The
Buffs completed their second of 29 total practices (not counting walk-throughs). Here are a few tidbits from camp:
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Unfortunately, the biggest news is a negative
off the field incident. Eight players (and
a younger brother) were all going home late when three began playing with an
airsoft gun, a passerby saw it and called police, and now wide receivers Jr.
DaVaughn Thorton (TE?) and T-Fr. Jeffrey Thomas will miss the CSU and Sacramento St.
game, while S/ILB Jermane Clark (who Embree also said had “some previous
issues” and “personal issues back home”) was dismissed from the team. Although there were no arrests, Embree has a
low tolerance for shenanigans, “no gray area” for this type of behavior and
takes any trouble “after midnight” extra seriously.
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Supposedly this was part of what transpired
(from NetBuffs.com):
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The other five players present - Jr. starting LB
Derrick Webb, Jr. backup LB Paul Vigo (whose little brother was also in the
cars) and three sophomores, CB starting candidates Jered Bell and Josh Moten,
WR Keenan Canty - will enjoy some extra time with Malcolm Bracken’s crew after
practice for some strenuous conditioning and agility work.
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QB battle:
So. Connor Wood said of competition across the team: “Some guys step up to the plate. Some guys sink. Basically,
we had that saying up in our locker room about ‘The Buffalo herd only survives
through natural selection.’”
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The defense had a good day Tuesday with a few
turnovers. Of course Jon Embree is quick
to point out that fact is not good for the offense.
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OL Ryan Dannewitz has some chronic back problems
that bothered him all last year and will make it that much more likely that he
will be the utility linemen, becoming the first one in to spell anyone of
needed (although Munyer would move to center).
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Many people are pegging DE Chidera Uzo-Diribe
for a big year and the Buffs really need him to step it up with almost no depth
on the outside. He is an amazing
athlete, often working out with the skill position players and was held out of
some spring practices for wreaking too much havoc, but has only focused on
football for couple of years. He has put
on 25 pounds without losing his speed or quickness, is taking on some
leadership while working on being a better run stopper, moving in space and
picking up the nuances of the game.
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JD Brookhart is excited about his tight ends,
heaping praise on the developing Sr. Nick Kasa and true freshmen Vincent Hobbs
(“ex-basketball guy who is still learning football”, “athletic”, “catches the
ball well”) and Austin Ray (“smart guy that’s going to be a bug kid”). He
admitted that they would like to redshirt Sean Irwin to “get him bigger”.
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Although he has two years of eligibility left,
Jr. DT Nate Bonsu is looking at his last chance to make a contribution to this
team. He has lost 30 pounds and is
working hard, but Embree, as always direct and up front, said of the former freshman
contributor who has suffered through numerous injuries: “He’s a guy that is
going into his fourth year and is eligible to graduate. I told him that if he
can’t be a major contributor for us this is going to be it for him. He didn’t bat an eye.” If Bonsu isn’t a main part of the rotation this
year, holding off some of the freshman, he will be strongly encouraged to just graduate and
the team will save another scholarship spot for the 2013 class.
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Coaches are keeping an eye on R-Fr. RB Malcolm
Creer, who is returning from a devastating knee injury that Embree had been
concerned could have been “career threatening”.
He is doing well,
not quite 100%, doing a lot of cycling for rehab and has earned the nickname
“Lance”. They are just making sure he
doesn’t become fatigued and put any extra pressure on the knee. Embree also singled Creer out for helping out
his competitors among the freshmen in learning the ropes and playbook.
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Sr. LB Doug Rippy is still limited as he had
minor knee surgery to clean up debris, but he expects to join full team drills
soon and absolutely will be ready for CSU.
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T-Fr. DE Samson Kafovalu sprained an ankle and
is day-to-day.
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T-Fr.WR Jeffrey Thomas, after tweaking a
hamstring Monday, hopes to return to practice Friday so he can start on his
extra conditioning and try to get out of the coaches’ doghouse.
*This could bode quite well for the other true frosh Thomas, Gerald, who will surely be counted on now, and should receive more of the coaches' attention to have him prepared from the outset. It might even lead to Jeffrey to be redshirted.
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Bulletin Board material? CSU LB
Shaquil Barrett said, “We lost to them (CU) last year, which I don’t think we should
have.”
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More CSU: The Lambs have moved all their home
games to 5:00PM kickoff, I guess in hopes of drawing more fans to Hughes
stadium, and making sure that those who do attend are nice and…um...rowdy when
they arrive. Let’s see how long it takes
before some idiot from the Fort makes them regret this decision.
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Buffs in
the NFL: No word of any Buffs being cut yet!
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Roster
Moves: Jermane Clark’s dismissal frees up one more scholarship for next
year’s class. I am not sure that Clark
was going to play much now, or ever, as he has had some issues (both behavior
and academic I believe-hopefully he was eligible for APR purposes) and couldn’t seem to settle on a position-there were
tons of opportunities at DB but he couldn’t break in and LB is stacked. Paul Vigo and Josh Moten are likely to have a
very short leash now as they were both suspended last season also before
showing up at “AirsoftGate”, especially as Embree needs scholarships for kids
who can play and has shown he is not afraid to take action.
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