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Spring Practices: Position Battles
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Spring Practices … By the numbers …
Spring Practices open February 22nd, with the Spring Game on Saturday, March 18th (1:00 p.m., Pac-12 Networks, KOA radio).
Teams are allowed 15 practices over 29 days. Teams are allowed, per NCAA rules: three in shorts (no contact), four in pads (no tackling), four in pads (tackling allowed 50 percent or less of the practice and four in pads (with tackling throughout).
Up first … Quarterbacks and running backs …
Still to come: Wide receivers and tight ends (Wednesday, Feb. 8th) … Offensive line (Friday, February 10th) … Defensive line (Sunday, February 12th) … Linebackers (Wednesday, February 15th) … Defensive backs (Friday, February 17th) … Special Teams (Sunday, February 19th) … First practice, Wednesday, February 22nd …
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Quarterbacks
Players lost: Sefo Liufau; Jordan Gerhke
Seniors: T.J. Patterson
Juniors: None
Sophomores: Steven Montez; Tyler McGarry
Red-shirt freshmen: Sam Noyer; Casey Marksberry
True freshmen: Tyler Lytle*
bold = starter in 2016 … Italics = non-scholarship player … *Early enrollee, will participate in spring ball
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2016 statistics for returning players:
– Steven Montez … 79-for-131 (60.3%) for 1,017 yards passing … nine touchdowns; four interceptions … 51 carries for 231 yards rushing (fourth on the team) … one touchdown
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What to Watch For this Spring
Everyone knows … Steven Montez will be the primary quarterback when spring practices open.
Not everyone remembers … This is the second year in a row in which that is a true statement.
When Spring Practices opened last March, Sefo Liufau was in the middle of his rehabilitation, and the presumed starter for the 2016 season, Davis Webb, was taking classes at Texas Tech. The latest “quarterback of the future”, recruit Sam Noyer, was still in high school, not set to report until June.
Which left senior Jordan Gehrke, sophomore Cade Apsay, and red-shirt freshman Steven Montez as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster (unless you were one of those Buff fans hoping that the coaching staff would find a way to get Air Force transfer Jaleel Awini behind center instead of split out as a wide receiver).
As it turned out, Davis Webb never came to Boulder. Sefo Liufau, a question mark until August, returned to lead Colorado to its first winning season since 2005, and the first ten-win campaign since 2001.
So, spring ball, 2016, meant little to the quarterback position?
Hardly.
Steven Montez took advantage of his spring practices when he was called upon to take over the reins when Liufau went down again in the Michigan game. In his first start, on the road against perennial power Oregon, Montez led the Buffs to a 41-38 win, one of the most important victories for the program in the past decade. Montez threw for 333 yards and rushed for 135 more against the Ducks, becoming the first quarterback in school history to turn in a 300/100 yard performance (matched later in the season by Liufau against Washington State).
Montez went on to start the next two games, a 47-6 thumping of Oregon State, and a tough 21-17 loss to USC, before giving the keys to the offense back to Sefo Liufau.
Based upon his experience, Montez enters the 2017 as the clear favorite to be the starter in 2017.
This spring, Montez will have two scholarship quarterbacks with which to contend.
Sam Noyer will be going through his first spring in Boulder, his first real opportunity to show what he has learned carrying a clipboard last fall.
Tyler Lytle, meanwhile, graduated high school in December, started classes in January, and will be a full-go for spring practices.
On paper, it is a three-way battle to replace four-year starter Sefo Liufau.
In practice, there are more realistic questions for spring practices, 2017:
1) Can Steven Montez show that he is ready to take over as the starting quarterback? Can he become a team leader? Can he establish a relationship with CU’s fine stable of running backs and wide receivers?; and, if so …
2) Who will become the primary backup for the Buffs? History has shown that teams usually don’t make it through the year with just one quarterback. Will Sam Noyer take advantage of his full year in Boulder, or will Tyler Lytle show that he is ready, as a true freshman, to take over when necessary?
It will be an interesting spring …
—–
Running Backs
Players lost: Joey Tuggle; Dino Gordon
Seniors: Phillip Lindsay; Michael Adkins; Donovan Lee; Tanner Grzesiek
Juniors: Kyle Evans
Sophomores: Beau Bisharat
Red-shirt freshmen: none
Coming this fall: Alex Fontenot
bold = starter in 2016; italics = non-scholarship player
—
2016 statistics for returning players:
– Phillip Lindsay … 230 carries for 1,189 yards … 16 touchdowns … 47 receptions for 390 yards and one touchdown
— Kyle Evans … 84 carries for 346 yards … three touchdowns … eight catches for 114 yards
— Donovan Lee … 28 carries for 97 yards … seven catches for 38 yards
— Beau Bisharat … 15 carries for 45 yards
— Michael Adkins … 10 carries for 30 yards and one touchdown … one catch for one yard
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A year ago, the question was how the Buffs were going to replace Christian Powell, who led the team in rushing for three of the previous four years. Adding to the consternation was the fact, that, even with Powell, Colorado had averaged 156.2 yards per game rushing in 2015 … 86th in the nation.
Enter Phillip Lindsay.
Not only did Lindsay end the “running back by committee” issue which had plagued the Buffs over the first three years of the Mike MacIntyre era, he did so in impressive fashion.
Lindsay rushed for 1,189 yards, the first 1,000-yard back for CU since Rodney Stewart in 2010. His 16 rushing touchdowns were the most since Chris Brown posted 18 rushing scores in 2002. Lindsay is not only the Buffs’ leading running back, he is also one of the vocal leaders of the team (if you need proof, check out The Rise videos from this past season).
So, no drama at the running back position this spring?
Actually, the concern this spring is not whether Lindsay will return as starter, but how the CU coaching staff will utilize the other players on the roster.
There are only four other scholarship backs in Boulder this spring, with only one other new back, Alex Fontenot, coming in this fall.
Michael Adkins and Donovan Lee are, along with Lindsay, seniors. Adkins has been plagued by injuries throughout his career at CU, while Lee, at 5’9″, 180-pounds, has never been seen as a between-the-tackles back.
So, will this be the spring in which Kyle Evans or Beau Bisharat show themselves as the future of the program?
Evans, a junior this fall, had a few impressive moments last year. Evans had five games with at least ten carries … but had only six carries for 11 yards in the final five games.
Bisharat, playing as a true freshman, also disappeared from the rotation. After earning 12 carries in the first two games, Bisharat only had three carries the remainder of the year, and those came in garbage time against Oregon State.
Bisharat came to Boulder as a four-star prospect, and was on the field as a true freshman last fall. He was considered to be the future of the CU running game, and he may still prove to be.
That effort begins this spring …
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...
Spring Practices: Position Battles
—
Spring Practices … By the numbers …
Spring Practices open February 22nd, with the Spring Game on Saturday, March 18th (1:00 p.m., Pac-12 Networks, KOA radio).
Teams are allowed 15 practices over 29 days. Teams are allowed, per NCAA rules: three in shorts (no contact), four in pads (no tackling), four in pads (tackling allowed 50 percent or less of the practice and four in pads (with tackling throughout).
Up first … Quarterbacks and running backs …
Still to come: Wide receivers and tight ends (Wednesday, Feb. 8th) … Offensive line (Friday, February 10th) … Defensive line (Sunday, February 12th) … Linebackers (Wednesday, February 15th) … Defensive backs (Friday, February 17th) … Special Teams (Sunday, February 19th) … First practice, Wednesday, February 22nd …
—–
Quarterbacks
Players lost: Sefo Liufau; Jordan Gerhke
Seniors: T.J. Patterson
Juniors: None
Sophomores: Steven Montez; Tyler McGarry
Red-shirt freshmen: Sam Noyer; Casey Marksberry
True freshmen: Tyler Lytle*
bold = starter in 2016 … Italics = non-scholarship player … *Early enrollee, will participate in spring ball
—
2016 statistics for returning players:
– Steven Montez … 79-for-131 (60.3%) for 1,017 yards passing … nine touchdowns; four interceptions … 51 carries for 231 yards rushing (fourth on the team) … one touchdown
—
What to Watch For this Spring
Everyone knows … Steven Montez will be the primary quarterback when spring practices open.
Not everyone remembers … This is the second year in a row in which that is a true statement.
When Spring Practices opened last March, Sefo Liufau was in the middle of his rehabilitation, and the presumed starter for the 2016 season, Davis Webb, was taking classes at Texas Tech. The latest “quarterback of the future”, recruit Sam Noyer, was still in high school, not set to report until June.
Which left senior Jordan Gehrke, sophomore Cade Apsay, and red-shirt freshman Steven Montez as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster (unless you were one of those Buff fans hoping that the coaching staff would find a way to get Air Force transfer Jaleel Awini behind center instead of split out as a wide receiver).
As it turned out, Davis Webb never came to Boulder. Sefo Liufau, a question mark until August, returned to lead Colorado to its first winning season since 2005, and the first ten-win campaign since 2001.
So, spring ball, 2016, meant little to the quarterback position?
Hardly.
Steven Montez took advantage of his spring practices when he was called upon to take over the reins when Liufau went down again in the Michigan game. In his first start, on the road against perennial power Oregon, Montez led the Buffs to a 41-38 win, one of the most important victories for the program in the past decade. Montez threw for 333 yards and rushed for 135 more against the Ducks, becoming the first quarterback in school history to turn in a 300/100 yard performance (matched later in the season by Liufau against Washington State).
Montez went on to start the next two games, a 47-6 thumping of Oregon State, and a tough 21-17 loss to USC, before giving the keys to the offense back to Sefo Liufau.
Based upon his experience, Montez enters the 2017 as the clear favorite to be the starter in 2017.
This spring, Montez will have two scholarship quarterbacks with which to contend.
Sam Noyer will be going through his first spring in Boulder, his first real opportunity to show what he has learned carrying a clipboard last fall.
Tyler Lytle, meanwhile, graduated high school in December, started classes in January, and will be a full-go for spring practices.
On paper, it is a three-way battle to replace four-year starter Sefo Liufau.
In practice, there are more realistic questions for spring practices, 2017:
1) Can Steven Montez show that he is ready to take over as the starting quarterback? Can he become a team leader? Can he establish a relationship with CU’s fine stable of running backs and wide receivers?; and, if so …
2) Who will become the primary backup for the Buffs? History has shown that teams usually don’t make it through the year with just one quarterback. Will Sam Noyer take advantage of his full year in Boulder, or will Tyler Lytle show that he is ready, as a true freshman, to take over when necessary?
It will be an interesting spring …
—–
Running Backs
Players lost: Joey Tuggle; Dino Gordon
Seniors: Phillip Lindsay; Michael Adkins; Donovan Lee; Tanner Grzesiek
Juniors: Kyle Evans
Sophomores: Beau Bisharat
Red-shirt freshmen: none
Coming this fall: Alex Fontenot
bold = starter in 2016; italics = non-scholarship player
—
2016 statistics for returning players:
– Phillip Lindsay … 230 carries for 1,189 yards … 16 touchdowns … 47 receptions for 390 yards and one touchdown
— Kyle Evans … 84 carries for 346 yards … three touchdowns … eight catches for 114 yards
— Donovan Lee … 28 carries for 97 yards … seven catches for 38 yards
— Beau Bisharat … 15 carries for 45 yards
— Michael Adkins … 10 carries for 30 yards and one touchdown … one catch for one yard
—
A year ago, the question was how the Buffs were going to replace Christian Powell, who led the team in rushing for three of the previous four years. Adding to the consternation was the fact, that, even with Powell, Colorado had averaged 156.2 yards per game rushing in 2015 … 86th in the nation.
Enter Phillip Lindsay.
Not only did Lindsay end the “running back by committee” issue which had plagued the Buffs over the first three years of the Mike MacIntyre era, he did so in impressive fashion.
Lindsay rushed for 1,189 yards, the first 1,000-yard back for CU since Rodney Stewart in 2010. His 16 rushing touchdowns were the most since Chris Brown posted 18 rushing scores in 2002. Lindsay is not only the Buffs’ leading running back, he is also one of the vocal leaders of the team (if you need proof, check out The Rise videos from this past season).
So, no drama at the running back position this spring?
Actually, the concern this spring is not whether Lindsay will return as starter, but how the CU coaching staff will utilize the other players on the roster.
There are only four other scholarship backs in Boulder this spring, with only one other new back, Alex Fontenot, coming in this fall.
Michael Adkins and Donovan Lee are, along with Lindsay, seniors. Adkins has been plagued by injuries throughout his career at CU, while Lee, at 5’9″, 180-pounds, has never been seen as a between-the-tackles back.
So, will this be the spring in which Kyle Evans or Beau Bisharat show themselves as the future of the program?
Evans, a junior this fall, had a few impressive moments last year. Evans had five games with at least ten carries … but had only six carries for 11 yards in the final five games.
Bisharat, playing as a true freshman, also disappeared from the rotation. After earning 12 carries in the first two games, Bisharat only had three carries the remainder of the year, and those came in garbage time against Oregon State.
Bisharat came to Boulder as a four-star prospect, and was on the field as a true freshman last fall. He was considered to be the future of the CU running game, and he may still prove to be.
That effort begins this spring …
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...