Spring Preview

And BAM! Spring ball is upon us with the first practice yesterday morning, Friday, March 7.  They also did some team bonding Thursday that included a tug-of-war contest won by Andy LaRussa’s family group.  The first session was deemed a success by Coach MacIntyre.  Even though there was a little rust, most players appeared to have improved and worked on what coaches asked during the past couple of months.

The team will continue to go at it 8:30-11:30 AM Monday-Wednesday-Friday for the next two weeks and the first two weeks of April, taking a week off for Spring Break in between. Scrimmages are tentatively scheduled for Fridays March 21 and April 4, with the Spring Game on Saturday, April 12 at noon at Folsom Field, coverage on the Pac12 Networks and 850 KOA; the team will wrap up spring ball with a practice on Monday, April 14 to review some things from the scrimmage and set up what the players can work on during unsupervised summer workouts.  The general focus of the fifteen sessions will be improving everywhere on defense, preparing Sefo for a full season running the offense, developing a more consistent run game, and especially looking to improve in the red zone, where the team left a lot of points on the field last year.

Here’s a quick synopsis of each position group with speculation as to the projected starters and probable contributors.  For a more in depth look, check out Stuart’s comprehensive position previews at: http://www.cuatthegame.com/2014/spring-forward-3/

Just for kicks, and since everyone always starts with the offense, let’s look at the defense first:

Cornerbacks:  We know that (yes he is a) senior Greg Henderson will line up on and lock down one side this year.  The question is who will line up opposite him?  Can an improved but still vulnerable Kenneth Crawley hold on to the spot, or will Chidobe Awuzie or Yuri Wright grab it from him?  What about JC transfer Akhello Witherspoon?  Third place is the Nickel slot, and at least five CBs will play fairly regularly. Can anyone else like, Josh Moten recovering from an Achilles, or So. John Walker, factor into the battle?  Jeff Hall is likely off the team.

Safeties:  Jered Bell, sigh, probably holds on to his spot because of his experience (it’s certainly not his speed), at least for now. Marques Mosley has never been able to quite put it all together, but he definitely has the speed to help this defense.  Likewise for Tedric Thompson, who showed some flashes as a true frosh last season.  The wild card here is senior Terrel Smith, who redshirted last year to repair a chronic shoulder, and who has always found a way to get his big-hitting, little body onto the field.  These four all need to show their stuff because a lot of people are very high on incoming frosh Evan White.

Linebackers:  This group is a little deeper than many might realize.  Addison Gillam will lead the way, hopefully to an all-conference year (again) but the supporting cast is muddled with many bodies vying for two spots, one of which all but disappears against many Pac12 offenses when D goes full-time nickel/dime.  So the two big questions are: 1) Who grabs the other middle spot (that won’t play much against some teams) between Sr. Brady Daigh (who might be the best run-stopper on the team) and sophs Kenneth Olugbode (played for Webb at end of season), Ryan Severson or Clay Norgard? 2) Can Sr. Woodson Greer hold off sophomore transfer Deaysean Rippy?

Defensive Line: Jim Jeffcoat seems to be pretty pleased with his group of lineman, even though many are critical of both its (lack of) talent and depth.  Three starters are penciled in: juniors Josh Tupou and Justin Solis at tackle, plus senior Juda Parker at one end.  The battle for the other starting end position will be one of the most interesting of the spring and fall as there are many players in the running starting with sophomores Jimmy Gilbert, who had a great freshman campaign improving and seeing the field more as the season progressed, and De’Jon Wilson (has also played tackle), who has been excellent in practice but has yet to do much on gameday; Sr. Kirk Poston could get some time here and there, but three redshirt frosh-Markeis Reed, Derek McCartney and Tim Coleman-will get a chance to show their stuff.  Two more juniors, Justin Solis and Samson Kafovalu (although he has played some end as well), are slated to back up inside, but both will miss spring ball while focusing on academics. All of the names listed will probably see the field this fall, plus one or two true frosh.  Jim Jeffcoat and his graduate assistant JB Hall have their work cut out for them as this group is probably the most crucial as to how far this defense can go.

Offensive Line: The line is also the most important group on this side of the trenches as well.  Three guys also have jobs secure here, although which job each holds may not be solidified yet.  It is expected that Jr. Stephane Nembot (although some fans have called for the passive giant to move back to the d-line where he started) will be the right tackle, though he will get a look at the left side; seniors Daniel Munyer and Kawai Crabb will man two of the interior spots, with one probably ending up at center, and Alex Kelley taking the last guard slot; another option is both could end up flanking fellow junior Brad Cotner at center, though the former scenario is more likely with Crabb the early frontrunner at center.  Unfortunately, the last position you want to be the unknown wild card is left tackle, where two more juniors will compete-Marc Mustoe and JC transfer Sully Wiefels will likely rotate to start the spring while So. Jeromy Irwin continues to rehab from complications to his bizarre off-field yard work incident.  R-Fr. Jonathon Huckins would be the most likely of last year’s recruits to break into the lineup, and will likely be in the two-deep next season.

Tight End: It would be fabulous for Brian Lindgren and Sefo if someone could step up at this position, but we might still be a year or two away from the TE being a focal point of the offense.  We all wish that maybe as a senior Kyle Slavin would have the big year we always expected, but that is probably not going to happen, even though he is the likely starter.  Sean Irwin is the next guy and that’s about it.  The wild card is 6’8” Connor Center, a late recruit last year who redshirted since he had never played football before.  One of the true frosh (Dylan Keeney more likely than Hayden Jones) will certainly play in the fall and could end up starting and being the most productive by season’s end.

Wide Receiver: Obviously, this group has the biggest void to fill, but they also might be the biggest surprise when it is all said and done. Nelson Spruce will be a senior and lead the squad, with big things expected from DD Goodson in the slot.  A lot of people are talking about Tyler McCulloch, but I just don’t see it with so much fast, young talent around him, starting with Soph. Devin Ross, who more than a few players, including Sefo, think is ready for a breakout year.  His redshirted classmates, Bryce Bobo and Elijah Dunston, have both received praise from coaches.  The unknown is Lee Walker, the virtual greyshirt, who is enrolled and in camp now.  And when Shay Fields shows up in the fall, he is expected to earn playing time, if not a starting job.  That’s eight guys total, and not all of them can play regularly, so this will be a group to watch in practice.

Running Back: The group returns everyone from last year and will add Philip Lindsay to the mix.  The trio of Christian Powell (announced that he will miss at least the start of spring practice with minor knee surgery), Michael Adkins and Tony Jones all expect be a big contributor this year.  They still have some more depth with Malcolm Creer, who should be 100% this year.  The hope is that Adkins takes the reins and the others are role players; I personally just don’t see Powell as an every down back, and Tony Jones is fine, but limited.  The even bigger hope would be for redshirt frosh Lindsay to blow everyone away-if he hadn’t been just off knee surgery, he might have been in there instead of Adkins last year.  I still haven’t heard anything about Josh Ford’s appeal for another year.  The team did not use the fullback very much last year, but moved true frosh LB George Frazier to the position and redshirted him; however, he too had some knee surgery and will miss all of the spring.

Quarterback: There is not a whole lot of intrigue here as Sefo Liufau is the starter, although coaches would like us to think there is competition with Jordan Gehrke, the de-facto backup since no one else stuck around to claim it-Hirschman, Dillon, Dorman, Wood, all bailed on the program when they each could have been one play away from leading a Pac-12 team.  Now, former equipment assistant Trent Sessions is only two snaps away from being number one. (Although the team announced that QB Ty Grangi will join the team as a preferred walk-on in the fall, as will former Air Force QB Jaleel Awini to go along with recruit Cade Apsay.)

Special Teams: The Buffs are set at kicker and punter, with senior incumbents Wil Oliver and Darragh O’Neill, plus they have strong-legged Diego Gonzalez ready to join the competition and who will almost assuredly handle kickoffs.  The return game is another story and I don’t think we have any idea who will be lining up to receive kicks and punts.  A ton of guys on the roster have had minimal success in this area, so it could end up being a true freshman.

Go Buffs!