Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Changes Aplenty For Buffs As Baylor Approaches
October 12, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks
Coach Dan Hawkins' weekly media conference on Tuesday was the 2010 season's newsiest. The rundown:
- Junior transfer Marcus Kirkwood will get the first opportunity to kick this weekend against the Bears at Folsom Field (5 p.m., FCS). Hawkins didn't rule out using freshman Justin Castor, whose redshirt was pulled for one field goal attempt (blocked) Saturday night at Missouri when he replaced senior Aric Goodman.
- Perkins, a junior safety, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament against Mizzou and will be replaced this week by either a redshirt freshman (Deji Olatoye) or one of two true freshmen (Jered Bell or Terrel Smith. Perkins, the team's leading tackler, played the entire second half on his torn ACL.
- Lockridge, a junior tailback only two games removed from his first 100-yard rushing performance, will undergo ankle surgery to repair an injury suffered against Georgia. To add depth at a position that lost freshman Justin Torres only last week (he returned home to California for personal reasons), sophomore Will Jefferson moves from receiver to the backfield. Hawkins said Torres will not return.
Kirkwood played soccer at Concordia College (Portland, Ore.) but had never played football before transferring to CU midway through the 2009 season. He traveled with the Buffs to Columbia, Mo., but was not called on after Goodman missed a 40-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter with Mizzou leading 5-0.
Hawkins and special teams coach Kent Riddle said the plan entering the game was to use Castor if Goodman faltered. Now that his redshirt is off, Castor is likely to be used over the next seven games, and Goodman could continue to kick off as well as return to the placement job.
"It's kind of placekicking by committee right now," Hawkins said.
Castor's 40-yard field goal attempt at Missouri appeared low leaving his foot, and Riddle said the freshman from Arvada West "just kind of lost his technique for a second." Riddle said he told Castor "to just hang in there, keep improving and get back to your technique.
"I told him not to let one kick define his career . . . Justin is going to be fine; he's going to be a great kicker. It's just a tough situation when you come in during the middle of a game and you're all amped up."
Hawkins said the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Kirkwood has been "close" to Goodman during preseason and fall kicking competition. Receiver Scotty McKnight echoed that, adding Kirkwood has the team's confidence: "He's accurate and has consistently done well . . . he doesn't have as big a leg as Aric or Justin, but he's consistent."
That's what the Buffs have lacked, with only one of five field goal attempts made this season. McKnight and other offensive players have bemoaned that inconsistency and what it did during the 26-0 loss to MU.
"They need to pick it up - they know that, we know that," quarterback Tyler Hansen said of the placekickers. "We've been in their ear a little bit. They're definitely ready to pick up their game a little bit."
Hansen also said the lack of productivity at the position underscores the need for the entire offense to be more productive: "We've got to get six points, that's our mentality. There may be some fourth downs we go for, if it's fourth and manageable. That does put a little more pressure on the offense . . . if it's third-and-six, we've got two plays to get six yards now. It changes our mentality going into it a little."
Perkins, who had made a team-high 38 tackles (22 solo) and one interception through five games, is the fifth player in the secondary lost to injury, including three - Parker Orms, Travis Sandersfeld, Paul Vigo - at nickel back. Safety Vince Ewing was injured before the season began.
"You know, the first thing I thought about, I was wondering why it has to happen to this group," secondary coach Ashley Ambrose said. "But things happen for a reason . . . I started wondering, is it me? Is it something I'm doing? But it's just the nature of this game, and unfortunately it's been DBs.
"The thing about it, we have good kids and they all know their roles . . . I've been telling them from Day 1, all it takes is one play. Each one of them will tell you that. All these guys who have been playing have been stepping up and doing a good job for us. But to lose five (players) is really unheard of.
"When you lose five guys in five games, you're talking about another starter that's going down. You get to guys who are inexperienced, and it's tough. But we're doing the best we could with it. I thought Pat Mahnke did a good job at nickel - something he had to adapt to. We've just been able to hold up and do well. We'll just keep rolling."
Ambrose said it's possible that Sandersfeld and Vigo, both of whom are recovering from lower leg injuries, could return "in a couple of weeks." Orms and Ewing are recovering from knee injuries and are out for the season.
Olatoye, Bell and Smith all took snaps with the first defense in Tuesday morning's practice, which was conducted inside the team's practice bubble due to a steady rain.
"I feel like I've prepared enough and the leadership I've seen ahead of me has prepared me for this opportunity," Olatoye said. "I just have to play fast, read run, read pass and do them both well. I can't make any mistakes back there. (Perkins) is our vocal leader back there, our leader in the back half. I just have to get our defense lined up; I have big shoes to fill."
Olatoye said he believes he knows the defense well enough to be its "quarterback" in the back end: "I know it plenty well enough. It's just a matter of me speaking it, saying it out loud, being vocal and making sure everybody's on the same page as the back half."
The ultra-confident Jefferson, a late arrival last summer who wound up earning significant playing time at receiver, said he played a variety of positions in high school (Vista del Lago, Moreno Valley, Calif.).
After rushing 116 times for 755 yards and four touchdowns as a senior, he said some colleges showed interest in him as a running back. CU, however, was short on receivers and he believed he could play that position here. He succeeded, playing in 11 games as a freshman and catching six passes for 45 yards.
He's matched his 2009 receptions total (six) in five 2010 games, but believes he can make more of a contribution at tailback. At 5-11, 190 pounds, he characterized himself as "always a physical player" and said he foresees no problem in being a hard-running back.
"I like contact . . . I'm not going to avoid people," Jefferson said. "You won't see a lot of side-to-side movement with me."
Jefferson wouldn't concede frustration over his relatively low number of catches this fall, but said, "Everyone wants the ball . . . but the sad reality is that there's only one ball. If you're not competitive, you shouldn't play."
How quickly Jefferson takes to a new position in CU's offense will determine how quickly he plays. Hawkins said Jefferson could play this week, but added that freshman Tony Jones (5-7, 180) also could see his first game action.
McKnight called Jefferson "a strong runner" and believes Jefferson can be "a utility guy . . . he's got 4.41 speed (in the 40-yard dash) and is strong. He'll break tackles."
Freshman Cordary Allen (6-1, 220) and redshirt freshman Quentin Hildreth (5-8, 185) traveled with the team to Missouri, but only Hildreth played. Lockridge also was on the trip, but didn't have a carry.
Rodney "Speedy" Stewart is CU's leading rusher, averaging 98.6 yards with a high-game of 149 against Georgia. Lockridge was averaging 29.2, with his 109-yard effort against Hawaii a personal best. Stewart also topped 100 yards (106) against the Warriors.
HANSEN'S STILL THE MAN: After being pulled late in the third quarter at Missouri, Hansen initially expressed surprise at being replaced by backup Cody Hawkins. But he's apparently come to grips with the move.
On Tuesday, Hansen said, "Naturally, I think it's going to strike your confidence a little bit and you're going to be fresher with it. But you've just got to go out there and perform and kind of get a little mad and play with a chip on your shoulder. I think I had a chip on my shoulder today (in practice) and I think people knew that."
Asked if he was confident he would not be "looking over his shoulder" in coming weeks, Hansen answered, "I've got to perform . . . I think it's natural to be frustrated and to worry about whether you're going to be pulled after you've been pulled the last game. But you've got to stay confident and go out and perform."
McKnight said he spoke with Hansen about not finishing the MU game and came away believing there's nothing wrong with Hansen's mindset.
"This is Tyler's team, his offense," McKnight added. "He's our leader."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
