Brooks: At Whatever Spot, Awini Is Simply Glad To Be A Buff

BOULDER – In college football's grand scheme, which can slip from grand to grind overnight, Jaleel Awini is exactly where he wanted to be all along. It's just that his journey took a detour or two and several years longer than expected.

He's about to enter his final season of eligibility at the University of Colorado, and to say his career has been a bit jumbled is akin to saying the American political scene seems a bit murky.

Awini's resume is well-known by most Buffs fans:

Signed with Air Force as an option quarterback in 2012 out of Rangeview High School . . . made three starts in four games as a redshirt freshman for the Falcons in 2013 . . . dismissed from the team and the Academy for undisclosed reasons in September 2014 . . . transferred to CU that year and sat out per NCAA transfer rules.

That ended Awini's school hopping, but his position hopping was just beginning.

After duty as a scout team quarterback in his transfer year, his first spring as an eligible Buff was spent on defense (end/OLB). He ended it as the coaches' choice as the most improved linebacker (Greg Biekert Award), and by the 2015 Hawai'i opener he was atop the depth chart at one outside linebacker.

In 2015's final game, after playing nine games on defense (139 snaps; 21 tackles, 13 of them solo, three third-down stops and three passes broken up), he was used for four plays on offense – gaining 20 yards on option runs – in CU's 20-14 loss at Utah.

If for only four plays, the 6-2, 220-pound Awini was elated to be back at quarterback – and CU's offensive staff obviously saw what he offered as a "change of pace" QB to reposition him there for last month's start of spring drills. The facts that incumbent starter Sefo Liufau was still rehabbing from foot surgery and sophomore-to-be Cade Apsay was no longer on the team played into the Buffs' need for spring numbers at the position.

But there was another spot the coaches were interested in seeing the athletic Awini audition for: wide receiver. That's where he's spent much of his time over the last portion of spring drills, and it's where he'll likely begin fall camp – until co-offensive coordinators Brian Lindgren and Darrin Chiaverini begin their weekly game-planning and see the need for a Wildcat QB wrinkle.

Awini's "versatility" and "overall football knowledge" have impressed Lindgren, who pointed to Awini's defensive experience last fall giving him "an understanding of what defenses are trying to do. He's a really athletic kid, a strong kid. He can do a lot of things that can help us win football games."

That was documented last fall, when in addition to his mostly defensive role and the late, abbreviated stint on offense, he led CU in special teams points (29). "I just want to help the team in any way I can," Awini said.

THE BUFFS HAVE DABBLED THIS SPRING with Awini in a Wildcat formation, where the QB is 3-4 yards behind center and takes a direct snap. "We've run a little bit of that," Lindgren noted, "but for the most part we've been trying to install the base things and get those things taught. There may be some things we can game plan for him specifically when we get into the season. I think we can get pretty creative because of his skill set."

But the passing component of that skill set needs work. Lindgren said Awini is "getting better. There are things mechanically we're working on to get him more consistently accurate. He's been very streaky this spring (passing). He'll go through some periods where he hits two or three in a row (then) some periods where there are two or three throws that are a little bit erratic. We're trying to reduce those and get him to be more accurate consistently."

Had Awini stuck at QB for an entire college career, passing accuracy might not be issue. On the other hand, had he not bounced to defense for a year, his ability to read defenses wouldn't have reached its current level. And finally, he's benefitted as a receiver because of his QB work.

When I asked him if bouncing from position to position had set back his career, he answered, "It hasn't been a setback at all. I think everything happens for a reason. Knowing what the defense is trying to when you're on offense can only help you. I would say it's helped me on the different coverages I'll see on offense. It's all been a benefit.

"And learning the quarterback position, you have to know what everybody is doing. So it's not that hard for me to line up at receiver and know what I'm doing. It's not that hard to translate."

Realistically, Awini has as much ground to make up as a receiver as he did in switching to defense for the first time. Given the wideout position's returnees and the last recruiting class's additions, the Buffs don't appear as needy at that spot as they were at end/outside linebacker last spring.

Still, Awini has had his spring moments as a receiver – he made what some observers called the "catch of the spring" in Wednesday's practice, going high in traffic to snag a Steven Montez pass – and gladly will continue his battle for playing time come August.

"I'm starting to catch on to wide receiver a little bit," he said. "You know, I just want to be on field and help my team any way I can if I can get the ball in my hands."

Spending an inordinate amount of time to make Awini a better passer probably isn't a priority in the CU QB room. His work ethic is strong enough that he'll address it individually this summer. But with the arrival of Texas Tech graduate transfer Davis Webb, the continued improvement of Montez, and the eventual return of Liufau, the Buffs' 2016 passing game appears to be well-manned.

THUS, UNTIL HE'S BECKONED THIS FALL for possible Wildcat duty, Awini says he sees himself "playing a lot more wide receiver . . . but coach Lindgren and 'Chev' are both very creative and have gotten me into some good quarterback run, power counter stuff like that – a lot of options. It's going to be exciting; I'm excited to see what those guys do in fall camp."

Equally exciting is the mere opportunity to play again and finish out his career at a school and football program that appealed to him from the get-go. At Rangeview, where has Colorado's Gatorade Player of The Year as a senior, he heard from former Buffs coach Dan Hawkins but nothing from Hawkins' successor, Jon Embree.

So Awini signed with Air Force and "thought I would start and end up staying all four years (there). I didn't see myself here at CU. But I want to help this team any way I can. I grew up a huge CU fan. The name on the front of your jersey is more important than the name on the back."

Awini says now his initial choice of schools "was for the wrong reasons; I kind of went to Air Force for the wrong reasons; I didn't go there for me, I went there because people were telling me how good a school it was and stuff like that."

No doubt that Air Force was as good a school as Awini had been told, and the Academy fulfilled its promise to him. For whatever reason, his end of the bargain collapsed. The fit failed. Awini said he "wasn't really happy," adding, "I'm just glad 'Coach Mac' (Mike MacIntyre) gave me a chance to come up here and be able to earn a scholarship."

What matters now is finishing it right at the school that never lost its appeal for him.

"It's my last year," he said. "I want to get CU back to where when I was little, watching them when they were winning the Big 12 and going to BCS bowl games. I want to bring that back in my final year."

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU