Young Players, Newcomers Turn Heads In Buffs Spring Showcase
March 17, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — A theme that has been prevalent throughout spring drills continued to play out Saturday in the annual Colorado football Spring Showcase.
Newcomers and young players vying for playing time are making their cases. While names like Nate Landman, Carson Wells, Chris Miller, Terrance Lang, Laviska Shenault Jr., Colby Pursell, Jacob Moretti and William Sherman — just to name a few — are not yet household names when it comes to the Buffs, they are players who are showing every sign of being ready to make a name for themselves next fall when the Buffs hit Folsom Field for games that count.
Saturday's showcase, accompanied by a healthy dose of Colorado sunshine, gave an estimated crowd of 4,500 a nice glimpse of Buffs playmakers, with both sides of the ball offering up some big plays.
And, as is always the first wish of every coach when it comes to a spring game or scrimmage, the Buffs emerged virtually unscathed in the injury department.
"There were big plays made on both sides of the ball," head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "We'll go back, look at the film and work from there. I was pleased with the overall effort."
A quick look at the highlights on both sides:
OFFENSE
Quarterback Steven Montez had a good and bad day all in the same afternoon. Montez threw a pair of touchdown strikes to Shenault and also had the longest run of the day, but he also threw a pair of interceptions.
"That's going to happen, especially if we're calling stuff that's aggressive, it's going to happen," co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini said. "What I like about him is he comes right back. It doesn't bother him. Some guys get shy and won't let it go. He comes right back in that two-minute drill and pulls the ball and runs for 60 yards. I like the fact that the kid loves to play football. That's something you can't teach kids. He loves to play, he loves to compete."
Other players who stood out on the offensive side:
— At wide receiver, sophomore wide Shenault had two catches for 38 yards — a 24-yard touchdown catch and a 14-yard touchdown catch. Shenault has been a playmaker throughout the spring and Saturday emphasized his abilities. Senior Juwann Winfree, meanwhile, had four catches for 40 yards and continues to show a penchant for picking up tough yards after the catch; and transfer Tony Brown had perhaps his best day of the spring with five catches for 58 yards.
— Across the front, CU's young offensive linemen are showing they are ready to grow up in a hurry. Perhaps most pleasing was the appearance of Moretti at left tackle. The redshirt freshman returned to a game/scrimmage situation for the first time since his junior year in high school and got in approximately 20 snaps on the field.
Moretti has come back from a horrific knee injury that forced him to miss his senior year in high school and freshman year of college and he finally returned to full contact just this week.
"He's passed every test so far," MacIntyre said of Moretti's return. "The little bit I saw him out there today, he looked pretty good. Hopefully he'll keep going, because he's extremely talented. It's exciting to see it, not only as a coach, but I'm really more excited just for the kid, for all he's been through."
Other young linemen who were impressive included Sherman (who played both guard and tackle) and Pursell at center.
— In the backfield, redshirt freshman Alex Fontenot had 28 yards on seven carries.
— At quarterback, Montez finished 8-for-15 for 90 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Redshirt freshman Tyler Lytle had one of his best days of the spring, going 9-for-13 for 81 yards while sophomore Sam Noyer was 1-for-4 for 4 yards and Josh Goldin was 1-for-3 for 5 yards.
DEFENSE
The side of the ball that has shown steady improvement throughout the spring in D.J. Eliot's second year as coordinator had its moments Saturday, with young players and newcomers in particular making plays.
"Throughout the spring on defense, I thought we made some strides," Eliot said. "We have a bunch of new players who have stepped up. Those guys have done a great job. Our younger players that we redshirted last year have had good springs — guys like Terrance Lang, guys like Chris Miller, guys like Carson Wells, have done some good things. I think we're right on track, headed in the right direction."
Some individual standouts:
— At linebacker, sophomore Landman on the inside and redshirt freshman Wells on the outside both had solid afternoons. Along with his interception of Montez (his second of the spring), Wells also had four tackles. Landman, meanwhile, had five tackles, including one for loss. Sophomore ILB Akil Jones, named the most improved linebacker of the spring, also had a solid scrimmage, finishing with two tackles. Combined with starters Rick Gamboa and Drew Lewis, Jones and Landman give the Buffs some solid depth inside.
— At defensive end, Lang continues to flash. The redshirt freshman had two tackles — including one for loss — and a third-down stop. "Terrance has a lot of talent," Eliot said. "He's not there yet, but he has a lot of talent and he's continuing to work hard and get himself there."
— The Buffs also showed some improvement in the pass rush, a priority for the spring. The Buffs got some pressure from OLB Jacob Callier and Buff back Davion Taylor, as well as from Lang. "Those are a lot of new faces out there on the edge rushing," Eliot said.
— In the secondary, redshirt freshman cornerback Chris Miller — named the most improved defensive back of the spring — continues to play well in coverage. "He had a successful spring," Eliot said.  He was our most improved defensive back this year. A lot of that's because he had talent, but he's also improved so much as a technician and with his assignment."
— Also in the secondary, Kyle Trego had an interception, safety Lucas Cooper had four tackles and Nick Fisher had two tackles and a pass breakup. Fisher, Eliot said, is also adapting to his role as a team leader. "Rick Gamboa, Nick Fisher, some of those guys have done a good job of bringing those guys together in the right way and leading by example," Eliot said. "I'm pleased in that regard."
— Up front, the defensive linemen held the running game in check for most of the day. The longest run by a running back was just 9 yards, and they held the offense's top three backs to just 41 yards on 12 carries.
There were other big plays scattered throughout the 67-play scrimmage. Montez's long run — officially 24 yards — saw him scamper down the sidelines much farther and end up in the end zone, where he spiked the ball over the goal posts and drew a penalty flag, much to the chagrin of MacIntyre and Chiaverini.
"He'll have a little extra in practice on Monday," MacIntyre said.
The Buffs will practice three more times next week, with one more scrimmage set for Friday, the final scrimmage of the spring.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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Players Mentioned
