Burn the Redshirt?

One of my favorite things to follow in August camp and the beginning of the season is how the true freshmen are doing and who is going to get a shot at playing time.  Fortunately, this is a year where the Buffaloes should not have to rely on a on of freshman help, barring (everyone knock on nearest wood) the dreaded injuries; however, this is a year where there appears to be a decent amount of depth at most position groups (see https://colorado.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=894&CID=618951
for full positional chart by "years").  No matter how good and deep the team is though, there will be a few brand new young faces who end up taking the field right away.  Granted, there is sure to be a few redshirt freshmen with a year of being on the team who are new to the field, but here's a look at the true frosh who have the best chance of contributing in 2015.

There are a few positions at which, unless there is a dire need or an unbelievably exceptional talent, all incoming freshmen will redshirt- offensive and defensive line (especially the first), and quarterback-and that should be the case here, where the two-deep is pretty set across the board with experienced players.  Guys like QB Montez as well as homegrown o-linemen Lynott and Middlemiss will almost certainly redshirt.

The one incoming frosh who is definitely being counted on is punter/kicker Alex Kinney, who is all but assured of the punting gig, and will compete with returners Diego Gonzalez and Chris Graham for the kickoff and FG/PAT duties.  If he wins all the jobs and holds them down for all four years, he could become one of the all-time Buff greats, but no pressure or anything.

The other guys most likely to play and make an impact right away are WR Justin Jan and athlete Isaiah Oliver, who is going to be given shot at both DB and WR.  Jan is basically the biggest receiver the Buffs will have and hopes to learn the playbook and perform well enough to take over Tyler McCulloch's role of big-slot-not-quite-tight-end receiver.  Oliver is immediately one of the fastest guys on the team and has a great shot at playing special teams and either of the above position groups, depending where he looks best and is needed most.

RBs Patrick Carr and Donald Gordon each have a shot at playing time (but not both) as the offense could easily use a fourth back with the trio of Powell, Adkins and Lindsay, all of whom have had injury woes in the past.  Each frosh could also contribute on special teams.  Boise St. transfer Aaron Balthazar was also thought to be in the mix for action, but has yet to complete the necessary junior college coursework to enroll at CU and will be late to camp at best, making it that much more likely that one of the true frosh will play.

Linebacker Grant Watanabe is an interesting case as he greyshirted last season and delayed enrollment until January, not because they needed him to or he needed to put on weight, but because of injury.  He is back healthy with some spring ball under his belt, albeit amidst a pretty crowded LB depth chart.  He is the type that could make an impact (young LBs often do) on multiple special teams units.

There are a few others that have a chance to make the traveling team and get on the field.  LB/DE NJ Falo is guy that just might fight his way onto the field.  Nick Fischer, if he can display some speed and instinct could break into the defensive secondary where, dare I say it, there seem to always be some injuries.  Lastly, especially since everyone's intriguing sleeper tight end pick Connor Center moved to o-tackle, Chris Bounds absolutely has an opening to earn some playing time in an offense that needs tight ends, often can employ two, and desperately needs some pass catching there.

I am going to put the over/under on redshirts burning on 4.5 and am inclined to take the over.  Starting with the Hawaii game (or in the morning if I fall asleep) I will tweet out each true frosh getting on the field with a #BurnTheRedShirt.  I am hoping it is just five or six at the most this year.