Brooks: Fields' Spring Goals Centered On Improving, Adapting

BOULDER – Change can be hard, but Shay Fields knows there's nothing cushy about college football. Hard is part of the deal, and if hard arrives in the form of a coaching change what's a player to do?

He must – as Fields is doing – adapt, recommit and move forward.

Fields and former University of Colorado wide receivers coach Troy Walters were close. Walters was a mentor, sounding board and much more during Fields' first pair of very productive seasons at CU.

But last December, Walters was hired by new Central Florida coach Scott Frost to be UCF's offensive coordinator/receivers coach. On New Year's Day, CU coach Mike MacIntyre announced he had replaced Walters with former Buffs receiver Darrin Chiaverini.

And the adjustment process began.

“It's been pretty much similar, most of the same teachings,” Fields said after Wednesday's practice, the fourth of 15 spring drills for the Buffs. “It's all a little bit faster with 'Coach Chev,' so it's going to take a little transition, especially for me, but really for all of us. We have to get used to him like we got used to Walters.”

When I asked Fields why “especially” for him, he replied: “I had a good relationship with Walters . . . but I'm looking forward to doing the same thing with Chiaverini.”

I haven't seen Chiaverini work with his position as I did Walters over the last three years. But I do know this about Chiaverini: he is blunt and demanding. Honest and caring should not be omitted either.

On his way off the practice field Wednesday, Chiaverini spied Fields taking a break before he exited and said something on the order of, “Gotta pick it up, Shay.”

To which Fields responded (not verbatim), “What do I need to do now?”

Chiaverini, smiling: “Big plays . . . more big plays.”

The exchange appeared good natured, a coach/player give-and-take without an ugly edge. But I got the impression that this was “Coach Chev” in a nutshell, a guy who can teach, needle and coddle in equal parts.

Expanding later on what he has in mind for the dynamic Fields, Chiaverini called the junior-to-be “a talented individual that needs to understand it takes great practice preparation to get you to playing well in the game. He's got the physical ability to be a very good player, but he hasn't learned just yet how to practice full speed all the time.

“I'm trying to get him to turn the corner on that, to understand that the great receivers – the ones I played with here and in the NFL – they practice as well as anybody. He's got to learn that. I'll stay on him; I tell him, when I stop talking to you is when you have to worry.”

Chiaverini, who also is the Buffs' co-offensive coordinator, knows of Fields' big-play abilities. In each of his first two CU seasons, Fields finished second in receptions to the record-setting Nelson Spruce. But the fleet Fields arrived in 2014 as the Buffs' stretch-the-field receiver, and he made the team's longest scoring catch in 2014 (75 yards) and 2015 (72).

Fields' two-season receiving totals: 92 catches, 1,084 yards and 8 touchdowns (4 in each season). He set five school receiving records in 2014 and last season had the best per catch average (14.2 yards) for any CU player with 24 or more receptions.

So when Chiaverini calls Fields “a talented individual” it is not without merit. But Fields, like all the Buffs and their handlers, are on a mission: Get better fast.

Fields believes he has done that in the off-season, noting: “I feel faster, people tell me I've gotten bigger and I feel bigger, more ready for the Pac-12 now. I feel like I've improved in the offseason.”

And MacIntyre sees a difference too, saying the 5-11, 180-pound Fields “is a little stronger and more physical, which should give him an extra burst and help him run through some arm tackles.”

Fields, said MacIntyre, was recently bothered by a hip flexor, but he battled through it, practiced on Wednesday and “made plays . . . he's done well so far.”

The composition of Chiaverini receiving corps will have a new look in August camp. On Signing Day last month, MacIntyre said the Buffs were hunting for rangier receivers. Four taller wideouts will join Fields & Co., with one – 6-3 junior college transfer Kabion Ento – already enrolled and participating in spring ball.

Another JUCO transfer – 6-3 Juwann Winfree – arrives in August along with freshman prospects Johnny Huntley III (6-3), Tony Julmisse (6-1) and Derrion Rakestraw (6-2).

At 5-11, Fields is no smurf, and he wasn't aware of MacIntyre's call for height. “Never heard that,” he said. “Nobody told me . . . I pay it no mind.”

What he is paying attention to is the challenge the Buffs' passing game faces minus Spruce. “Nelson was a big part of our offense, but I feel better about us as a corps,” Fields said. “We've got guys who can get the job done as a unit; we're just all going to have to make plays.”

Fields said the concept of spreading the ball around more, letting Spruce work as the occasional decoy, was initiated last season. Still, Spruce wound up with twice as many catches (89 to Fields' 42) than any of his teammates.

But 2016 will be Spruce-less, which Fields concedes will be different but maybe in a good way: “It's going to help everybody get the touches they need and the touches it takes for us to win.”

Wednesday's practice, said Chiaverini, offered a glimpse “of what we could be . . . but we've got to hit some of these easy throws, that's simple football. You can't miss stuff like that. If you want to be average, then you miss stuff like that. If you want to be elite in the Pac-12 Conference then you make those throws, get the third-and-ones, the fourth-and-ones and move the chains.

“We have to do a better job of moving the chains, getting first downs, getting a drive started. This offense is all about getting that first first down; you do that and get the tempo going. If you're not moving the ball you struggle. If we can get everybody working together and understand that it's about us moving together, we can do some special things.”

That's not lost on Shay Fields. He has nothing against change – as long as it's for the better.

MEET SCOTTY THE SCRIPTWRITER: Former Buffs receiver Scotty McKnight, who set a pair pre-Spruce CU records (receptions, receiving TDs), began dabbling in TV script writing a couple of years ago – and it's paid off.

His first solely written script is featured Wednesday night (8 p.m. MST) on CBS's CSI: Cyber. McKnight, who attended Wednesday morning's practice, said the episode is titled “Flash Squad.”

After working as a researcher/part-time writer for Pam Veasey, McKnight was hired by Veasey – a USC grad who has been working as a writer, producer, showrunner since the late '90s – as a full-time script writer.

McKnight, who played at CU from 2006-2010, now lives in Hollywood and envisions a future in script writing.

NOTABLE: In pads for the second day, the Buffs had a nearly 30-minute scrimmage on Wednesday that MacIntyre termed productive. “It went well, we got after it,” he said, adding that offensive and defensive coaches likely would have mixed reviews about the work. “I saw good things on both sides.” . . . . With long-snapper Wyatt Tucker Smith graduated, that duty is being shared by junior Chris Hill and redshirt freshman J.T. Bale. MacIntyre said both “have the ability to do it; we've been putting them under pressure and under a lot of different things. They've done well so far.” He added that game-day anonymity is a very good thing for a long-snapper: “When you don't hear the long snapper's name and don't really know it, it's sad for them but great for everybody else.” . . . . Yes, there's a place for George Frazier in the Buffs' revamped offense. MacIntyre said the 6-2, 260-pound junior will be used in a similar role as last season – at tight end, H-back and fullback. “The same things as last year,” MacIntyre said. “His use depends on the game . . . but he'll play on special teams and will definitely be out there.” . . . . Chiaverini says Texas Tech transfer QB Davis Webb “knows this offense better than any of us. He'll be like a coach on the field.” Webb arrives on campus this summer. Plus, Chiaverini said incumbent starter Sefo Liufau, who is recovering from a Lisfranc (mid-foot) injury, is spending spring practices signaling in plays. “So he'll understand it. We're going to be pretty good when this thing comes together.” . . . . Former Buffs coach Bill McCartney attended Wednesday's practice.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU