Arthur Jaffee
Photo by: CUBuffs.com

Brooks: With Or Without His Hat, Jaffee Is A Force

November 04, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks

BOULDER - The play and his reaction were unplanned but neither was a jaw-dropping surprise; it is how most of Arthur Jaffee's football career at Colorado has unfolded. He did what he does: react, adjust on the fly and find an advantage.

It was that way two weeks ago when Texas Tech visited Folsom Field and Jaffee lined up on the punt coverage team. He's on every CU special team except the field goal units. Helmets aren't optional in special teams work, but on this punt Jaffee and his headgear parted ways shortly after he left the line of scrimmage.

No helmet, no problem . . .

Jaffee weaved his way downfield, fought off a blocker or two and was in on the tackle. The assist earned him a special teams point, but you'd think a bareheaded assist might be worth at least a point and a half, maybe even two, right?

"That's just the way he is," special teams coach Kent Riddle said. "I've been very fortunate to have some good special teams guys, but he's very good - right at or near the top of the list."

Jaffee didn't come to CU to be a special teams phenom, but now that he's here and there, he's fine with it. He's on the field regularly, busting it and working his way up the Buffaloes' career special teams points chart.

"It's been a lot of fun; it's something I look forward to every game, every play," he said.  "Every time special teams go on the field, in my mind I think it's up to me to make the play. At the same time, I feel like a lot of the team - whichever special teams it is - tends to have that mentality also. It's competitive in a sense within the group and against the other team. It's just a lot of fun."

It's also been rewarding for the Buffs. Jaffee, an invited walk-on in 2007 from Fairview High School, is CU's current special teams point leader (27) and should surpass his 2009 points total (28) Saturday afternoon at Kansas (noon MDT, no TV).

Plus, his 55 career special teams points puts him in seventh place among CU's career leaders - but make that No. 7 with a bullet. With at least four games this fall and the 2011 season remaining in his college career, he'll undoubtedly work his way up that chart. (Ryan Sutter, playing from 1994-97 is No. 1 with 123; Darren Fisk, playing from 1995-97, is No. 2 with 86.)

As his special teams work evolves, so has Jaffee's vision of where it might lead. His childhood dream of playing in the NFL is very close to becoming job-specific. 

"I always kind of had the NFL as my big dream growing up . . . then people always told me, 'Don't count on it,'" he said. "Obviously, my degree is much more important. But I'm starting to think I could have chance as a special teams player. It's definitely a goal of mine, and if that doesn't work the world isn't over."

Plan B (or maybe it's 1B) would be to use his degree in environmental studies to "do something either along the lines of sustainability or alternative energy . . . 'going green' is a huge wave lately. I figured there's going to be a large job market opening up in that sector. That sparked an interest."

When he was younger, Jaffee traveled with his family to Europe and Africa, then spent time doing volunteer work in Kenya building desks for schools where students previously sat three to a desk and took notes in the dirt, using their fingers as writing implements. He and his group furnished pencils and paper, as well as supplying volleyballs and soccer balls.

"It was all pretty crazy," he said, noting the impact was personal and environmental. "I got to see a lot of cool places on the earth and I would like to keep those around for future generations."

Jaffee came to CU with aspirations of being a tailback, the position he played well enough in high school to be named the Boulder County Player-of-the-Year by the Boulder Daily Camera as a senior. He stayed on offense, doing mostly scout team duty, until the spring of his sophomore season (2009) brought a switch to cornerback.

He's been on defense since - and, of course, on special teams.   

"I've settled in (on special teams) but I wouldn't necessarily say I'm content with where I am on the team," Jaffee said. "I'm always striving to get to that higher level and maintain a position. Coming in, it was on offense, now it's on defense. That's ultimately the goal, but until then, it's kind of where I make my living and I want to do the best I can."

With CU's secondary and linebacker corps hit hard by injuries, the past four weeks have seen Jaffee practicing at four positions.

"Yeah, it's been pretty interesting with all the injuries," he said. "I've been switched from safety to nickel, back to safety, then to outside linebacker or the 'big' nickel position . . . I think I'm starting to find myself starting settling down to nickel right now, which is a lot of fun."

Jaffee practiced at nickel back with the second unit prior to last week's game at Oklahoma but didn't play on defense. However, he believes he could see defensive duty this weekend at KU. "I'm definitely going to prepare as if that's the case . . . my preparation is having that mindset," he said.

At 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, Jaffee has enough size and strength to hold up physically while playing on the majority of CU's special teams. Riddle calls him "a gifted athlete, one of fastest players on team. He's big enough to withstand the banging around, physical enough to run through people, and he's tough."

Jaffee doesn't score special teams points by returning kickoffs, but he's pretty good at that, too. He's averaged 20.7 yards on six kickoff returns - the third-best mark on the team among players with at least six returns. His longest of the season was 43 yards against Baylor, positioning the Buffs for their final touchdown drive. After that score, as a member of CU's kickoff coverage team, he zeroed in on the Bears' returner and downed him at the 20-yard line.

A good special teams player, said Jaffee, is fast, tough and physical. Attention to detail is important, but "it's not necessarily about looking at the big picture, like it is on offense or defense," he said. "It's about focusing on a couple of specific details, getting them done and doing it again the next time."

A guy can go about it with or without a helmet - but preferably with.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU

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