Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Hansen On Hold, Hirschman On Standby For ASU
October 24, 2011 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Definitive decisions on the status of several players, including starting quarterback Tyler Hansen, for Saturday's game at No. 23 Arizona State won't come until later this week, Colorado coach Jon Embree said Monday.
"For a lot of guys, we'll know by Thursday," Embree said. "We'll have to see how some feel, and others have to get cleared to practice."
That includes Hansen, who had gone injury-free through his final season until leaving with a concussion in the second quarter of Saturday's 45-2 loss against now-No. 7 Oregon. Hansen is among a handful of players listed as day-to-day for Saturday afternoon's game in Tempe, Ariz. (4:30 p.m. MDT).
Hansen was replaced by redshirt freshman Nick Hirschman, who saw his most significant duty of the season against the Ducks. He completed eight of his 18 passing attempts for 71 yards and was sacked three times. Hansen - injured on the second of his two 9-yard runs midway through the second quarter - had completed 7-of-15 passes for 62 yards (one interception) before his exit.
Quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer said Hirschman "did a lot of really good things, threw some really good balls. A couple of them, unfortunately, weren't caught. That happens - just like we miss throws. We just have to be sure we're putting the ball in the right spot. There were a couple of mental things, through repetition, that he'll get a better handle on. But he's a smart guy and he works at it. I trust that he'll be ready if called on.
True freshman John Schrock, an invited walk-on, and junior college transfer Brent Burnette, a January enrollee who participated in spring drills, would move up behind Hirschman if Hansen isn't cleared to play. Schrock earned the No. 3 spot after picking up the offense quickly and performing well in August camp.
Said Scherer: "It's who's next? You've got to have that mentality. That's what I tell our guys - it's who's next and somebody steps up. We can't play with ten."
This week in practice, Scherer said he wants Hirschman to concentrate on "having a full command of the mental part of the game - 'own the offense' is the term I use with him all the time. I want him to own the offense and before the ball is snapped have a picture of what's going on and where the ball is going to go, or should go. I want him to read it out and trust what he sees. If you prepare well, trust your preparation, trust your eyes, trust your ability and the system, then it's all downhill."
Hirschman has a full command of the offense, said Scherer: "We don't have to limit anything for him. He's been practicing since the middle of March in this offense and he's gotten a ton of 'reps.' I have full confidence in him."
SENIORS DROP IN ON EMBREE: After Saturday's loss, Embree said he asked the team's seniors to ponder their final five games and tell him on Monday how they wanted to end their CU careers.
He said "a few have come by" his office, but he declined to say what the players and their coach discussed. "I'll let them speak about what it is they want, what they want to do and still want to accomplish," he said.
In his postgame message, Embree didn't mandate individual meetings or a group session with the seniors. "I wanted to see how they were going to do it . . . were they going to come as a group, as individuals?" he said. "But that's (as individuals) what it's looking like. They've been coming in."
One of the clearer goals for CU's seniors should be ending the 21-game road losing streak that dates to 2007. Asked how important putting that in the past has become, Embree said, "Very, very . . . it's at the top of the list. It was there before the year started; you can't talk about other stuff until you do that. The team that just beat us has won eight in a row on the road. They can talk about championships. Until you do that, you're just another team."
ON THE BRIGHT (AND YOUNG) SIDE: With his team's injury list in double figures (18 as of Sunday), Embree and his staff are getting looks at more young players than they ever imagined. And if he took anything positive from the Oregon loss, it was the play of several first-year players.
Embree specifically mentioned tailback Malcolm Creer, defensive backs Kyle Washington and Greg Henderson, and newly minted DB D.D. Goodson.
Of Henderson, who has started all eight games, Embree said the young cornerback "played the deep ball better this week, he really did . . . now he's got to start intercepting some. And he can if he just trusts his instincts. He kind of wants to wait and make sure, but it's not high school where you can wait and still go make the play. You're playing against guys who are going to play on Sunday, so they throw it like that, too. You hesitate and you're too late. I think he's getting a good feel for that and understanding it. He just doesn't want to make a mistake."
Embree called Goodson, who opened at nickel back after mid-week shift to the position "a competitive sucker . . . he did good in there, but they got him twice - nothing that hurt us badly, but it was because he just hadn't seen it. I think the more he sees stuff, the more effective he'll be. It looks like he enjoyed it and it's something he'd like to keep doing."
Embree said he'd like to see Goodson, who exited early with a concussion, and Creer used as punt returners in the future. Goodson returned five kickoffs for 97 yards, while Creer, a potential redshirt until last weekend, returned two kickoffs for 38 yards and had 11 carries for 37 yards.
"In the beginning I had a lot of butterflies," Creer said. "Then after a while, after my first initial hit, I realized it was just football. I felt like I did good, but I can do better. I need to work on my footwork, detailing my reads."
Creer said he noticed the game's pace increasing from practice, forcing him to make reads faster. "Against Oregon or anyone else, you just have to work faster and be decisive," he said.
As for his first college contact, Creer said, "I've been hit worse - by Doug Rippy, Derrick Webb . . . I feel like the hits they give you in practice are the same hits you'll get in a game; that prepares you to bounce back and get ready for the next play. It was no different than practice."
Creer he has "no regrets at all" over losing his redshirt: "I didn't mind pulling the redshirt and playing for these seniors. It gives me a great opportunity to say I helped put things on the right track, to lead this thing in the right way."
ABRUPT END FOR A SENIOR: Tony Poremba , a former walk-on who earned a scholarship with his spring performance, is coping with his career coming to an abrupt halt.
The defensive end from Greenwood Village learned two weeks ago that the risk of further concussions had taken him out of football. Poremba missed some training camp work after suffering a concussion, but had hoped there would not be a reoccurrence once the season started.
But a head-to-head collision with a pulling guard three games ago left him with headaches and blurred vision. The risk of further head injury was deemed too great for him to return.
Poremba said Monday he was trying to look on the bright side of some unwanted news: "I knew this was going to be it for me, that I wouldn't be playing past this year. So getting the news when it came allows me to go ahead with my life, focus on school and then look for a job."
The downside, he added, was finally working himself into a position for more playing time, then having that taken away. Poremba participated in five games (43 snaps). He was credited with half a quarterback sack and a quarterback pressure.
"I'd like to be a part of things for these final five (games), but it's not going to happen," he said.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
