Youngsters Have Chance To Earn Spotlight As Buffs Open Spring Drills
February 22, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Two years ago, Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre signed what is still the highest-ranked recruiting class in his tenure at Colorado.
Those signees have had the benefit of a year in the system, a year in the weight room and an entire fall of development on the field (if not more).
Now, it will be their turn to put themselves in the spotlight when the Buffs open spring drills Friday.
Colorado's current roster includes 27 freshmen, 23 of whom are redshirts. Those redshirts are the players MacIntyre and his staff will be watching particularly closely this spring.
Competition is usually intense in spring drills, and this year will be no different for CU. Colorado loses 12 starters from last year's team, seven on offense and five on defense, meaning plenty of playing time will be up for grabs virtually across the board.
But there are a couple of places MacIntyre said he will be especially interested to watch develop this spring, beginning with the offensive and defensive lines — positions where some of those redshirt freshmen will have the chance to become impact players.
"There's a little bit at every position that I'm anxious to see," MacIntyre said. "Definitely some of those young offensive linemen and some of those young D-linemen that we have out there to see how they look. They look good in the weight room and look good moving around. They've gotten bigger and stronger and they're athletic. I'm excited about to see how they respond to being out there competing and being in some intense situations."
Not coincidentally, those positions — the trenches — are the places the Buffs need to make some significant improvement this year if they are going to bounce back from last season's 5-7 finish. Colorado's O-line never quite found the continuity necessary to establish consistency last season while the D-line also struggled to find its footing on a regular basis.
The good news is there are plenty of youngsters at those spots who could climb up the depth chart in a hurry with a solid spring, as well as a handful of newcomers from this year's recruiting class who are already on campus and will be available for the spring.
Offensively, the group includes Colby Pursell, Chance Lytle, Jacob Moretti, Grant Polley, Â Hunter Vaughn and Will Sherman. Defensively, CU coaches will be keeping a close eye on Terrance Lang and Jalen Sami, along with junior college transfer Mustafa Johnson.
But it's not just up front where Colorado's youngsters could step into some important roles this year.
At running back, MacIntyre and assistant coach Darian Hagan want to see what redshirt freshman Alex Fontenot can bring to the table. Fontenot has added about 20 pounds to his frame and MacIntyre said he has the potential to be a "big, powerful back."
Outside linebacker is also a place where competition will be wide open. Nu'umoto Falo returns to the roster after a semester away, while Jacob Callier and Dante Sparaco (both of whom played as true freshmen) will be in the mix, as will Shamar Hamilton, a 2017 junior college signee who missed last year with a knee injury.
And, MacIntyre is anxious to see which youngsters might step up in the secondary. The Buffs lose standout Isaiah Oliver at cornerback, which will open the door for youngsters such as Chris Miller and Isaiah Lewis to make a name for themselves.
But along with all the position battles that will begin to unfold in the spring — and no doubt carry over into the fall — there will also be a "bigger-picture" story, one that will see the Buffs try to rediscover the attitude and energy that led to their turnaround season two years ago.
"The overall theme is we're trying to be more self-disciplined at each position, more team-oriented at each position, and understanding that and (be) more mentally and physically tough in each area for the whole team," MacIntyre said. "That's what you do as you are building a team, so you do that in the spring and during the winter workouts. It all goes hand in hand."
That includes a close look at each player and each position.
"I think at each position, the spring is more that you're developing the team, but you're also developing the individual to fit the pieces together," MacIntyre said. "Is that guy better at center and that guy better at guard? We're going to experiment and see that. Those types of things are what you're looking for, so when you're coming out of spring, you know the makeup of your team and where your puzzle pieces fit. That's making a team. That's what we're trying to look for."
BIG SPRING FOR MONTEZ: This will no doubt be a big spring for quarterback Steven Montez, the incumbent starter. Montez has actually been the No. 1 quarterback in the spring for three straight years, as he had the spot two years ago while Sefo Liufau was coming back from a foot injury.
But now, as a junior, Montez's role as a team leader will become magnified.
"I've been impressed with him being vocal during the workouts," MacIntyre said. "I also think it's important for Sam Noyer does and Tyler Lytle. I'm excited about seeing Tyler out there. I'm excited about seeing Tyler and Sam and them doing a lot of things also. All of those guys need to take a step. They're one play away from being in the game."
Montez last season became the first Buffs quarterback since 2007 to start every game in a season. He will also be working under a new position coach this year, Kurt Roper.
"I think Steven having another spring under his belt will be a big benefit," MacIntyre said. "Going through last fall when he was in there all the time, I think really helps him understand the importance of every snap, read, thought, play and RVA (routes versus air). Everything is a little more magnified for him."
UP TEMPO, PART II: This will be co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini's third spring with the Buffs. When he arrived, he made increasing the offensive tempo a priority.
This year, as he assumes the reins of calling plays, the Buffs want to increase that tempo another notch.
"That's part of a fundamental really," MacIntyre said. "You have to know the way we call it, the way we get lined up, the way we call out our signals, how we're going to the play. We have to practice that way and we do, but we want to keep pushing the envelope there. That's a major fundamental: how you take the field, how you get lined up, how the center calls it out. If you can get those things narrowed down and take three seconds away, that's a big deal. … The way we practice, we will practice with a high tempo and have the clock going and pushing the pace and making them understand that."
Colorado actually had to back off a bit last year from its up-tempo attack — but that was in part because of defensive struggles. That's something MacIntyre believes should change this year.
"If you go out there and play super fast you better score, but if you're not keeping those other guys off of the field it becomes a little bit of a give and take," MacIntyre said. "I would like for our guys to play fast and get better, which I believe we definitely will be, so we will be able to do that."
INJURY UPDATES: A handful of players on the current roster won't be participating in the spring, or will do so on a limited basis because of a variety of injuries. The group includes offensive linemen Jacob Isen, Tim Lynott Jr., Isaac Miller and Kanan Ray; wide receiver Jaylon Jackson; tight end Jared Poplawski; safeties Aaron Maddox and Ray Robinson; and linebackers Jacob Stoltenberg and Jonathan Van Diest.
One positive development in that area is that Jake Moretti, a 2017 signee, will be able to go on at least a limited basis after spending last fall rehabilitating a knee injury.
"Jake Moretti's going to be able to go some, we'll ease him into it and go from there," MacIntyre said. "Mentally and everything – as far as understanding our offense – he's in good shape. He's going to go out there and work and bring him into individual drills. He's been in the weight room and doing all of the agility circuits. It's going to be a day-to-day basis and ease him into it and see how he does. We want to just build him up. He's worked extremely hard. I'm amazed at that young man's work ethic and toughness."
MAC ON STABILITY: Now entering his sixth season in Boulder, MacIntyre said he and his family consider Colorado a "special place."
"We love it here at Colorado, I've always wanted to be a major college football coach," MacIntyre said. "After our great year a year ago (2016) I could have gone quite a few places, but I didn't make a big deal about it, and we decided as a family, with our future here and our relationship with Rick George and the chancellor and all the people, we felt like we could stay here for a long time and make it a special place. We decided to do that, and we decided to stay. We love where we live. We're here to stay, and enjoy it and love the area."
MacIntyre said the recent ability to offer contracts to assistant coaches has also been a big boon to the program's stabililty.
"We like what we've built here, and I like the infrastructure of our athletic department, and I like the infrastructure of what we have in our academics, and our strength program," he said. "The biggest deal for me was having stability in our staff, and the work in congress to get the new contracts, and for me that is a huge stability factor. As we get better, people pluck our people, but if they are under contract and making a decent salary then I'm going to be able to keep continuity. ... That is a big deal, because it creates stability in recruiting, and it helps stability in your team, and it helps to keep continuity of the staff. They are doing a lot of things at the University of Colorado to help us be successful in the long run."
SPRING SCHEDULE: The Buffs will conduct the NCAA-allowed 15 practices this spring, including the March 17 Spring Showcase at Folsom Field, open to the media and public.
Two other practices — March 9 and March 21 — will also be open.
NCAA rules allow three practices in shorts (no contact), four in pads (no tackling), five in pads (tackling maximum 50 percent of the time) and three in pads with tackling allowed throughout (scrimmages).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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