Brooks: Solis Discovers Staying Power, Comes On Strong In D-Line

BOULDER – This is the time of year when the University of Colorado's defensive linemen can expect daily – sometimes it might seem like hourly – contact with their position coach, Jim Jeffcoat.

But Jeffcoat expects a little extra conversation from senior Justin Solis: a daily text with an update on a weighty subject – Solis' current poundage.

"It's a big thing for all D-linemen," Jeffcoat said the other morning during a conversation on playing weight, conditioning, Solis and the Buffs' improved (and still improving) play up front.

Jeffcoat knows something about conditioning and staying in shape. During an extraordinary 15-year NFL career (Dallas, Buffalo) as a defensive lineman, he continued track workouts that he started as a college player at Arizona State.

"I ran a lot," Jeffcoat said. "I made sure I was in tiptop condition because you exert so much effort, you give so much of yourself. And to play at a high level you have to."

If Solis and his fellow D-linemen even come close to matching the level Jeffcoat reached, that's a bonus. A huge one. Nonetheless, they can, Jeffcoat noted, make sure they're "in top condition because we never know how long the game's going to last."

Take last weekend's annual grudge match against Colorado State. Jeffcoat and his guys had no idea the game would go into overtime. But when it did, Solis and the D-line – in fact, the entire defense – went into overdrive.

He prefaced his remarks at his weekly media conference by reminding that outlasting the Rams 27-24 was merely one of two wins, but coach Mike MacIntyre marveled at his defense's intensity and push in the extra period at Denver's Sports Authority Field.

"The surge we had in overtime," MacIntyre recalled, "our defense had played 94 snaps when we started overtime and the four snaps they put together after the penalty when (CSU) got the ball got on the 12-yard line was probably the most physical, the hardest four snaps they played including the field goal. The energy they had on the field goal block, I don't know where they got it from."

For Solis, the energy never stopped flowing. His 10 tackles against the Rams were a single-game career-best, and the one he combined with end Jimmie Gilbert on was, according to MacIntyre, "a turning point in the game."

TO RECAP, THE RAMS HAD bolted to a 14-0 lead and were threatening to score again midway through the second quarter. Another TD might have buried the Buffs, but on fourth-and-one at the Buffs' 24, Solis "just took their center on that play and knocked him into the running back. That's how we stopped them," MacIntyre said.

For Solis, who, added MacIntyre, "has had good days and bad days here," the CSU game was his best as a Buff. Of those who have benefitted most – and the list in lengthy – from Director of Sports Performance Dave Forman's strength and conditioning work, Solis might put himself in the top 10.

The 6-2 Solis is listed at 325 pounds, and if he let himself, he might reach 350 overnight. Thus, Jeffcoat's request that Solis check in daily with a weight.

"He's always seeing if I'm keeping my weight in control," Solis said. "I'm doing a good job of it, but he's always on my butt about it. I try my best (to text him) but I get busy sometimes. I'll always let him know and if I don't he's on me."

If Solis isn't finely sculpted, he is precisely what defensive coaches look for in a nosetackle – which is to say he's built along the lines of a small tractor. What's more, his strength and stamina have risen dramatically this season over his last two.

"I feel like I can play a lot better, a lot longer," he said. "I played a whole bunch of snaps against CSU. You get tired – that's just the way the sport goes. But I felt much better than I have in past years. I'm feeling good throughout the third and fourth quarters. Even in overtime against Colorado State, myself and the rest of the D-line were feeling pretty fresh."

There's another factor at work here, too. In his first couple of seasons at CU, the defensive scheme usually featured four "down" linemen – two tackles and two ends in a 4-3 concept. New coordinator Jim Leavitt's preferred alignment is a 3-4, which puts Solis nose-to-nose with the center.

It's a new scheme as well as a new position, but Solis says Leavitt's system "is really beneficial to me (and) I feel like the nose position is perfect for me. It's my first time doing it, but I'm getting the hang of it. I think it's something I can really excel at."

His three-game numbers back him up. His 16 tackles (11 solo) tie him for the third-most on the team and are the most among CU's interior defensive linemen. According to Jeffcoat, some of Solis' newfound energy comes from his realization that he's a senior and wants a successful finish to his CU career.

Plus, said Jeffcoat, Solis is fundamentally sounder than he's ever been: "No question . . . he uses his hands better and is really into it. He's a great kid. This means a lot to him – every play does. That's the biggest thing. It hurts him when he doesn't do well."

Jeffcoat and the Buffs needed Solis (and others) to step up quickly in the D-line. Senior tackle and three-year starter Josh Tupou was suspended before the season began and is no longer a member of the team. Jeffcoat said Solis having to compensate for Tupou's absence "was not a concern for me. I had Justin last year and I knew what he could do. I just had to get it out of him.

"Now I've got to continue. I need to see the consistency in the next game, in the game after that. He needs to keep the consistency because he has the ability. There's never been a question about that."

STILL, WHETHER APPLIED DIRECTLY OR NOT, Solis felt pressure to perform in a D-line suddenly minus his good friend. "Yeah, absolutely," Solis said. "Josh was one of our best, if not our best, defensive lineman. He was a force to be reckoned with inside.

"When we lost him it definitely put a lot of pressure on my shoulders being one of the only seniors on the D-line and being one of the only guys with experience in the Pac-12. I tried not to let it bother me that much. I have just tried to go out and play every snap hard, do everything I can do."

Furthermore, added Solis, "He was one of my better friends here . . . me and him were pretty close. It sucks not having him around. Yeah, it's definitely a big loss for me on and off the field."

But Solis and the Buffs have marched on. Two junior college transfers – Jordan Carrell and Leo Jackson – were counted on as immediate contributors in the defensive front, but Tupou's departure accelerated that timetable. Jeffcoat said three games at the Division I level have been a learning experience for Carrell and Jackson: "They're playing very well and getting better . . . but they'll continue to improve."

Added Solis: "This is big-time football, Division I, it's not junior college anymore. There are things all of us as a front have to improve on, but I feel like they're doing good jobs."

When asked, Solis has offered advice to each as well as two younger players at his position – redshirt freshman Jase Franke and sophomore Eddy Lopez. "I do as much as I can," Solis said. "They come to me with questions . . . I guess I'm like the father figure in the D-line."

Having matched their 2014 win total by winning two straight games for the first time since 2013, the Buffs close out non-conference play on Saturday at Folsom Field against Nicholls State (11:30 a.m., Pac-12 Network). The Colonels haven't won since mid-October 2013 and bring a 20-game losing streak on their first trip to Boulder.

Following Nicholls State, No. 13 Oregon visits Folsom Field for CU's Pac-12 opener (Saturday, Oct. 3, 8:07 p.m., ESPN). Conference play, said Solis, "is in the back of our minds, but we can't overlook Nicholls State. We can't overlook any opponent."

A win Saturday would give CU a 3-1 non-conference record and three consecutive wins for the first time since the 2008 Buffs opened with three straight victories. It's the kind of start Justin Solis would like in his last college season, but how the Buffs finish is what really drives him.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU