Colorado University Athletics
Spruce Sets CU Career Reception Mark
September 12, 2015 | Football
BOULDER--The play was unremarkable, as far as record-breakers go. Nelson Spruce caught a five-yard out from Sefo Liufau at the beginning of the third quarter of Colorado's 48-14 win over UMass on Saturday afternoon.
Spruce scampered out of bounds, tossed the ball to the official and trotted back to the huddle with no idea that he'd just set the Buffs' career receiving record.
One record down, two to go. @nspruce22 with career grab No. 216, most in CU history. https://t.co/cmTCPk9ZTJ
— Colorado Buffaloes (@cubuffs) September 13, 2015
"I didn't know until our media guy, Anthony (Lepine), came up and told me in the fourth quarter," Spruce said.
For that matter, Spruce's quarterback and coach didn't know that he broke the record, either.
"I was ecstatic for him. I didn't know he broke that record," Liufau said.
"I just found out," Mike MacIntyre said with a chuckle. "I should've known before that. He deserves it."
The catch was the 216th of Spruce's career. He surpassed Scotty McKnight, who was Colorado's career leader in receptions and receiving touchdowns, and second in yardage, before Saturday. McKnight still holds records for receiving touchdowns (22) and Michael Westbrook owns the yardage mark with 2,548, but Spruce is hot on their tails; he needs only 122 yards and three touchdowns to break those records.
"Scotty's a guy that I've met a couple times, and coming in that was someone I was compared to a lot," Spruce said. "He put up such good numbers here that you don't come in and say, 'I'll be there one day.'"
But Spruce is here, and he helped the Buffs' offense arrive in a big way. His 18-yard touchdown in the third quarter was Colorado's first passing touchdown of the season. He lined up wide right, settled in for a short throw against loose coverage, and broke three tackles on his way into the end zone.
"I was the backside option," Spruce said of the play. "We didn't get the coverage we wanted on the front side, so Sefo dumped it off to me and I was able to make a play on that."
The touchdown capped a statistically solid, 6-catch, 64-yard day. Spruce was deferential to his team and its suddenly dominant rushing attack, but MacIntyre wasn't short on superlatives.
"He's a heck of a football player," MacIntyre said. "That run he made for the touchdown was incredible. He's getting really good at running after the catch."
And now, every catch Spruce makes sets a new record. Some of them will probably be more spectacular than a five-yard out in September against Massachusetts. But that one did the trick, and more importantly, Colorado took care of business when it absolutely had to. After the past season-plus, that is remarkable.
