Brooks: MacIntyre Ready To Launch First CU Spring

BOULDER - In the very near future, a sign will go up in Colorado's Dal Ward Athletics Center reading: "Knowledge = Confidence = Playing Fast."

New CU football coach Mike MacIntyre will borrow that philosophy from his former boss in Dallas - highly successful NFL coach Bill Parcells - and it will be immediately applicable to how MacIntyre and his staff conduct spring practice.

But learning to play fast will come at a slower pace in MacIntyre's first spring at CU.

Spring drills open Thursday for the Buffaloes, with the spring game set for Saturday, April 13 (10:30 a.m., Folsom Field, Pac-12 Network). MacIntyre will hold one of the 15 NCAA-mandated spring workouts for a post-spring game review, with that set now for Tuesday, April 16. Eight practices will be conducted before spring break (March 23-31) and seven after.

The first eight practices, noted MacIntyre at a pre-spring media briefing on Tuesday, "will be truly evaluating and working and getting the culture of what we want in practice." Concepts of his offense and defense will be introduced, but "we won't put our whole offense in, we won't put our whole defense in."

That's because he wants the fundamentals of his system on both sides of the ball absorbed and his players not bogged down by too much information. He hopes that in time - and it probably won't happen after 15 practices - Parcells' message of Knowledge = Confidence = Playing Fast will take hold.

"We want to do a few things and let the kids play so we can evaluate," he said. "We want to see toughness and everything else that goes along with football."

In an 18-month period that began after his hiring and ends before CU opens against Colorado State (Aug. 31, Denver), MacIntyre's goal is for the Buffs to have undergone wholesale physical changes.

"We've got some guys who look good right now, we've got other guys who've got to get a little bigger and stronger, we've got guys who have to lose weight and look more fit," he said. "I want us to walk out there looking like a well-fit football team. We're in the process of doing that. I think we've got a lot of kids who are close to that, but I want all of us to do that."

MacIntyre conceded he had "no idea" about the talent he inherits from former coach Jon Embree, whose 2012 team finished 1-11. MacIntyre and his assistants have studied game tape and tape "cut ups" of individual players, but those don't always reveal players' tendencies and traits.

"Film doesn't lie," said MacIntyre, "but film doesn't tell all the truth . . . I'll tell you (about returning talent) when I get on the field and see them in person. I've always been that way, I've always done it that way."

That makes the Buffs' Spring '13 a wide-open audition at every position, with no pre-spring depth chart and no biases at any spot. Since MacIntyre didn't retain any of Embree's on-field assistants, all slates are clean.

If any initial favoritism is shown in who lines up where, it will be because of seniority. But that will last only until MacIntyre and his staff draw a bead during the first eight practices on who should be playing and where. MacIntyre said position switches could occur "daily" after the Buffs get in pads on Day 3. "It won't be quite as smooth with all that adjusting," he said, adding that a depth chart should be formulated when the players return from spring break.

If his most thorough evaluation of the Buffs must wait until he sees them on the field, MacIntyre already has come to the conclusion that defensively, "I thought we needed more overall team speed . . . that's why we signed fast, athletic linebackers. Basically, we play eight spread football teams (in 2013) that plays with five little guys on the field - four receivers and a running back, all of them quick little guys who can play in space. And the quarterback usually is a runner."

That position at CU will draw a typically huge amount of spring interest. It will open as a six-man race for the first eight days, with that number scheduled to be trimmed by half when the players return from spring break. MacIntyre said he has seen "a little bit" of high school and practice tape of redshirt freshman Shane Dillon. "He was pretty athletic and looked athletic running our (off-season) agility drills. He'll get a shot to show what he can do."

But the other five will, too, as well as incoming freshman Sefo Liufau in August. With no true incumbent at the position, "It's truly an open door," MacIntyre said, adding the best-case scenario would have at least two QBs step up. "In today's world, that's what you have to have . . . it's probably more important in today's world (because of injuries) than in the past."

MacIntyre's spring goals are for his players to stay healthy through 15 practices, emerge on April 16 with the makings of a two-deep roster and know where his incoming freshmen will have to fit in, and build bonding and a team culture - with that being of primary importance.

He said he believes the players "have bought into what we're asking them to do and seem to be excited about it." Early on, he initiated a bonding/team-building exercise by breaking down the squad into nine groups composed of 12 players each. "That's gone well," he said.

BUFF BITS: MacIntyre said the Buffs will do "quite a bit" of special teams work this spring. "There might be a back-up receiver who is our best special teams player ... I've got to see him to drills and do special teams live - kickoffs and run down on punts." He said every practice would feature about 25 minutes of special teams work . . . Junior offensive lineman Daniel Munyer has played guard and center, and says he will play for the new staff wherever he's needed. Guard, however, is where he "feels I'm best now." ... Junior receiver Paul Richardson, said MacIntyre, is "coming along slowly, getting there ... to me, he's looked good and is excited about being there." Richardson missed last season with a knee injury ... MacIntyre is scheduled to meet with head athletic trainer Miguel Rueda on Wednesday for a briefing on which players might be physically limited for spring drills. Four already have been listed as out - tailback Terrence Crowder (knee), receiver Colin Johnson (knee), offensive lineman Alex Lewis (shoulder) and defensive lineman Juda Parker (shoulder) ... Munyer said MacIntyre had introduced a "different culture" that featured "more accountability." He also said his former O-line coach, Steve Marshall, and new position coach, Gary Bernardi, were close friends. "They're kind of like the same people." ... Munyer called left tackle David Bakhtiari's early declaration for the NFL Draft "a big blow" to the O-line. "Someone has to step up (but) we're going to miss him." ... MacIntyre's practices will be open, but that's subject to change. He doesn't want any information "tweeted" from practice, posted on websites afterward, or any cell phone video shot during practices. He said there would be occasions during the season when practices would be closed.