Brooks: CU Spring Game Draft Follows Unlikely Path

BOULDER -- Forget the "best athlete available, best player left on the board" -- a strategy to be repeated ad nauseam in next months NFL Draft.

Here's a strategy that won't come into play.

The University of Colorado's 20 seniors were divided on Thursday by coach Mike MacIntyre to conduct their "draft" for Saturday's annual spring game (noon, Folsom Field). From the 10 seniors representing the Black and Gold squads, offensive linemen Kaiwi Crabb (Black) and Daniel Munyer (Gold) were chosen to make the selections for their teams.

MacIntyre flipped a coin for the first pick and Crabb won the toss. Without hesitation, he picked junior defensive tackle Josh Tupou, a 6-3, 320-pounder who already has captured the spring's Outstanding Toughness Award and whose overall improvement hasn't been lost on anyone directly across the line of scrimmage.

Specifically, that would be, well, Crabb. So did eschewing the selection of a skill position player for a defensive tackle make MacIntyre's jaw drop?

"No, because Kaiwi didn't want to block him . . . I'm dead serious," MacIntyre said. "I said (to Crabb), 'You didn't want to block him.' And he said, 'That's right.'"

Tupou said he was "shocked . . . I thought they'd go with Sefo (Liufau) because he's the quarterback. It was kind of a shock; my roommate (linebacker K.T. Tu'umalo) texted me and said you were first."

Word traveled quickly through the team grapevine that "the O-line didn't want to block me, so the (Black team) chose me right away," Tupou said, grinning. Asked if he viewed that as a complement, he answered, "Yeah, I think it is, but there's still stuff I need to work on . . . it just shows they've seen my improvement throughout this spring."

The business of drafting to protect personal interests also factored the Gold team's first pick. With the second selection, Munyer - with an outside influence obviously at work - took junior wide receiver Nelson Spruce.

Explained MacIntyre: "Greg Henderson was playing corner on the other side and he didn't want to cover Spruce. You go back and watch the tape and Henderson tells them to pick Spruce . . . I thought that was pretty funny."

Which proves if spring football is all about fundamental improvement and identifying up-and-coming talent, it also can make room for good times.

"They had a fun time and did a good job of evening out the teams the best they could," MacIntyre said. "We had a few trades at the end because we needed some extra linemen on one side. I think they were figuring it out but they had to get the commissioner (MacIntyre) there to make the trades. It was a good time with the seniors and I think they really enjoyed doing it."

The draft's third and fourth selections, respectively, were sophomore defensive back Chidobe Awuzie (Black) and sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau (Gold). Sophomore quarterback Jordan Gehrke wasn't taken by the Black team until the ninth round, with the rationale being, "Why waste an earlier pick when Gehrke is the only other scholarship QB on the roster?"

And for purposes of an overall critique and competition, "Commissioner" MacIntyre wouldn't have allowed one team to hoard the QBs. What he's looking for Saturday isn't much different from what he was interested in last spring and what he'll watch for next spring "effort, intensity and some kids who haven't played on a stage, so to speak, how they handle that. If they keep playing hard, they don't freeze up."

Also, he wants to exit Saturday and enter the summer conditioning period with no one added to an injury list of a dozen players who will miss the day's scrimmage. Specific positions that MacIntyre wants to scrutinize include the receivers and defensive ends - both spots that lost veteran players from 2013.

While some schools have veered away from traditional spring-ending games, MacIntyre believes they have merit - and most of his players agree. He called spring games "really fun for the kids . . . I enjoyed it as a player. They enjoyed it last year; there was a lot of competition. I know they'll play hard."

Tupou said he enjoyed spring games, "Especially when you play with the younger guys who haven't really experienced it. It's fun to improve and see where we're at and see what we need to work on during the summer to improve so we go into fall camp ready."

The big differences in this spring and last - MacIntyre and his staff's first at CU - is best seen in increased competitiveness, said Tupou: "There were guys out here who weren't too competitive (last spring) but now they're learning how to get more competitive. Our defense is improving. Our secondary is getting better. We have some things like communication to work on, but our offense is getting real good. The running game is improving and the receivers are good."

Spruce, the Buffs' leading returning receiver, said spring games are a good time: "You get to show the fans what you've been working on all spring and you get a chance to play in kind of a game-type situation, which is different from out here at practice. That's good, especially for some of the younger guys who haven't experienced it."

In the absence of 2013 leading receiver and record-setter Paul Richardson, some of Spruce's spring has been spent in a different role. "I've tried to elevate my game, even as a leader," he said. "With 'P-Rich' being gone, we don't have a lot of veterans. I've tried to show the younger guys how to do it and get into the swing of things."

Saturday's game will feature four 12-minute quarters, but with a running clock until the final 2 minutes of each half. The staff has been divvied up between the Black/Gold squads, with MacIntyre scheduled to spend the game on the field observing. He said he likes to watch for the little things that might not show up on tape - the encouragement offered by teammates when a player blows an assignment, the interaction in both huddles, how his QBs communicate in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage, etc.

"I also watch if a guy gets popped pretty good, does he go back and fight the next play or is he kind of shy?" MacIntyre added.

Spring game performances don't necessarily carry more weight than those of preceding scrimmages, but a final chance before preseason camp to impress the head coach and a position coach shouldn't be overlooked. A handful of players already have impressed. According to MacIntyre, those who have "really jumped out and earned some status and some playing time" include:

OFFENSE - Redshirt freshman tailback Phillip Lindsay, sophomore center Alex Kelley, redshirt freshman receiver Bryce Bobo, and Munyer. MacIntyre said a preponderance of errant snaps early in spring drills has disappeared now that Kelley has become accustomed to snapping and taking a quick first step required "to block somebody like Tupou is tough. We've had one bad snap since returning from spring break."

DEFENSE - Sophomore linebacker Kenneth Olugbode, redshirt freshman defensive end Derek McCartney, redshirt freshman defensive back Ryan Moeller, and Tupou. MacIntyre said Moeller, an invited walk-on from Rifle, "has kind of come out of the woodwork and played really well. He's really athletic, he's 205 pounds and will hit you and can run."

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU