Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Seniors' Legacy Better Than 3-8
November 25, 2009 | Football, B.G. Brooks
Player Position Hometown
Trace Adams Fullback Steamboat Springs
Jake Behrens Fullback Omaha, Neb.
Austin Bisnow* Long snapper Washington,D.C.
Cha'pelle Brown Cornerback La Puente, Calif.
Ben Burney Defensive back Lone Tree
Marcus Burton Linebacker Channelview, Texas
Patrick Devenny Tight end Roseville, Calif.
Matt DiLallo Punter Wellington, Fla.
Justin Drescher Long snapper Southlake, Texas
Riar Geer Tight end Grand Junction
Taj Kaynor Defensive tackle Englewood
Shaun Mohler Linebacker Newport Beach, Calif.
Kevin Moyd Tailback Miami, Fla.
Devin Shanahan Tight end Highlands Ranch
Tyler Sale Defensive tackle Littleton
Jeff Smart Linebacker Boulder
Bryan Stengel Linebacker Durango
Luke Walters Tight end Lakewood
*Graduates in May and will not to return to the team.
BOULDER - Their final season has not been a success. Nonetheless, success stories are plentiful among them.
The Colorado football program's 17 seniors have so much more to their collective resumes than a disappointing 3-8 record entering Friday's final game against Nebraska (1:30 p.m., Folsom Field, ABC).
The Buffaloes' three senior captains - Marcus Burton, Riar Geer, Jeff Smart - are a storyline within the tale, each having persevered through individual hardships to reach the point where their teammates recognized and honored them.
"We've got some great seniors going out," coach Dan Hawkins said. "It'll be sad to see those guys go. I always think about all their trials and tribulations, and their growth as young men as they've come through our program."
Burton, an inside linebacker who is married with two children, battled through an injury (fractured tibia in 2006) and academic ineligibility (2007). He has matched his career high with 10 tackles in each of the past two games and is fourth on the team in total tackles (64).
Geer, an honors candidate at tight end who is third on the team in receptions (36 for 402 yards and four touchdowns), rebounded from an off-field incident in 2008 that kept him out of spring drills that year.
Smart, a former walk-on, is one of linebacker coach Brian Cabral's many success stories. Hard work and attention to detail (and Cabral) have helped Smart become CU's leading tackler (87 this season, 118 in 2008) in consecutive seasons.
"He's done more than any walk-on I've ever had," Cabral said. "For him to play almost every down for the last two years says a lot about him. He's played a lot of ball and made a lot of plays, a lot of tackles. He's exceeded anything I've ever seen a walk-on do."
Cabral wasn't surprised that Smart was elected a captain: "It didn't surprise me because I know who he is. But for everybody else to see that, it surprised me.
"He's done a great job. He had a good person to learn from in Jordon (Dizon). He's very intelligent in a lot of ways - a fast learner. And he's probably the most opportunistic player I've ever coached. He makes the most of everything he has, everything he does. He maximizes opportunities."
Even though it is relatively small in numbers, the group has made an impact on CU's underclassmen.
Sophomore offensive lineman Ryan Miller, a Columbine product, competed against Geer, who attended Fruita-Monument.
"He's hard-nosed, reliable, a blue-collar kind of guy," Miller said. "He embodies what CU football is about - and it shows when he plays."
Junior receiver Scotty McKnight said the three tri-captains and their fellow seniors such as Cha'pelle Brown, Ben Burney and Patrick Devenny "have been huge this year in keeping the locker room together and keeping guys focused.
"A guy like Cha'pelle . . . I've been close to him since my freshman year. It's going to be tough losing him. Burney is an emotional leader for this team; he's one of the most well-rounded great guys I've ever been around.
"It's going to be tough losing those guys, but we've got a great group of older guys next year, too. We just have to take the foundation they've laid and up that even more."
Brown is a cornerback who plays much larger than his 5-foot-7 inches. He's second to Smart in total tackles with 85 and has three sacks and nine third-down stops. He also might be among the humblest Buffs.
Asked to assess this senior class' impact, Brown said, "I guess that's for everybody else to tell; I'm not sure. I think we did pretty good, but I don't think I can answer that question for all us. But I think we did a pretty good job."
Brown, who plans a summer graduation with a degree in sociology, is hoping for an NFL opportunity. If that doesn't come through, he wants to coach in high school - probably in his home state of California.
He holds the distinction of being the only CU defensive player to ever score a game-winning touchdown, returning an interception 27 yards for a TD in last season's 31-24 win against Eastern Washington.
Brown called that game "special, but I want to make this last one the most memorable for me."
He said his whole CU experience "was good for me . . . I'm going to miss it when I'm gone. I'm going to enjoy this week and this last game."
Brown and long-snapper Justin Drescher are the only two members of Hawkins' first recruiting class (2006) who did not redshirt.
As a result, said Hawkins, "It seems like they just got here. It's a sad thing to think of never having those guys together again in practice or in meeting rooms."
Of the 2009 seniors, eight were signed in former head coach Gary Barnett's final recruiting class (2005), one - linebacker Shaun Mohler - is a junior college transfer, and another - tight end Luke Walters - transferred from New Mexico in 2007.
Also being counted in Friday's senior sendoff is backup snapper Austin Bisnow, a junior in eligibility who will graduate in December and has elected not to return to the squad.
The CU seniors, Brown said, "kind of bonded (and) got together in the off season and did what we could do to have a winning season and go to a bowl game."
That didn't materialize, and now Nebraska remains as the final game of their college careers.
"It means a lot, especially for our seniors," Brown said. "We've just got one more game left. We want to go out with a win.
"So playing against a rival and wanting to leave a winner - for us it means a lot, probably more than most games."
