Brooks: Buffs Look More To Liufau's Legs To Get Them On Track

BOULDER – Rest assured, Sefo Liufau and the Colorado Buffaloes aren't drifting toward an offense that features a run-first quarterback. But if it takes leg work to make the offense work, well, Liufau is all in.

Entering his junior year not having scored a rushing touchdown, the midway point of the season finds him having reached the end zone five times – only two fewer than Bernard Jackson's running total in 2007.

No other Buffs QB has scored that many since, but with five regular-season games remaining Liufau seems a sure bet to get at least two more rushing TDs and surpass Jackson, who was generally considered a more efficient runner than passer.

As for entering his name in the record book as CU's most prolific running quarterback – at least in single-season TDs scored – Liufau likely will lag. Directing Bill McCartney's option offense in 1989, Darian Hagan ran for 17 touchdowns, many of them with the panache and sleight of hand that became Hagan's trademark.

That isn't Liufau's calling card. At 6-4 and a pumped up 245 pounds, he's more bulldozer than scatback – and that's why he and the coaching staff are allowing him more touches as a ball carrier. Also, Liufau fought through a largely unpublicized back problem in his freshman season (2013) that might have deterred him running frequently.

"He's faster than he looks; he makes up ground and is extremely tough and powerful," CU coach Mike MacIntyre said Tuesday. "He's one of those quarterbacks that I think the other team doesn't really like to see running; sometimes they like to see the quarterback run and they want to go hit him, you don't see people really want to go hit him all the time. I mean, when you hit 245 pounds at 6-foot-4 that's running pretty fast, it's a big load, it's like hitting a big tight end."

BUT QUARTERBACKS, PARTICULARLY THOSE as physically imposing as Liufau, often become shortsighted in short yardage situations and lose sight of their vulnerability. Second-ranked Baylor lost starter Seth Russell when he lowered his head to take on a tackler in Saturday's 45-27 rout of Iowa State. A slide would have been sufficient and preferred by the Baylor coaching staff; Russell cracked a bone in his neck and is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery.

MacIntyre said the Buffs will "definitely keep running" Liufau but "we'll be cautious in how we do it . . . he's done a good job of sliding or getting out of bounds, but when he has to get a first down he's going to go get it. But he understands how to do that, and I think he's done a good job with that."

But Liufau is obviously running more than at any time in his career and, according to MacIntyre, is in "better shape and running better than ever."

As a result, MacIntyre said the Buffs have benefitted in neutralizing defenses that tend to "pack the box" to slow the running game and in controlling the clock with first downs: "If they pack the box he has reads to throw it, if they don't pack the box he has reads to run it, so it gives us an advantage and is something the opponent has to be aware of. It gives us another weapon. And it helps us to control the clock and grind out first downs, which helps our defense to get fresh and stay available on the sidelines."

Through eight games, Liufau has run 83 times for 310 yards, minus 136 for sack yardage. His 83 carries are already a career-high; he ran 40 times in 2013 and jumped to 69 last season.

Liufau's five rushing TDs have been of the punch-it-over variety. The two longest have been seven yards each, with the other three coming on smashes of two, four and four yards.

CU defensive lineman Leo Jackson III calls Liufau "deceptive . . . I think teams underestimate him a lot (but) he makes them pay in the red zone."

A WEEK AGO, LIUFAU LEARNED THAT last weekend's game plan would utilize his legs as much as his arm. And in CU's 17-13 win at Oregon State, he completed 17 of 24 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown while running 17 times – one off his season-high in the season-opener at Hawaii – for 50 yards and a score. His 18 carries against the Rainbow Warriors netted 81 yards.

In August, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren dropped more than a slight hint that Liufau's would be utilized more as a runner this season – particularly on zone read option plays and in the red zone.

Said Lindgren: "We've done some things to incorporate him a little bit more in the run game. He's done some stuff with the strength staff in the offseason to kind of make himself a little more flexible and a little quicker (so) he can be a little bit more of a running threat."

In CU's four Pac-12 games, he's averaged just under 13 carries a game and scored three TDs. Taking on an expanded role (and tacklers) is A-OK with Liufau. He's far from being a reluctant runner although he hinted Tuesday that surveying the field from the pocket and delivering the ball to his playmakers might be a preference.

"You take the game plan and just run with it," Liufau said. "I like to sit in the pocket a little more and give it to my playmakers, who are a little bit better at running than me. You just have to go out there and make plays."

Does that mean he prefers not to run?

With a laugh, he answered, "I prefer to win, so whatever it takes . . ."

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU