Spring Game Saturday!

The Spring Game is this Saturday!  Although I won’t be able to attend I will record and watch it upon my return with a write-up.  If you are in town I hope you can make it.  There will be a “Garage Sale” of CU gear, including game-worn jerseys and even a few gold helmets.  Game starts at 10:30 and will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.  Here are a few tidbits to bide the time until the “big” game.

MacIntyre and his staff are excited to actually run behind Ralphie for the first time.  Who wouldn’t be?!

It will be basically a standard live game with live special teams and I am assuming live QBs and full tackling of them. However, MacIntyre admitted the team will hold back a little bit (a lot?), at least in part because the game is televised nationally for all opponents, especially csu (who will have scouts at Folsom anyway), Fresno St. and Central Arkansas (my god I hope we can win this one).

The squad split into two teams for Saturday and practiced in those groups Thursday.  One team included QB Hirschman, RBs Powell and Ford, WRs Spruce and J Thomas, O-linemen Nembot, Crabb, J Irwin, D-linemen Tupou, Bonsu and Kafovalu, DBs Henderson, Yuri Wright and T Smith, plus P O’Neill; the other team includes QBs Wood and Dillon, RB Jones, WR McCulloch (and probably P-Rich, who has had to leave Tues/Thurs practices early for a class), O-linemen Harris and Handler, D-linemen Uzo-Diribe and Solis, LBs Greer and Webb, DBs Crawley, Walker, Moten and Mosley, K Oliver.  MacIntyre said the teams are fairly equal, but that they are a little short on offensive linemen so tackle Marc Mustoe is slated to play for both teams if need be.

From the talk around the team, it seems that the QB race is between Wood and Hirschman, as those will be the two QBs running the two sides.  It will be interesting to see how many (or few) series Dillon gets.

MacIntyre said they have moved some guys around to different positions, as well as erased and re-written parts of the pencil depth chart, but has not been specific to those.  Jeffrey Hall started practicing with the receivers last week and was with them at the scrimmage.  Other than that we don’t know much. The final post-spring depth chart (in pen?) should come out late next week after coaches go over film.

MacIntyre also said the team plans to have its captains in place and leadership ready to guide team during the summer.  I am guessing that LB Derrick Webb is one of those chosen, whether it is players or coaches making the decision.  Interesting fact I didn’t realize: there are only 5 (kind of 6) seniors on the offense: T Jack Harris, C Gus Handler, RB Josh Ford, FB Alex Wood, TE Scott Fernandez (and WR Jarrod Darden, who doesn’t really count).

QB Jordan Webb returned to practice after nursing his re-injured hand, only to promptly tear his ACL.  This basically will end his career as he is a fifth year senior, although he will apply for a sixth year medical waiver.  Most people hoped he wouldn’t be a factor in the race anyway and MacIntyre said he had been doing well, “competing for the starting job”, although Reed Marks of Mile High Sports tweeted that he was told Webb was only competing for the backup spot, for which he is best suited, but likely would have really been third at best behind the loser of the Hirschman-Wood battle, and they will probably want to get at least some reps for Dillon and Liufau for the future.  Kyle Ringo also speculated that this made it all that more likely that they would bring in JC transfer Nelson Fishback this summer.

CB Greg Henderson sounds very confident, both in himself and the team, which he says can win “7 or 8 games” this season.  He said it took him most of the season to recover fully from his knee injury in the first game. He feels like he is vastly improved and the secondary is ready to surprise a lot of people this year.  I hope he is right!  Corners coach Andy LaRussa is preaching many of the same things and using some of the same philosophies as Greg Brown did-the difference should be in the amount of time one coach gets to spend with just the cornerbacks, as opposed to one guy who was coaching the corners, safeties and trying to figure out how to coordinate a defense.

The WR corps really sounds transformed with the three additions- return of P-Rich, official arrival of Jeff Thomas and the switch of DD Goodson suddenly make this a deep group, with the two former starters, Nelson Spruce and Tyler McCulloch, also in the mix, plus three talented incoming freshmen (two of whom they can redshirt if they so choose).  WR Coach Troy Walters is one of the most vocal and active coaches out there (corners coach Charles Clark is also very animated) and already has the attention of his guys.  He is an especially good coach for Goodson, as Walters was the same type of player in college and the NFL.  From the scrimmage, it looks like this team will air it out a lot and it should be really fun to watch.  Unfortunately, So. Gerald Thomas has done something that no one will fess up to, will not participate in the scrimmage, and it is uncertain what his future with the program is at this point.

The running backs also have some depth, with four guys that both MacIntyre and Adams like, but no one has been able to separate themselves.  They will all probably play, with the coaches game-planning to utilize each one’s strengths. And while they each have their positives, they all have their own questions marks as well: Powell is huge and can run through defenders, but still has a lot to learn about being a TB not  a FB; Tony Jones is shifty and quick, maybe the fastest of the bunch, but I think has a definite ceiling; Josh Ford “is pretty good everything” according to Adams, and he has certainly been a beast in the spring but for whatever reason, has yet to really transfer that success to a real game, and is still running co-number-three with Donta Abron, who is the least expereinced and the one about whom we have heard the least so far.  Can incoming frosh Michael Adkins push his way into action?  Malcolm Creer and Terrence Crowder need to get healthy before they can even try to contribute.  I don’t think we’ll ever see Davien Payne though.

Offensive tackle Stephane Nembot hasn’t seen his family in over five years, but continues to work hard to make them proud.  Great story on the probable starting right tackle: http://www.buffzone.com/ci_22998089/football-cu-buffs-nembot-determined-succeed?source=most_viewed

Adam M. from Rivals and BuffStampede has interviewed all the coaches and will have pieces on the Monday “radio” show/podcast. (I am sure he has extensive write-ups on each on the website, but I am a tightwad.)  He had Klayton Adams this week, who will be coaching RBs and TEs this season.  At first this may seem like a weird combination, but he explained it well in that he works closely with O-line coach Gary Bernardi on pass protection with the three position groups, and the RBs and TEs all have similar responsibilities.  On top of that, the entire staff was in favor of having a full-time dedicated special teams coach to run those units and specifically coach the kickers (throughout practice), snappers and holders.  Adams has also coached the offensive line previously, including under Dan Hawkins at Boise St.  As for Bernardi, players, and even Bernardi himself, say he is very similar in philosophy and approach to the previous o-line coach Steve Marshall, and that they are actually friends.

Incoming frosh QB Sefo Liufau was also on with Adam and he said all the right clichés about helping the team however he can and that all the guys seemed great.  He sounds confident and excited to get a chance.

Jason Gaines, friend and almost adopted brother of QB Shane Dillon tweeted Thursday that he was on his way to Boulder, presumable to watch the Spring Game.  Gaines is a WR/TE prospect at a JC who has been promised a spot (walk-on?) when he finishes.

Even though there is no TV yet, the Mountain West Conference (guess the lambs are “home” this year) announced that the Denim Mountain Showdown will be Sunday, Sept. 1, instead of the day before.