Brooks: Buffs Braced For Breaking In A Pair Of New Legs

(Last in a series of position-by-position previews of the 2015 Buffs to be posted on CUBuffs.com during the preseason. Today: Special teams)

BOULDER – Life is a little easier (or should be) for a football coach when both his punter and placekicker are veterans. That's where the Colorado Buffaloes were in 2014. This season finds them going from four-year starters to starting over with untested players at both positions.

Not to worry . . . much.

Toby Neinas, CU's special teams coach, can't help but fret a wee bit – but that's only because of his kicking game's lack of experience. His candidates to replace Will Oliver (placekicker) and Darragh O'Neill (punter) are talented if green. They're strong guys with strong legs and determination to match.

But there is still that new-guy(s)-on-the-job factor, which is always the great unknown.

“Anytime you lose a four-year starter, much less two, you know that even though you have ability and talent you just don't have experience,” Neinas said. “And experience is something we all have to accumulate on our own. I wish you could coach that into someone, but that's very difficult to do. We'll have some learning experiences certainly, and we'll try and limit those . . . but we're destined to see just one or two due to inexperience.”

The hope is that if/when those “learning experiences” happen, the Buffs are resilient enough on offense or defense or both to right themselves. And that enough time remains to allow it.

Of course, kicking game malfunctions can occur with even the most experienced specialists. So Neinas is concentrating on thoroughly preparing his inexperienced twosome – the candidates for both jobs are junior Diego Gonzalez, sophomore Chris Graham and freshman Alex Kinney – for the opener at Hawai'i (Thursday, Sept. 3, 11 p.m. MDT, CBS-SN).

Neinas would prefer to have a third individual handle kickoffs, thus spreading the kicking work among three players. “Frankly that's what I wanted last year and just couldn't work it out,” he said.

Added Graham, who is vying for both the placement and punting job: “Coach Neinas likes to spread it around, but he also says if you win, you win. He's going to put the best guy out there.”

It might be difficult not to use Gonzalez in the kickoff role. “His leg is as strong as anybody I've been around, no question,” Neinas said. “He's got a ton of power.”

But in the next breath, he adds, “We're very fortunate in that although we don't have experience, we do have power. All three of those kids are strong, powerful guys. All are 200-pounders, big guys.” (Gonzalez is 6-0, 215; Graham is 6-3, 225; and Kinney is 6-1, 205.)

All three have auditioned for the punting role, with Kinney possibly holding an edge entering game week although the latest depth chart shows him and Graham still dueling. The same chart also has Graham and Gonzalez locked in the lead for the No. 1 placement job.

Kinney earned numerous state and regional honors as a high school senior (Rocky Mountain, Fort Collins) and was rated as the No. 3 punter nationally by some recruiting outlets. He admitted to an adjustment period early in camp, particularly in expecting the ball to get to him faster and for him to get it in the air faster. He also is seeking more consistency as a directional punter.

Still, after some tweaking of his punting mechanics, he said his camp has been “decent” and that help he's received from Gonzalez, Graham and snapper Tucker Smith has been invaluable.

“It's been fun, but it's definitely different than high school,” Kinney said. “Chris helps me every day with something, something that I work on and fix. He's really good. He's had to fix his mechanics on kickoffs, kicking and punting, so he knows what I'm going through. It's very helpful.”

Neinas said Graham suffered a slight muscle strain – “Which is a big deal for a kicker” – midway through camp and was less than 100 percent during some stages of the kicking competition. “We've been cautious with him,” Neinas said, and that, coupled with Gonzalez's camp performance, might point to Gonzalez taking the lead for the opener.

Gonzalez, said Neinas, “is playing some of his best football as a Buff right now,” but also noted, “I'm comfortable with either in a pressure situation; I know that both can get it done.”

The competition with Gonzalez isn't new for Graham. “Me and Diego have been going at it for two years now,” he said. “But we definitely try to help each other and point out things we're doing wrong, coach each other. But the competition is a lot of fun.”

Gonzalez was slowed by a sports hernia last season. He kicked off in the opener against Colorado State and dressed for six other games but didn't play. This camp has found him healthy and “very comfortable,” he said. “I'm happy with how I'm kicking the ball.”

Improved consistency remains a goal, “But I think I'm getting a lot better,” Gonzalez said. “You'll never be too consistent, so I'll keep working on that.”

MANY MORE HAPPY RETURNS? The Buffs didn't stop many opponents in 2014; they fielded only 18 punt returns in 12 games compared to 41 kickoff returns. Receiver Nelson Spruce handled 12 of the punt returns, running back Phillip Lindsay took 36 of the kickoff returns.

Spruce averaged 7.5 yards a return, Lindsay 23.6 yards. Both are back, but neither might take the lead role in those respective jobs this season.

Neinas says Spruce “when called on can execute that job,” which indicates the first look in 2015 likely will go to receivers Shay Fields or Jay MacIntyre – provided “J-Mac” recuperates from what Neinas called “a little ankle issue.” Fields' camp work, particularly his fielding the ball “with confidence,” has impressed Neinas.

In the KOR Dept., this is Neinas' take: “Whereas Phillip last year took almost all of them, this year I think we'll reduce his load a little bit and spread that around some. If we get a hot hand we'll obviously go with the hot hand.”

His other KOR choices are receiver Donovan Lee and running back Patrick Carr. Coupled with the possibility of turning again to Lindsay, Neinas says “all three bring assets that are very attractive . . . whether we see a couple of guys back there, I wouldn't be surprised.”

COVER IT LIKE A BLANKET: To improve punt and kickoff coverage, Neinas said the Buffs spent much of camp trying to identify younger players who could help on both of those teams. Instilling coverage fundamentals also was prioritized.

“The head coach (Mike MacIntyre) has done a great job of helping emphasize that kickoffs and kickoff returns are a team emphasis,” Neinas said. “That established the importance of us starting off well (against Hawai'i). We need to start well . . . we don't have a preseason.”

DIALING LONG DISTANCE: Gonzalez made a 57-yard field goal the other day in practice with ample room. He kicked numerous 65-yarders in Kohl's Professional Kicking Camp in 2011, but said his longest was a 70-yarder while he was still in Mexico (he's from Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon).

That wasn't at altitude, but he's played in Mexico City (7,382 feet) and said kicking there is a “lot different” from kicking in Boulder (5,430). “I don't really feel it here,” Gonzalez said.

He also claimed he hasn't experienced any butterflies in camp, but added with a laugh, “I haven't had an important kick yet. But I feel really comfortable. I take every kick like it's just me practicing.”

LEARNING FROM THE VETS: Will Oliver and Darragh O'Neill cast long and impressive shadows on CU's kicking game. Obviously, Graham and the other 2015 candidates took notice.

“The question we always get is, 'How are you going to step into those shoes?'” Graham said. “My response to that is we've been here for two years – me and Diego – and Alex is just coming in. But we're ready to step in. People expect us to be just as good as they were; they were so consistent but I feel like we can do that also.”

Asked what he took away from his time around Oliver and O'Neill, Graham said, “Honestly, the work ethic. Darragh was always going at it; he was one of the hardest workers I've ever seen. Same with Will, but he took it from a different perspective – more like quality reps where Darragh would like to get a lot of shots in there. Also, to just take things slow . . . the moment was never too big for them. They'd been doing it for four years obviously, but they were relaxed and seeing that was helpful.”

IT'S A (REALLY FAST) SNAP: In Tucker Smith, Neinas believes he's got an elite long/short snapper. What Neinas can't believe is that Smith is entering his final season.

Coming in with two seasons of eligibility, Smith transferred to CU in 2014 from Gulfport (Miss.) Community College to replace four-year starter Ryan Iverson. Smith won the job almost right away.

Kinney said one of his adjustments to college football has been handling Smith's laser-like long snaps: “Tucker really fires it back there.”

While Neinas would like to have Smith for at least another season, “I really look forward to having him as a senior,” he said. “I've been very happy with him; he's snapping at a high level.”

THE INSIDE LOOK AT . . .

Special teams

Coach: Toby Neinas, third season at CU.

Returning starters: SN Tucker Smith, Sr.; PR Nelson Spruce, Sr.; KOR Phillip Lindsey.

Returnees: PK/P Diego Gonzalez, Jr.; PK/P Chris Graham, Soph.; P Cameron Silzer, Jr.; SN John Finch, Sr.; SN Chris Hill, Soph.; PR Shay Fields, Soph.; KOR Donovan Lee, Soph.

Newcomers: P/PK Alex Kinney, Fr.; KOR Patrick Carr, Fr.; PR Jay MacIntyre, RS-Fr.

Key losses: P Darragh O'Neill, PK Will Oliver.

Stat line: The Buffs must replace a punter who averaged 39.5 yards (net) and 42.7 yards (gross) last season and a kicking specialist who was perfect on 42 PATs and hit 16 of his 21 field goal attempts to lead the team in scoring (90 points) for a fourth consecutive season. CU was third in the Pac-12 in 2014 in kickoff returns (23.7 avg) but 10th in both kickoff coverage (38.3 net avg) and punt returns (6.5 avg).

Bottom line: Two of the Buffs' biggest 2015 question marks are in the kicking game – an area vital to winning close games. Starting over with a new punter and placekicker can be expected to produce a few kicking game hiccups. But CU is not without talented replacements. The kicking candidates are talented, eager but lack game experience, which can't be rushed. One area that's not a concern is the short/long snapper, so that part of the equation should be stable. The Buffs' improved depth and an infusion of talent should make for more athletic and effective coverage/return teams.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU