Coming up fast on real football! Fall camp transitions into lamb prep

It is barely a week to go until the showdown (or less depending on when you read this) and lots going on in Buffland including closed practices, pre-game trash talk and a new recruit!

§  Mike MacIntyre and the Buffs have closed practice to the public and media (will have access first 20 minutes only) until further notice, at least until after the csu game.  I am not sure if this decision is because I was posting too much information or not, or CU just wanting to get a little edge on little brother.  The team also ended two-a-days and will practice only in the mornings now as they start to install the game plan and plays for csu.  We don’t know for sure but MacIntyre said Friday’s practice, the 22^nd overall session in August, was the “best, sharpest, crispest of the whole fall.”

§  For all intents and purposes, as I am about to post this on Saturday, even though my wife disagrees based on conventional definition of a “week”, it is now officially Game Week!  Therefore, thou shalt wear no green!

§  I will post my lambie preview Wed. or Thurs. and a Gameday Notes Sunday morning before I make the trek down to Mile High with the few hundred other people who are actually attending the game.

Team Notes:

§  Freshman: “Devin Ross and Chidobe Awuize would play right now and they play on special teams too so those two guys would definitely play right now. There are others that are on the fringe but if you ask me today those two would play.” – Mike MacIntyre on Tuesday.  Both guys have some speed and the knack to make plays and the few of you that read this know I like Chido. Surprised he didn’t mention LB Addison Gilliam, but maybe that is already assumed after the spring.  I am not sure who the players on the “fringe” are but possibly RBs Adkins and/or Lindsay, DE Glibert, LB Severson and DB Moeller on special teams, maybe even Sefo, but practices are closed so we may not know until game day.  “Who’s gonna burn their redshirt today?” was one of my favorite pre-game rituals the last two seasons.

§  QBs: For some reason the coaches refuse to name a starter, insisting all four guys are still alive in the competition, even though it appears to be pretty clear to everyone else that Connor Wood (who has taken to wearing a glove in the heat) will take the first snap at Mile High.  While MacIntyre said that all four have received equal reps during camp, Wood only ever take reps with the first team while the other three rotate. Wood only played three series in the scrimmage (again only with the ones), he is a captain and the whole team talks about him being a great leader, QB and the guy.  If he isn’t named the starter it would kill his ego and the team’s confidence in him as well.

§  They are not fooling anyone…unless they are, and they have decided to go with Liufau and are closing practice for that reason.  They could also be installing some Sefo packages, if they are planning to make him the backup and get him some playing time.  If not, this is as stupid as dragging it out and saying the Cody might not get the nod each of his four years playing for daddy.

§  For my money though, it is still Connor’s team, Sefo will redshirt (although I love the idea of a “Sefo package”), but the backup battle between Dorman and Gehrke could continue throughout the season.

§  Offensive Line: Daniel Munyer is still not fully back practicing, although they hope to get him back for a week of practice before the first game.  Versatile Jeromy Irwin is out until at least Pac12 play. 

§  In the meantime, Alex Kelley and Kawai Crabb have gotten most of the first team reps at guard.  I saw true frosh Jonathon Huckins’ name mentioned (by the Post’s John Henderson) for the first time as a candidate for playing time, even though he sat out the scrimmage and didn’t even have pads on, nor was he working out with trainers and injured players. Huckins has also tried a little Pistol snapping at center.

§  Jack Harris said even though he put some weight on with Dave Forman over the summer, he is concerned he is losing too much during camp and is trying to eat extra every meal. Harris is one of the six captains and hopes to follow in the footsteps of the last three left tackles, who are all playing in the NFL-Tyler Polumbus (Washington I think), Nate Solder (New England) and David Bahktiari (possibly starting LT for injury-riddled Green Bay).

§  Receivers: Greyshirt frosh Jeff Thomas is back practicing with the team and is Scott Adams (of Buffzone’s Pac12 Blog) pick as freshman to surprise.  His ability to stay healthy will be important as his combination of size and speed brings another dimension to the offense. With P-Rich, Thomas and Goodson on the field, defenses will have a hard time accounting for all three.

§  True frosh Devon Ross has been described as “explosive” recently and can be considered a shoe-in to get some playing time now. If he is the in the four-receiver set…and add Spruce for the five wide.  That is actually starting to sound interesting.

§  TE Kyle Slavin will begin practicing next week and should play in the showdown-he was already only wearing a brace on his hand and was fully dressed at the scrimmage.

§  RBs: George Frazier is indeed giving it a go a fullback and it sounds like if they like him he will play now.  However, for now he will still practice at LB, and he would likely redshirt to put on some weight if he remains on defense.  This is little surprising as they were originally so concerned about linebacker depth and it doesn’t sound like they even use a FB that much.  RB Josh Ford will probably need surgery on his ankle and will be out an extended time, possibly the season; he could apply for a medical hardship and sixth year of eligibility, but who knows what the NCAA would rule. 

§  This opens up playing time for someone like Donta Abron or frosh Adkins and Lindsay, who both had an impressive scrimmage.  It doesn’t seem that Crowder or Creer are making any waves on the depth chart.

§  Front seven: Markeis Reed is moving from LB to DE.  He has been injured quite a bit and the staff must feel good about LB depth. My pick for pleasant surprise on the d-line is Juda Parker, who has underachieved a little with his recruiting hype, was injured in the spring and has quietly moved back up the depth chart.  He is poised for a breakout season, especially as opposing offenses will be accounting for Chidera.

§  LBs should actually, outside of Derrick Webb, rotate a lot this season as Webb is the only one who is strong enough to run stop on a consistent basis an fast enough to drop into pass coverage; everyone else is better suited to one or the other.  Paul Vigo is the main “change of pace” guy as he used to play safety and showed a knack for getting to the QB last year, but he is not the first down type of guy they want out there, like Brady Daigh or Woodson Greer.  Addison Gilliam could also play that type of reserve role.

§  DBs: Kenneth Crawley is confident and ready for his sophomore season, expecting to “be a ballhawk.” He is focused on getting an interception this year and has dedicated himself to film study.  He still looked a little out of it at the one practice I saw, though less so at the scrimmage.  If Kenneth Crawley starts, I am a little worried that opposing QBs will spot him and target him, just as they did last year and just as it appeared that Buff QBs have been doing in practice.

§  Nonetheless, I am still waiting for an announcement that true frosh Chidobe Awuzie will be the starter opposite Greg Henderson at cornerback, or maybe this is one of the secrets they are hoping to keep.  Even if Chido doesn’t start against csu, I think he will play a lot and it is only a matter of time and confidence until he takes it over.

§  Special Teams: The Buffs’ most decorated preseason player, P Darragh O’Neill, is expecting to improve upon his 43.5 yards per punt that was good for 18^th in the nation.  He has put in a lot of work on the field and in the film room, focusing on making better contact. He is confident he can “add a few yards” to last year’s average.  O’Neill is also the number one holder and relishes the pressure of a job that only gets noticed when they make a mistake.

§  Although he is not the fastest, most explosive or most elusive, WR Nelson “Double-Deuce” Spruce is the most sure-handed of the five or six main punt return candidates and therefore he will start the season as the punt returner against csu, Mike MacIntyre said Thursday.  However, Spruce can still run and make some nice cuts, but he is no P-Rich.  I wouldn’t be surprised if WR Devin Ross got a shot later in the season after he builds some confidence and gains a little college-speed experience.   Nor would I be surprised if P-Rich took one here in there in key situations late in the game, but they do not want him out there on a regular basis to limit injury risk. 

§  They have not named kickoff returners, but MacIntyre said that will group will start “by committee” and will be based on “what is happening during the flow of the game.”  The four that dropped back at the end of the scrimmage (I missed the very beginning and they did some then as well) were Marques Mosley, Devin Ross, Ryan Moeller and Ryan Severson.

2014 Recruiting: It had been quiet on this front since the flurry of defensive lineman at the start of August until Friday when Houston OT Elijah Rodriguez made the call to become number 12 and a new wave of #CUin14 went out on Twitter.  Rodriguez had hinted he was favoring CU and waited a week to make the announcement to make sure he was fully committed.  He is 6’6” 275 and has been given three stars by at least two sites. His offers include ASU, Illinois and Central Florida, among many others.

§  From ESPN (Insider) and Erik McKinney “Pac12 fall recruiting capsules”- Colorado: “Who they have: The new coaching staff has made an impact where Colorado always needs to be successful: at home and in the talent-rich states of California and Texas. Those three states have provided 10 of the 11 verbal commitments for a 2014 class that is defensively loaded at this point. QB Cade Aspay was a steal and is a recruit capable of generating some serious interest this fall. LB Rick Gamboa is incredibly productive, and pulling a defensive trio of LB Grant Watanabe, DT Eddy Lopez and S Chance Waz out of Texas will lead to more success for the Buffaloes in the Lone Star State. Who they want: OT Sam Jones is a big in-state target for the Buffs, and they likely will make a big push for four-star RB Nathan Starks now that he has moved into the state for his senior season. ATH Kallen Ballage and OT Isaiah Holland are two in-state prospects who would prove Colorado is moving in the right direction. OT Alex Anderson would give the Buffs size on the offensive line, while Colorado will try to continue making its mark in California (with CB Donovan Lee, S Khalil Rashad-Brown and DE David Moa) and Texas (with CB Dominique Barnett and S Courtland Sutton). Fall storyline: It's unlikely Colorado will contend for the Pac-12 South title this season, but that doesn't mean it can't make some noise and get recruits interested. That could fall on the shoulders of Paul Richardson, the dynamic receiver who missed the 2012 season but appears ready to go this fall. A big season from Richardson combined with the same relentless recruiting from new coach Mike MacIntyre could generate a buzz around the Buffaloes that hasn't been heard in several years. Bold prediction: Colorado won't land a single "big-name" recruit in MacIntyre's first full recruiting class, but down the road, this group will form the nucleus of the team during Colorado's first competitive Pac-12 season under MacIntyre.”

§  Here’s what McKinney had to say later about CU verbal commit QB Cade Aspay, the state of CU QBs and the class in general: I really like Cade Apsay (Canyon Country, Calif./Canyon) as a quarterback and as a person. He is definitely a Pac-12 quarterback and should put up some impressive statistics during his senior season. I don't think he will be seen as being as big of a get as Sefo Liufau from the 2013 class, but if the quarterback recruiting stays on this trajectory for head coach Mike MacIntyre, Colorado is going to be just fine at the position. As for the rest of the class, I think Colorado is doing what it needs to do with what it has right now. I like that it's defense-heavy, as the top five commitments play on that side of the ball. Linebacker Rick Gamboa (West Hills, Calif./Chaminade) is a very nice addition. The message MacIntyre and the staff are delivering is hitting recruits, but it will be about taking a step forward on the field this season.  It's a tough spot he was put in, trying to dig out of the bottom of a deep conference, but so far it seems he's doing a very good job of targeting and getting players who can add to the program now, as well as those who can develop for the future.

§  Here’s what Jack Follman at Pacific Takes had to say about Colorado in his Pac12 Recruiting Roundup:  “The Buffs may not already have a wealth of big time prospects committed, but it's a promising sign for Mike McIntyre and his staff that he already has 11 players pledged to Colorado coming off of what was probably the worst season in the program's history. The Buffs are doing a good job of hitting California and Texas hard, but their most promising commitment might be from Longmont, Colorado tackle Isaac Miller. The Buffs desperately need start recruiting well in-state again, and getting Miller in the fold is a good start.”

Other Buff Notes:

§  On Pac12 Networks’ “Training Camp Preview” for Colorado, both coordinators addressed the run as their top priority.  On offense, even though they will go no-huddle most of the time, they likely won’t be rushing to get the play off like Oregon, except for certain situations, but they want to chew up yardage and time and wear opposing defense down, especially at home.  Lindgren also glowed when talking about what Paul Richardson brings to the table.  On the other side of the ball, Kent Baer also said stopping the run is top priority, to be able to somewhat control what the other team is doing and can do.  He also flat out said they are not very good at a lot of fundamentals, including tackling and using leverage.

§  Also in the coverage, Mike MacIntyre was very fun to watch, engaging, vocal but not loud on the field; D-line coach Jim Jeffcoat was amusing to watch and pretty soft-spoken.

§  The most disturbing part of the half hour, was not actually listening to Rick Neuweasel and his arrogance, but watching him be so touchy-feely with everyone. Eeeew, creepy!

§  Tyler Ziskin’s “The Air Up There” must read blog about the  csu “rivalry”: http://theairuphere.com/2013/08/19/having-some-fun-with-little-brother/

§  Chidera Uzo Diribe and S Parker Orms were named to the Senior Bowl Watch List (which I never knew existed).

§  Pacific Takes’ Jack Follman is getting short for material after his prolific previewing over the summer, so his latest is ranking offensive lines solely by average weight of projected starters; the Buffs were tied with USC at 6^th at 300 pounds. “Colorado's starting line is still very much up in the air due to injury, but they have about average size across the board. Hey, at least Colorado isn't at the bottom in the conference at something.”

§  Former RB Davien Payne, who never saw the field and could not meet expectations and was subsequently kicked off the team, was arrested for assault and stealing a car in Boulder over the weekend.  I wonder if he has contacted nebraska about a possible scholarship.