RSSBot
News Junkie
Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images
Coach Prime might mix things up in the trenches
Colorado’s offensive line wasn’t up to snuff against the Huskers last weekend. There’s no other way to put it. The Buffs’ front five allowed six sacks on Shedeur Sanders and 10 tackles for loss, playing no small part in CU’s offensive struggles.
“Protections were an issue,” said Deion Sanders after the loss to the Huskers. “We’ve got to find a way to do a better job with that.”
Coach Prime and his staff spent the offseason revamping Colorado’s offensive line, replacing all five Buffaloes starters in 2023 with a brand-new line. CU’s new line didn’t look much better than last year, as Shedeur was running for his life all night Saturday. Despite the rough performance, Deion believes in Colorado’s starting o-linemen.
“I feel like we’ve got the right guys,” said Sanders in his weekly Tuesday presser. “You may see us shake some things up a little bit.”
Currently, what Deion means by “shaking things up” is unclear. Colorado released their official depth chart ahead of Saturday’s game against CSU and no changes have been made on the offensive line.
Coach Prime did mention guard Tyler Johnson in his presser, giving us a potential tip-off to his plan this week. The graduate transfer from Houston has played college football’s highest level but hasn’t appeared much at CU. Currently listed as the third-string left guard on Colorado’s depth chart, we may see Johnson get some reps against the Rams this Saturday.
“Tyler’s coming,” said Prime. “Great kid, works his butt off, does a phenomenal job with his effort. Maybe the consistency thereof. But the kid, you can’t fault his effort on a daily basis. I’m a fan of the kid. I like him.”
Another problem for the Buffs in Lincoln was the run game, as CU tallied only 16 rushing yards on 22 attempts. (Shedeur’s -30 yards on 8 attempts makes that number look even worse, but the sacks are obviously a problem too.) The significance of this struggle isn’t lost on Coach Prime, who said his team was drilling third and short situations during practice on Tuesday to help improve their rushing attack.
“We’ve got to do a better job of running the football,” said Sanders. “That takes a lot of pressure off your quarterback and makes things easier for Pat [Shurmur].”
Unfortunately for the Buffs, Colorado will be down one of their primary running backs on Saturday in Fort Collins. Dallan Hayden, who was the sole bright spot for CU’s offense in Lincoln, suffered an undisclosed injury against the Huskers.
“Hayden, I think he’s out,” said Prime.
Along with Hayden, defensive tackle Chidozie Nwankwo is questionable against CSU, while second-string nickel corner Isaiah Hardge is out this weekend. Colorado starting safety Shilo Sanders underwent surgery on Sunday after suffering a broken forearm against Nebraska. It is expected that he’ll miss 2-3 weeks of action.
Regardless of the team’s health, Colorado will need to be ready to go for yet another rivalry game on the road. Coach Prime and his staff understand the importance of beating the Rams and they say they’re ready to put on a show at Canvas Stadium this Saturday.
“You gotta come out ready to play,” said Sanders. “From the first snap on, you gotta be ready to play, in all positions, in all phases, coaches included. We’ve gotta be ready to coach, ready to play, ready to execute. We don’t have time to wait to the second half to try to hit the engine light and turn the car on. You can’t do that.”
by RylandScholes
Continue reading...