Colorado University Athletics
Kafovalu, Irwin Making Big Plays For Buffs
November 05, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Colorado defensive lineman Samson Kafovalu scooped up a fumble by UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen last week and rumbled 33 yards to the end zone, CU defensive line coach Jim Jeffcoat was obviously one of the happier people in the Rose Bowl.
Jeffcoat has spent much of this season urging, coaxing, cajoling and pushing the CU junior to improve his conditioning. The fact that the play came in the fourth quarter was proof that Kafovalu is improving in that area.
“People have asked me all year why I hadn't played him a lot,” Jeffcoat said. “It's because of his endurance and stamina. But now you see that he's improved on that, and he's getting a lot more plays and being more productive. That's why he was in the game then to make that play.”
Indeed, Kafovalu's playing time has increased as the year has gone along. After playing sparingly early in the year, he's steadily increased his time on the field, to the point that he's averaging about 25 plays per game over the last month. Against UCLA, he was on the field for 26 snaps — nearly half of UCLA's offensive total.
“He's been playing better and better,” Jeffcoat said “He's really stepped it up conditioning-wise, and it shows on the field.”
Jeffcoat knows how important conditioning is to a defensive linemen. A 15-year NFL veteran who collected two Super Bowl rings with the Dallas Cowboys, Jeffcoat earned a reputation for his demanding regimen. Along with plenty of work in the weight room, he trained on the track with Herschel Walker and took pride in his speed. He finished his career with 102 sacks, and also had two interception returns for touchdowns, including a 65 yarder. Jeffcoat also returned two fumbles for touchdowns, and had 77 yards in fumble returns in one season.
“Samson has to continue to build up his stamina and endurance,” Jeffcoat said. “If he does that, he'll be on the field a lot and could be a dominant player.”
Kafovalu has certainly made plays when he's in the game. In 185 snaps this year, he's recorded 16 tackles, a sack, two tackles for losses and four quarterback pressures.
“I feel myself developing as a better football player,” Kafovalu said, “but I feel like I have to fix some of my bad habits. I need to be able to go full speed every time. I have to strive to do my best every day and be able to run the whole marathon.”
Kafovalu will almost certainly get some time Saturday at Folsom Field, when the Buffs play host to Stanford (11 a.m., Pac-12 Networks). The Cardinal boast a huge offensive line and a dynamic running back in Christian McCaffrey, and the Buffs will want fresh players on the field as much as possible.
“He's made a lot of plays,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said. “He's stout in there. He's gained some weight, he's at 285 now, 290. He's doing well.”
IRWIN BECOMES RECEIVING THREAT: Buff tight end Sean Irwin is developing into a big-play threat. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior has eight catches for 173 yards, and his 21.6-yards-per-catch average is more than anyone else on the team with more than one reception. His big catches include a 47-yarder against Arizona, a 42-yarder against Arizona State, a 31-yarder against UCLA and a 22-yarder against Oregon State.
“Sean has kept getting better and better since we've gotten here,” MacIntyre said. “He's worked really hard. When we first got here, he was mainly just a blocker. He's worked really hard to develop his receiving skills. He has good hands, but just route running and understanding where to be and how to body a guy. A couple of his catches, in the past they would have intercepted it, (but) he was able to body it. He's catching the ball with a lot of confidence and the quarterback has confidence in him catching the ball.”
Irwin spent much of his summer working on those skills, and now he believes he's earned the trust of quarterback Sefo Liufau — particularly after two of his catches looked like possible interceptions before he went up for the ball.
"Learning how to run routes, all the little things that go into it," Irwin said. "I worked on that a lot. I think Sefo has confidence in me and we're working together better and better."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
