Brooks: Liufau Eager To Make His Comeback Complete

BOULDER – Who knows what Darrin Chiaverini was really thinking about Sefo Liufau two weeks into what wasn't an august beginning to August camp for Colorado's senior quarterback. Here's a guess: Some of what was churning through Coach Chev's mind probably was taboo for repeating outside the offensive meeting room.

But near the end of week three, this was Chiaverini's observation, and there's no reason to think it was less than truthful: "He's really kind of turned the corner and knows his stuff, commands the offense. That's what you need to make this thing run efficiently."

Truth is, Liufau has been successfully turning corners since last winter when he began rehabilitating a broken left foot (Lisfranc injury) that jeopardized his senior season and shoved Chiaverini into a state of anxiety that might have lasted until that third week of preseason camp.

Quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren, who co-coordinates the offense with Chiaverini, called Liufau's early camp work "rusty . . . he was finding his rhythm, getting back into a groove. He hadn't had spring ball, hadn't had a lot of team reps. He was getting back accustomed to the speed of the game and there were some new tweaks we had put in with Coach Chev.

"To where we knew he could get – and where he wanted to get – I think it took him a little bit of time. When he first came to camp he was really pressing to make every throw and getting really frustrated with himself. As time went on he began to feel more comfortable with himself and what we were doing. It seemed like he was letting the game come to him and not forcing things as much."

In addition to his winter Spartan-like rehab regimen done on campus, Liufau opened his own pocket book this summer for trips to Portland to work on his mechanics with a personal QB coach. One result, said Lindgren, is "quickening up his release a little bit."

Camp work with Lindgren and Chiaverini reemphasized that as well as making quick decisions "in pressure situations," noted Lindgren, "and getting it to his playmakers and knowing where his answers are. Part of that was understanding where he needed to go with (the ball) in every situation."

Brought aboard by Mike MacIntyre last winter as a co-coordinator to help resuscitate CU's offense, Chiaverini has a lot invested in Liufau. But Liufau knows all about investing himself, his time and his energy, and that he's fit enough to take the first snap Friday night against Colorado State (6 p.m., Sports Authority Field at Mile High) is in itself what MacIntyre calls "a small miracle . . . maybe a big miracle."

Either way, it's a blessing for the Buffs. Liufau, too. He's approaching his final college season with what he calls "a heightened sense of focus," and those who've watched much of CU's camp have seen a more intense, out-spoken Liufau. Gary Barnett, the former Buffs coach who will debut Friday night as a KOA analyst/commentator in place of Larry Zimmer, recently called Liufau "a man on a mission . . . he's calling guys out, bringing them together."

But this appears to be a team that has emphasized accountability. Liufau recalls a stretch in camp where he had "missed a bunch of throws and I was getting down on myself. All the O-linemen and Phillip (Lindsay, tailback and another captain) were telling me to just calm down, make throws and go through your reads.

"Coaches can only do so much, they can put you in the right scheme to break apart a defense, but ultimately it comes down to the players to make plays and being able to hold each other accountable to make sure everyone is doing the right scheme and everyone is doing their job.

"We have a talented enough team, had a talented enough team last year, it all comes down to holding each other accountable, being consistent and being able to make those plays when the opportunity arises."

Opportunities – and the ability to seize them – might be the best motivator now for Liufau. After what he went through to be ready for Friday night he doesn't want any more opportunities slipping away. And on a larger scale he now realizes his yesterdays in college football clearly outnumber his tomorrows.

"When you break your foot and there's the (chance) that you can't play again there's a realization setting in of maybe you can't play again," he said at a media luncheon Tuesday. "Then I get blessed and am able to come back and play this year, and it's my senior year. It's also the realization of there's only so many snaps left of college football for me.

"You never know when you or me or anyone else can get hurt again and then it's done. Anything with football or anything in life can be taken from you, and I think a lot of the time we take it for granted. There's definitely a heightened sense of focus for me. I'm definitely holding more people accountable on offense because I realize how good we can be all across the board.

"I just think I should hold myself and everyone else accountable because I know what we can accomplish. We have high goals for ourselves and if you don't hold yourself and others accountable then you won't reach those goals."

When Liufau was making those points, all spoken from the heart, MacIntyre was standing in the back of the room and knowing almost verbatim what his quarterback was about to say. Liufau's teammates could have predicted it, too.

"They see that heightened intensity," MacIntyre said. "When they see other people overcome things with the work ethic and the time they have to put into it, they understand it. If you know your friend's hopes and dreams, and you can help him reach them, then you're going to do a little more to reach his hopes and dreams. That's what I see that Sefo has done with this team."

But Liufau's comeback is by no means complete. The improvement Chiaverini saw in the latter stages of camp must continue, and Liufau is aware of it. In his first three seasons, particularly the last two, he concedes he occasionally tried to personally do too much in getting the Buffs back into games or pushing them to successfully close out games. Poor decisions and turnovers usually resulted.

"Yeah, definitely," he said. "At times in tight situations, down by a couple of points, I tried to get it all back at once. Which can get you in trouble a lot . . . you have playmakers around you and whatever the defense gives you, you take it. If it's a flat (pass) to the running back you get it to him and let him go make the play. He's a better runner than I am. There's guys on this team that can make plays now, so instead of trying to go for the big one downfield, it's not always the best move."

Held out of spring drills and off-limits to contact in August camp, he'll have to make a quick adjustment to game speed and what CSU shows him. There will be nerves, he said, but he expects them only briefly: And there is sure to be a wave of deep personal satisfaction as well as relief.

Look closely enough at him before he takes his first snap and you're likely to see both.

"I'm not wearing a visor (on his facemask) this year," he said. "I'll be smiling and you'll probably see it. It'll probably be a relief . . . If you would have asked me a couple of days after I broke my foot, I would have been like, 'I don't know if I'm going to make it back.' I just wanted to take it one day at a time.

"To be in the position I'm in and to know that I made it is a great feeling. There'll be some butterflies. I'll be excited. I want to go back out there and play. But for the most part I'll be locked in and ready to play with my teammates."

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU

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Players Mentioned

Sefo Liufau

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