scene.  How harsh will the new coach be on the true sophomore who played a decent amount last year?  Will he set an example or let this be a slap on the wrist?  Here is the most in depth report on the incident: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1548531-colorados-samson-kafovalu-destroys-brick-wall-after-being-denied-from-party

Here’s a new interview with Coach MacIntyre.  Gotta give the guy props for confidence when talking about continuity with his staff: “When my current coordinators move on to head coaching jobs, we'll use the same terminology after they leave. I feel that's really important.”  I also like how he preaches about being aggressive on defense, coaching to bat down balls as well as cause and recover fumbles. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/2/27/4032824/colorado-football-mike-macintyre-interview

Natalie Meisler also did a piece on MacIntyre for the Buff Club Magazine Stampede.  His former players said you definitely don’t want to miss class and you had better be early and paying attention, or there will be consequences in practice.  He expects his players to be well dressed, five minutes early, sitting up front and he sends around staffers to check up on everyone.

Interesting analysis of the Buffs (albeit a little depressing) with a new “system”: http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/54114/can-colorado-turn-it-around

David Bahktiari had a solid NFL combine (fast for linemen 5.1 40 time among other stats) and seems pleased with his choice to go into the draft.  He is willing to play anywhere on the line and different teams may be looking at him for tackle guard or even center, although he has never really snapped the ball before.

TE Nick Kasa found himself getting a lot of national attention, not for anything he did, but for what he was asked at the NFL combine, namely: “Do you like girls?”  Stay classy most successful and powerful sports league in the world.