Montez Continues To Turn Heads In Buffs' Spring Drills

BOULDER — Steven Montez has heard the talk. The Colorado redshirt freshman quarterback knows the general consensus is that transfer Davis Webb will step onto campus this summer, walk into fall camp as the favorite and be named the starter when the Buffs kick the season off Sept. 2 against Colorado State.

But Montez doesn't plan on backing down. Rather, with Webb still at Texas Tech finishing up his degree, the big-armed gunslinger from El Paso is having a strong spring, doing everything in his power to make sure fall camp isn't a foregone conclusion.

“I feel like I've made a ton of progress,” Montez said earlier this week after perhaps the offense's best practice of the spring. “I'm out here to play, make plays, get some wins and see if I can earn the starting job. I'm studying the playbook, looking at defenses — everything I can to learn as much as I can.”

Montez certainly made some plays Wednesday in a variety of full-contact drills. He completed several deep balls for touchdowns — a couple against the No. 1 defense — and had several on-target strikes over the middle, including one that Devin Ross grabbed in stride and took to the end zone.

“I felt like it was a fantastic practice, probably the best one we've had so far this spring for the offense,” Montez said. “Everything just started to click. We were connecting on deep balls, the running game was terrific and we were moving the ball consistently.

“I definitely missed some throws I could have made, and I have to get better on those. But overall, it was a great day.”

Montez is literally learning the Buffs' offense on the run. He had some exposure last year as a true freshman, but he spent most of the fall running the scout team against CU's No. defense. There are also new plays and a new emphasis on rapid tempo this spring as the Buffs begin to incorporate some new wrinkles, courtesy of co-coordinator Darrin Chiaverini.

But he's getting plenty of chances to run the offense. CU's starter for the last three seasons, Sefo Liufau, is still rehabilitating a Lisfranc foot injury and Cade Apsay, who played after Liufau was injured, is no longer with the team.

That has left Montez and senior Jordan Gehrke as the only two full-time scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Also taking his fair share of snaps thus far has been Jaleel Awini, the former Air Force quarterback who moved to linebacker last year and is now back under center at least part-time this spring.

“I think I'm picking it up,” Montez said. “The offense moves really fast, but I'm getting a lot of help learning it and I'm spending a lot of time studying.”

The offense is indeed moving at a rapid pace in scrimmage situations with co-coordinator Brian Lindgren calling plays from the sidelines and Liufau signaling them in. When it clicks, the offense is a rapid-fire machine that eats up yardage in a hurry.

“Steven's done some good things,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said. “It's going kind of fast for him, but he's able to make plays with his feet and he's able to do things. He's been throwing the ball well. You always want it faster, but I have been pleased with his progress.”

Montez's speed has been a surprise to some — particularly because of his size. The youngster who weighed about 190 pounds when he arrived in Boulder last summer is now in the 6-4, 230-pound range — but he can still get from Point A to Point B in a hurry. He's proven it throughout the spring by outrunning linebackers and even defensive backs.

“I think I might be surprising some people with my speed,” Montez said. “I think it's because of how big I am. But I like to think that I move pretty well … if that's surprising, that's fine with me.”

Lindgren has had the opportunity to watch Montez's development since the day he arrived on campus.

“I've been very pleased with his progress,” Lindgren said. “They key for him, with Sefo's injury and Davis Webb not being here yet, has been his ability to get a lot of repetitions. He's grown from it every day. He's made a lot of mistakes, but he's learned from them and grown from them. The defense has thrown a lot of different looks at him and he's done a nice job of picking up the offense. He's more comfortable with it and he's more comfortable with the speed of the game.”

One thing that hasn't been a surprise to Lindgren is Montez's arm strength.

“We always knew he had a strong arm,” Lindgren said. “He can definitely get the ball downfield. The thing that was a little bit of a concern when he got here in the fall is that his feet were sometimes a little bit out of whack, which would put himself in bad positions and it made it hard for him to be accurate.

“But he's worked on it and understands some of the mechanical flaws. You could tell he put in some work between fall and spring ball. I've been really pleased with his development from practice to practice and I think everybody's excited about his future.”

For Chiaverini, Montez's play has been an eye-opener.

“No question, he has by far exceeded my expectations,” Chiaverini said. “He's going to be a really, really good football player when his time comes, whenever that may be. I've really been impressed with his development this spring. He's got some football savviness to him, which is impressive, and it's been fun to watch him as a young kid learning the game at this level.”

While Montez is getting all the reps he can handle in the spring, that will no doubt change when fall camp opens. Still, no matter what happens then, Montez will still have the luxury of learning from a pair of veterans with Liufau and Webb in the mix.

“Davis will be great for him, and Sefo will be too,” Chiaverini said. “He'll be able to learn from both of them.”

COACHES CLINIC: The Buffs will practice Friday morning, but won't scrimmage as originally planned.

Also on tap for Friday is CU's annual coaches' clinic, featuring former CU coaches Bill McCartney and Gary Barnett, along with former Buff standout wide receiver and current Cherry Creek High School coach Dave Logan.

All three will speak at the clinic at different times during the day at the Champions Center.

SOLID SPRING FOR IRWIN: MacIntyre said senior tight end Sean Irwin is having an outstanding spring.

“Sean Irwin is doing what I expect Sean Irwin to do,” MacIntyre said. “I think he's an all-around really excellent tight end. There are some guys that are just receivers and some guys that are just blockers. He can do both. He's been doing a lot of good things for us and I'm excited for his senior year.”

In that same vein, MacIntyre continues to like the progress of George Frazier, who can play tight end and fullback, along with plenty of special teams duties.

“He plays a lot of plays and he's doing a lot of good things for us,” MacIntyre said. “I would say Sean and George have stepped up from where they were and I thought they were good players last year. We're finding ways to use them.”

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu