Post Spring Notes

After holding their main and final scrimmage last Saturday (I won’t recap it specifically but will reference and give some opinions within this post), the Buffs had their last practice of the Spring on Tuesday, mostly a walk-through to show players how and what coaches want them to work on over the summer.  Every player is expected to participate in the voluntary workouts and each one has specific goals in weight gain or loss, as well as specific fundamentals to focus on in the offseason. Coaches seemed generally pleased (at least judging from all the properly used clichés) with the progress, attitude, enthusiasm and hard work, but are also trying to boost the ego of a downtrodden team and remain very positive.  MacIntyre did say though, that there can be a lot of progress made over the summer if the players put in the individual and group efforts.  Here’s where we stand with the roster until the freshmen get here and practices begin again August 6. A depth chart, which is now in “erasable pen”, should be released soon.

QB Battle: All statistics, observations and words point to it being a two-way competition between Hirschman and Wood, who will lead the offense in its summer workouts.  They both had solid Spring games, although both had numerous overthrows.  Wood had Richardson on his team and overthrew him once, but P-Rich dropped two. Although more players have commented on Hirschman throughout the spring, one minor advantage might have gone to Wood in that coaches gave him the “Eddie Crowder” award for leadership.  Reed Marks of Mile High Sports like Hirschman’s athleticism and says previous coaches were doubtful Wood could be successful.  Athlon chose Hirschman but ranked him number 12 in the conference QBs.

Shane Dillon is still too raw of a passer and might have taken himself out of the competition, although ESPN Pac-12 blogger Ted Miller pointed out that Taylor Kelly was well behind two other QBS for Arizona St. last spring before coming on and leapfrogging both to become one of the better passers in the conference.  Incoming frosh Sefo Liufau will be given his chance when he arrives, but is a long shot not to redshirt (although some have said they could see him being used situationally as a freshman).  Jordan Webb tore an ACL and will apply for a sixth year of eligibility to sit on the bench some more and pursue a second Master’s degree. John Schrock and Stevie Joe Dorman are just not cut out for this level.  Will they pursue Nelson Fishback, who was recently offered by Western Kentucky?

Whoever the QB is will have the best stocked group of wideouts the team has seen in a while, with P-Rich (not worried about two drops-Curtis Conway says his “hand strength” will come back), DD Goodson moving into the slot from RB, last year’s starters Nelson Spruce (Ralphie Report’s David G predicts he will lead team in receptions again) and Tyler McCulloch (still can’t catch a ball with a DB in his face) in likely backup roles, and greyshirt WR Jeff Thomas, who has size, speed and ability, got a lot of attention all spring.  That is a lot more help to be able to spread the ball around and take some pressure and defenders off P-Rich.  There are also three talented freshmen (Bobo, Dunston and Ross) arriving in August, all supposedly with the chance to earn playing time.  It would be nice if Gerald Thomas could add to the group but I am not confident. There aren’t really any other names on the roster worth mentioning.

There was a definite tendency in the scrimmages to throw long and Lindgren and MacIntyre don’t seem shy about it, even with a lot of overthrows.  They ran more two-back formations than Pistol, but that should likely change in the Fall (according to neuweisel anyway).

Unfortunately, the TE position is not well-stocked and may not be utilized a ton this year.  Without Vincent Hobbs they are very mediocre. Kyle Slavin and Scott Fernandez will start out there, but hopefully Sean Irwin or Austin Ray can develop.

The team did not seem to focus as much on the run game so that will be more of a wait and see, but will probably depend on how well the passing game does-if they hit a few longs ones, the defense will open up underneath for the RBs.

The offensive line is still in a lot of flux since Alex Lewis missed all of the spring and Daniel Munyer the latter half.  Gus Handler and Brad Cotner both struggled with snaps in the Pistol (shorter snap than traditional shotgun).  They will still have some work to do in August to settle the interior, but Jack Harris and Stephane Nembot appear to have solidified their spots at the tackles.  The starters will still likely be the expected quint of Harris-Lewis-Handler-Munyer-Nembot.

While the defense struggled overall, the biggest surprises of the spring were probably at linebacker where the emergence of both true frosh (San Jose greyshirt) Addison Gilliam (totally unexpected) and sophomore Woodson Greer III (anticipated by some) sparked the defense with speed and hard hitting.  We all know Derrick Webb will start at one slot.  Brady Daigh was expected to grab another but struggles with some injuries and inconsistency in the spring leave him with some uncertainty. Gilliam and Greer will be hard to keep off the field so I expect to see all four and probably a little of Sr.Paul Vigo throughout the season.  They finally have some depth with Lowell Williams (who was talked a lot about early in the spring) and Clay Norgard, who had some nice tackles in the Spring game, among others.

The defensive line is so young, but most got some experience.  After seniors Nate Bonsu and Chidera Uzo-Diribe, most everyone else who expects to earn playing time are underclassmen.  Many in this group are expected to work on losing weight and improving quickness over the summer.  Just with the added experience this group should be better.  Uzo-Dribe is getting a lot of attention nationally and will probably be the most mentioned player on the defense.  If he can show up every down, and Jeffcoat can coach the rest of them up a bit, this group can plug the holes a little better and get a little more pressure on opposing QBs, and that will go a long way to improving the defense.

The secondary has the most work to do still, but also has the most support with two position coaches, plus the head coach is a former safety himself and very hands on.  Greg Henderson is just plain solid, Kenneth Crawley is much improved in confidence and ability and they will be the two starting corners.  After that there will still be a lot of competition in August.

However, there still seems to be a lot of uncertainty at the safeties. Sr. Terrell Smith figures to play a lot and Jered Bell came on toward the end of the spring, but Parker Orms continued to have injury problems.  Josh Moten was the “starter” in the first “pencil” depth chart and subsequent scrimmage, but is now backing up at corner.  Marques Mosley did not do much until a late interception of a tipped pass in the spring game.  He was one of the sophomores expected to step it up, but we hardly heard from him. 

The team’s success of lack thereof will hinge on this group more than any other.  The defensive backfield has more coaching support than any other area of the defense with Andy LaRussa on the corners and Charles Clark with the safeties, as well as extra eyes and voices from former DBs head coach Mike MacIntyre and STC Toby Neinas. If the defensive backfield plays decently, the team can possibly compete, but if not, there could be some games like last season.

Overall, the defense has a looooong way to go.  They were basically dominated in the latter scrimmages, giving up a lot of yards and points, without making many turnovers.  DC Kent Baer is openly concerned about his team’s ability to tackle.  However, with just a little improvement in each area and grouping, the Buffs could keep themselves in games in the second half of games, which might just be the best we can hope for this season.

Special Teams: Wil Oliver is looking to kick a few more than his total of 8 FG attempts last year.  He is feeling very confident and excited to have a full-time coach dedicated to working with him and his mates.  He also wants to try and win the kickoff job over Justin Castor. Oliver said he definitely thought JD Brookhart was stretched thin last year coaching TEs, helping coordinate the passing game (because EB couldn’t handle it) as well as trying to coordinate the special teams.  O’Neill is the obvious choice a punter, and he had the heads up to make sure a blocked punt was only a safety. 

We are still waiting on freshmen to decide returners.  No one stood out, except Keenan Canty who dropped a punt. Josh Ford had one ill-advised kickoff return.  They let P-Rich field a punt and everyone held their breath when Addison Gilliam hit him hard.

Although there is a ton of work to be done here, just having a full-time coordinator should make this group much better across all coverage and return units than we have seen in years.

Position changes: Clay Norgard’s FB-to-LB and DD Goodson’s RB-to-WR pre-spring switches seem to be successful.  Only Jeff Hall made a major change from the deep defensive secondary to the deep wide receiver corps.  That doesn’t mean that a few won’t be requested between now and August.

Injuries: Outside of J Webb, everyone should be recovered for August practices and hopefully they are healthy, including OL Daniel Munyer (leg) and Alex Lewis, DE Juda Parker (shoulder).  Parker Orms participated in the Spring game.

Who’s leaving? Sadly, LB/S Kyle Washington has decided to leave the program due to lingering effects of his concussions, as well as some personal issues (mom’s health and friend’s death) that have taken a toll on him emotionally and academically.  He might decide to enroll at a smaller school and play basketball, at which he also excelled in high school. Hopefully, things can get back on track for the young man.

WR Gerald Thomas, RB Davien Payne and DL De’Jon Wilson, all of whom ran into some trouble recently, are on thin ice and must find themselves and get their shit together if they are going to stay, so I doubt more than one of those three will be here in August.

Will TE Vincent Hobbs come back or stay in Texas with his father and family?

Other names that have been mentioned as transfers are DB Yuri Wright (would not surprise as he has falleb down depth chart) and RBs Tony Jones (doubtful).

It also sounds like there could be a couple of academic problems (although since MacIntyre didn’t name names, it could be some already listed here).

Spring Awards:

Eddie Crowder Award (Outstanding Leadership) – QB Connor Wood
Fred Casotti Award (Most Improved Offensive Back) – D.D. Goodson
Joe Romig Award (Most Improved Offensive Lineman) – Alex Kelley
Hale Irwin Award (Most Improved Defensive Back) – Harrison Hunter
Greg Biekert Award (Most Improved Linebacker) – Woodson Greer III
Dan Stavely Award (Most Improved Defensive Lineman) – Tyler Henington
Bill McCartney Award (Most Improved Special Teams Player) – Isaac Archuleta
John Wooten Award (Outstanding Work Ethic) – OL Vincent Arvia
Dick Anderson Award (Outstanding Toughness) – ILB Brady Daigh
Jim Hansen Award (Outstanding Academics) – DE Derek McCartney

2013 Iron Buffaloes (Weight Room)
Defensive Line – Juda Parker
Linebackers – Lowell Williams
Defensive Backs – Greg Henderson
Offensive Line – Stephane Nembot
Running Backs – Josh Ford
Tight Ends – Alex Wood
Wide Receivers – Nelson Spruce
Quarterbacks – Jordan Webb
Specialists – Ryan Iverson

Coaches are now headed out on the recruiting trail.  I’ll be posting soon about 2014 recruiting.

Go Buffs!