Spring Snapshot: Colorado
No Pac-12 team has endured more of a roller coaster season, than the Buffaloes in 2018. Out of the gates Colorado blazed to a 5-0 mark, just to lose the next seven straight contests and finish last in the South for the second consecutive year. Now under first-year head coach Mel Tucker, is this a team capable of avoiding another losing campaign? We invited Justin Guerriero the Managing Editor of CUSportsNation.com, to discuss the state of the team following its spring practices.
DevilsDigest: Looking at Colorado’s Spring practice and starting with the offense, what were your impressions on that side of the ball at the conclusion of the 15 practices?
Justin Guerriero: “Steven Montez is a quarterback entering his senior year, and when they wrapped up their Spring practice with their annual Spring game this past Saturday, he threw two picks and had a completion rate under 53 percent. So, certainly the word lackluster comes to mind, he really didn’t appear to be at his sharpest.
“But historically Steven Montez has kind of done that in almost every Spring game, and afterward, he didn’t seem to be too disappointed about things. Offensive coordinator Jay Johnson didn’t seem to be too stressed either. So, I think at the end of the day, the Buffs have an extremely experienced senior quarterback along with Laviska Shenault and K.D. Nixon being the two go-to wide receivers. But what was really good to see offensively for the Buffs on Saturday, and just throughout this Spring, is some of these younger wide receivers that are going to be stepping up and filling some holes.
“A guy like Maurice Bell could be a player who could very well is thrust into the scheme of things early on in the season. I’ve heard talks of him even potentially becoming a punt and kick returner for the team, and he’s a redshirt sophomore. Daniel Arias led the entire team in receptions as well as yards with two touchdowns during Saturday’s Spring game. So, as it has kind of been the trend over the last couple years, the Buffs are pretty darn deep at the wide receiver spot, and when receivers graduate there are more than capable people ready to just fill those shoes and be impact performers on offense.
“But on the flip side of that coin is the question mark at the tailback position. At least since I’ve been in college, and I think through the entirety of the Mike MacIntyre era, you pretty much knew who the go-to guy was. Phillip Lindsay played four years here at CU, he obviously was the no. 1 guy for the vast majority of his career. The Buffs got a good season in 2018 from Travon McMillan, a graduate transfer student from Virginia Tech, and they’re now both gone. The days or the era rather of Phillip Lindsay and Travon McMillan really seems to start feeling like more of a distant memory with each passing day. So, now we’ve got this group of guys, none of whom are older than sophomores, going at it and competing for what’s going to end up being the starting tailback position, and it’s been kind of hard to gauge where these guys are at.
“If there’s one bell that’s being rung across the board from Jay Johnson, offensive coordinator, and Darian Hagan, the running backs coach, it’s regarding consistency, and I think when you have a group of young guys, as is the case with the Buffs tailbacks, that comes with the territory of course. But, it’s a bit hard to say who is actually going to come out to be the frontrunner right now.
“Jared Mangham is a guy who led the team in pretty much every statistical category, at least for the Spring football game in terms of the tailbacks. Yet a guy name Alex Fontenot, who is the oldest one in this crew, he has been described to me as having produced the most consistent performance over the 15 practices that the Buffs have had.
“So, in a nutshell at the skill positions; you have a quarterback who knows the drill, looking pretty good at the wide receiver position, you’ll have some options at tailback- although there are question marks around it. But I think for all intents and purposes the offense is going to be pretty similar to what it was in 2018, of course with the one exception being a new face in the running back department.”
DevilsDigest: How do you feel the about the Colorado defense coming out of Spring practice?
Justin Guerriero: “There certainly were a decent amount of people who sat out of this Spring scrimmage if you will, namely defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson, who led the team with eight-and-a-half sacks last year. So, on the one hand, we saw good glimpses of the first-team defense in overall the stats that were produced the entire Spring game. I think it was a touch on the diluted side just because we are kind of swapping in first, second and third team guys all on that side of the ball.
“The Buffs’ biggest areas that they had to replace were two linebackers: inside linebacker Rick Gamboa and outside linebacker Drew Lewis who both graduated last year. However, John Van Diest is a guy who tore his ACL late in 2017, his freshman year, and he’s told me throughout this Spring that this is the healthiest he has felt in almost two years’ time, and he had himself a hell of a game and a hell of a Spring practicing too.
“The primary player on the defense has to be Nate Landman, he’s going to be a second-year starter this year at the inside linebacker position, and led the team in tackles last year, and is the unquestionable leader of the defense. I’ve heard him described as the most physical guy on the team, and a lot of people look up to him. He told me, and I quote, “this is my defense, I’m ready to lead it,” and I didn’t really need to ask him a follow-up on that one.
“I’ve got a good feeling about the defensive line, there’s going to be some returning faces, and especially led by Mustafa Johnson who, if he does anything similar to what he did last year, I think the Buffs are going to have a solid front seven. In terms of the secondary, they’ve got some new guys coming in. There’s a kid named Trey Udoffia who was converted from a cornerback to safety, and I think he’s had himself a pretty good Spring as well, and he seems to be upping his stock in the eyes of his coordinators and coaches. Mekhi Blackmon is another dude to keep an eye on, he’s a cornerback, and he had two picks in the Spring game, I believe both were off Steven Montez. So, he’s a guy that in a span of about a month’s time has kind of just gone from not being on the radar whatsoever to essentially thrusting himself to head into Fall camp competing for one of the starting cornerback positions.
“Offense versus defense, if I had to pick the side of the ball that maybe I was more worried about, I probably would go defense just because I think more key pieces of the puzzle are returning to the offense than the defense. With that being said, I think the defense has leaders, has experience and there’s a nucleus of guys like Nate Landman and Mustafa Johnson first and foremost among that group, and at that point I think everything else kind of gets built around those guys. So, I’d say cautiously optimistic might be a good way to put my thoughts on the defense heading out of Spring.”
DevilsDigest: In your opinion who are the players on each side of the ball that you think emerged out of Spring as being the biggest surprises?
Justin Guerriero: “Well, I think on the offense it’s got to be some of these younger running backs. Deion Smith is a guy who’s a freshman, and he falls under the roof- as do really all of these tailbacks for CU- that none of them have game experience. None of them have actually dressed and/or played in a college football game before, and I think just the development on his part that I think I’ve seen from practice one to the Spring game, just in terms of situational awareness in the backfield…I think he’s got a good vision, a good IQ when he’s getting handed the ball.
“I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with, given the inexperience and youth of the running backs on the roster for CU, I think they’re in the best spot they possibly could be in a sense that they literally have five guys that are all proving they’re- to differentiating extents- capable of handling the starting running back job. So, I think I’d give it Deion Smith tailback on offense.
“On defense, I think it’s Mekhi Blackmon, the guy I mentioned with who had the two picks in the Spring game. If you’re asking me who just came out of nowhere and really has just put on a show, it’s him absolutely. He is a junior this year, who didn’t see the playing field in 2018, and when you have guys like Evan Worthington who’s graduated now, there are holes in the secondary for the Buffs. This player seems like he’s ready to make this junior college transition and hit the ground running for Colorado in the secondary. Blackmon has impressed me, and he’s been my favorite surprise defensively for sure.”
DevilsDigest: What in your opinion are the top items on the team’s to-do list going into Fall camp?
Justin Guerriero: “Well, I think at the end of the day when you have a first-year head coach, and when you have a new coaching staff coming in, I think the most critical thing that has to happen is the guys on the team have to buy into what Mel Tucker is selling, to what his coaches and his staff are selling.
“From what I’ve gathered, and what I’ve seen, I think that is happening, and that has happened over Spring. Something that’s kind of stuck out to me as I’ve talked across the board to the tight ends, to the offensive linemen, the defensive backs…is that I hear these guys say without any additional context that they really feel like they understand their positions more. They said practices are more structured, practices are more designed to really help them just know all the absolute ins and outs, and all the x’s and o’s regarding their positions.
“So, I think that’s something that stands in contrast from Mike MacIntyre and his staff. Mel Tucker has really just seemed to just be a spark, something quite different in terms of mentality, game plan, whatever you want to call it, that has allowed him to make this smooth transition to the University of Colorado. I think to win the trust over from his guys.
“They’ve practiced together for a month; they’ve gotten to know each other for a month. So, I think heading into Summertime, the relationship needs to keep getting better, that trust between coaches and players, play callers and playmakers I think needs to be put to the test come Fall camp.
“But for me, I think the biggest question mark, as I’ve kind of alluded to earlier, is first and foremost the running back. Mel Tucker came to the University of Colorado and one of the first things he indicated was that he wanted to do is really tweak the run game. Chris Kapilovic is the run game coordinator, and that was just a position that had not existed under Mike MacIntyre. I think something that a lot of people with eyes on this program over the years will comment on is that a lot of the time the run game felt predictable. It felt ineffective. Yes, Travon McMillan got here, and yes, he was able to put up 1,000 yards, but it could’ve been 14, 15, 1,600 I think if the plays were just a little bit more colorful if you will.
“So that I think is something Mel Tucker has striven to change about how this offense, being a bit more creative with the running backs, and with the play calling in terms of the run game. So, I guess I’d say the biggest thing that needs to happen, or the biggest question marks around this team heading into Fall camp has to be the run game and the tailbacks situation, in addition to the bond increasing between the new coaching staff and players as they prepare to take on Colorado State at the end of August.”
DevilsDigest: Have your Spring observations ultimately changed your expectations for the 2019 season?
Justin Guerriero: “That’s a good question. I’ve tried my utmost not to do the over/under on the wins for Mel Tucker in his first year. I think ultimately, I feel more confident in this team as a collective unit on both sides of the ball than perhaps I did before I got to watch anyone practice or before I got to see some guys develop.
“The fact that a lot of people could seemingly just come out of nowhere and very much have answered the call as younger players, showcasing their maturity and ability to transition to playing college football, I think those have definitely been good signs.
“There certainly are concerns regarding this team, maybe centered around the offensive line and the secondary. But I’m not seeing as many red flags or real points of concern as maybe I felt like I was early in the Spring. I think these guys had a good month of practices; I think it’s been instrumental for them to really get to know this new coaching staff.
“I’m expecting a winning record. The last two years under Mike MacIntyre the team really, really underperformed, culminating in last year with a seven-game losing streak that tied the worst end of the season collapse in modern FBS history. So, I’m definitely more on the optimistic side than perhaps I was heading into this Spring, just because there were so many more question marks than I feel like there are now, and a lot of those question marks have at the minimum gotten semi-answered just by guys being able to show their stuff over the span of practicing four times a week for the last month or so.
“I think at the absolute minimum; I would be genuinely surprised if they finish .500 or below. I think Mel Tucker has set the bar high, I think he’s sold athletic director Rick George on that when he was going through the hiring and the interview process. So, at the end of the day for me, I think these guys have proven that while there certainly there are a lot of younger, newer faces on both sides of the ball, I feel better here now about to head into May and into the Summer than I did maybe in late February, early March.”
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