Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Bring Experience At Tackle, Center
August 10, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
(Second in a series of position-by-position previews of the 2015 Buffs to be posted on CUBuffs.com during the preseason. Today: Offensive line)
BOULDER — One year ago, the Colorado Buffaloes jumped 50 spots in the national total offense rankings, moving from 87th to 37th.
Now, Buff head coach Mike MacIntyre has his eyes on another leap.
“I feel like our offense will go from 37th to the top 25 offenses in the country,” MacIntyre said at CU Media Day, “and we'll be able to run the ball in the red zone a little bit more.”
If MacIntyre's projections are to come to fruition, it will start up front with an offensive line that brings 56 career starts and a hunger to excel to the table.
“The experience is excellent,” MacIntyre said. “I feel very good about our first seven or eight guys right now.”
In particular, MacIntyre and offensive line coach Gary Bernardi like what they have at center and both tackles, where all three starters have at least a year of starting experience under their hefty belts.
The Buffs' bookend tackles should be a major strength. On the right side, 6-foot-7, 323-pound senior Stephane Nembot is an Athlon's preseason second-team all-Pac-12 pick. On the left side, 6-foot-5, 295-pound junior Jeromy Irwin is also being touted for Pac-12 honors.
The importance of solid tackles in the pass-happy Pac-12 can't be overstated, as defenses are loading up with quick, strong defensive ends whose primary task is to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks.
Nembot has started 28 straight games for Colorado (31 total) after stepping into the permanent starting role late in his sophomore season. Irwin started 11 games for the Buffs a year ago, missing one game because of an ankle injury.
“Our two tackles have played for a while now, and they're good,” MacIntyre said, “especially against the defensive ends we play against in this league. There will be some great defensive ends that show up this year.”
Bernardi , who was an assistant line coach at Southern California when the Trojans' line featured All-American Tony Boselli, said Nembot has improved dramatically since arriving at Colorado with almost no football experience in his background.
“He's improved a lot, and he has a long way to go,” Bernardi said. “The thing about Stephane is he's improved as much in the classroom as he has physically.”
At center, the Buffs have another experienced hand in 6-2, 310-pound junior Alex Kelley, who has been mentioned on a handful of preseason all-Pac-12 roundups and has been named to the Rimington Award watch list. Kelley started all 12 games for the Buffs last year.
“Alex had the benefit of playing alongside two really smart kids last year (graduated senior guards Kaiwi Crabb and Daniel Munyer),” Bernardi said. “That was a big help to him. So much classroom stuff goes into playing the line because there's so much going on, and Alex now has the benefit of that year.”
Replacing Crabb and Munyer will be a huge key to the success of this year's line.
“We've got some young guys that are going to step up,” Irwin said. “It's not going to be an issue.”
Thus far, all indications are that 6-foot-4, 295-pound sophomore Gerrad Kough is ready to take the reins at left guard. Kough started two games last year, and looks to be ready to take over the position on a permanent basis.
At right guard, the starting spot will go to either 6-foot-4, 305-pound sophomore Jonathan Huckins or 6-foot-6, 300-pound junior Shane Callahan. The versatile Huckins has played both center and guard, while Callahan has moved over from tackle.
“The guys stepping in aren't having to play as young puppies, they've been sitting, they've been grooming,” MacIntyre said. “They're big, they're strong, they're over 300 pounds, they're over 6-foot-4, and they're tough guys and they're older.”
Most positions on a football team set specific goals for a season — yardage, tackles, interceptions, etc.
Irwin said the Buffs' offensive line isn't concerned with specific goals, at least not yet.
“Physical,” Irwin said. “Be physical across the board. We've got some young guys that are going to step up and we're going to be physical.”
THE INSIDE LOOK AT . . .
Offensive Line
Coach: Gary Bernardi, third season on CU staff.
Returning starters: T Stephane Nembot, Sr.; T Jeromy Irwin, Jr.; C Alex Kelley, Jr.
Returnees: T Sam Kronshage, Soph.; T Josh Kaiser, RS-FR.; G John Lisella II, RS-FR; G Connor Darby, Soph.; C Sully Wiefels, Jr.; C Vincent Arvia, Sr.; G Jonathan Huckins, Soph.; G Shane Callahan, Jr.; G Colin Sutton, Soph; T Ed Caldwell, Jr.; T Connor Center, Soph.
Newcomers: Isaac Miller, Dillon Middlemiss, Tim Lynott, Aaron Haigler.
Key losses: G Kaiwi Crabb, G Daniel Munyer.
Stat line: Last year's O-line paved the way for an offense that moved up 50 spots in the national rankings, from 87th to 37th. CU's running game averaged 4.11 yards per attempt, a number that looks good on the surface, but one that needs to improve, particularly in the red zone.
Bottom line: There's plenty of experience at the three key positions — left tackle, right tackle and center. An important factor will be reducing penalties. The Buffs had 40 offensive penalties last year, and the offensive line played its role in those flags. If the Buffs can improve their pass protection and red zone running game, it should be another year of improvement for the offense.
Next: Cornerbacks
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
