Colorado University Athletics
Photo by: Tony Harman
Spring Preview - Individual Players Notes
February 21, 2018 | Football
Colorado is set to open spring football on Friday, its sixth spring under head coach Mike MacIntyre.
Colorado is set to open spring football on Friday, its sixth spring under head coach Mike MacIntyre.
In an early preview of spring ball and what to look for, here is a sample listing of some players to watch for (in alphabetical order). It by no means is an all-encompassing list, and is one mainly focused on more veteran players who have a little more meat on their resumes.
• 2017 recipient of the team's Bill McCartney Award giving for outstanding special teams achievement.
• His 29 special teams points last season tied for the ninth-most since CU created the category in 1987.
• His 13 tackles on special teams last year, three of which were inside the opposing 20 yard-line, were the most by a player since 2010 (14 by Arthur Jaffee).
• In just two seasons he has already earned 41 points on special teams. He would need to get up to 51 points to crack into the top 18 all-time at Colorado.
• Has played in 27 games including the 2016 Alamo Bowl (number not reflected in career chart below), seeing the field in all 13 games his freshman season and all 12 games last year.
• He finished third on the team in 2017 with 61 yards on 21 attempts (second among running backs).
ADDITIONAL STATISTICS—Special Team Tackles: 5,2—7 (2016), 9, 4—13 (2017).
• Was presented with the Fred Casotti Award for most improved offensive back during spring practices last year.
• Recorded a team-best 39½-inch vertical jump during the testing period at the end of the 2017 spring semester and had a standing broad jump of 10-8 (second best on the team).
• In his first season in Boulder (2016), he played in all 14 games and drew one start against No. 21 Utah.
• Posted eight catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 21.8 yards per reception with seven earning first downs in 2016.
• Against Idaho State two years ago he became the 14th known player in CU history to score on his first collegiate touch, with his 69-yard TD reception being the second-longest from scrimmage among those 14; it was also CU's third-longest play of the season.
ADDITIONAL STATISTICS—Special Team Tackles: 1,0—1 (2016).
• A team captain in 2017, he has played in 38 games in his career with 37 starts (all consecutive).
• His 292 career tackles are the most on the team and ranks 19th all-time at Colorado. There have been 15 Buffs in school history that have posted 300 or more career tackles.
• Recorded 10 or more tackles in 11 games (includes the 2016 Alamo Bowl) with a high of 17 that he posted in 2017 at Arizona State. The 17 tackles was the single-game high by a Buff last season.
• He has played in 2,065 snaps in his career, including a team-high of 847 in 2017. The next closest CU defender in terms of career plays from scrimmage is Evan Worthington with 1,077 (988 fewer snaps).
• Garnered 2017 honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors from the league coaches and was a third-team All-Pac-12 selection of Phil Steele's College Football.
• Was named the Dave Jones Award winner, given to the team's most outstanding defensive player last year.
ADDITIONAL STATISTICS—Interception Return Yards: 1-20, 20.0 avg., 1 TD (2016)
• Named to the inaugural Food City All-America honorable mention team in 2017. Selections are chosen from the top GPR Punt Ratings and from the top five 'punting for distance' averages and top five 'coffin corner' averages. 'Punting for distance' and 'coffin corner' averages are all new stats from the New GPR Punt Rating system.
• Selected to the third-team All-Pac-12 by Phil Steele's College Football in 2017.
• Had an under-the-radar year as a junior, but he enjoyed his best season in gross (43.8) and net averages (41.7).
• Set school records for the most punts (28) inside-the-20 as well as the highest percentage of kicks doing so (50.0 percent).
• Led Colorado in tackles with 119 in 2017, his first year as a starter. That figure ties for the second-most by a Buff in the last 10 years with Addison Gillam's 119 in 2013, trailing only Kenneth Olugbode's 130 in 2016.
• Became the first known Buff since Greg Biekert in 1990 to record 10 or more tackles in the first three starts of a career; he had 12 tackles against Colorado State, 13 versus Texas State and 10 against Northern Colorado.
• Finished last season with a team-high seven games posting 10 or more tackles. That tied with Kenneth Olugbode's (2016 and 2017 seasons) for the most double-digit tackles games in a year since Jordan Dizon did so in 11-of-12 games in 2007.
•Playing in 821 snaps from scrimmage, the second most on the team, he was second on the team with eight quarterback pressures and led CU with three quarterback chasedowns.
ADDITIONAL STATISTICS—Special Team Tackles: 6,2—8 (2016), 0,1—1 (2017)
• CU's most experienced returnee on the offensive line. He will enter 2018 with 24 games played (all starts) and 1,648 snaps from scrimmage under his belt. The next closest returning linemen is Aaron Haigler, who has played in 24 games with 16 starts and 1,311 plays from scrimmage.
• In his career he has been credited with 17 knockdown blocks, 30 touchdown blocks (direct), 29 perfect plays on passing touchdowns, allowed 6½ sacks and 13 pressures while being flagged for six penalties.
• Through the first nine games last season, he had been on the field for 680 of the team's 683 plays from scrimmage. Although he missed the last two games of 2017 after suffering an Achilles injury in week 10 at Arizona State, his 709 total snaps from scrimmage still tied for the third most by any Buffalo offensive lineman last season.
• He was named a 2016 USA Today First-Team Freshman All-American, CU's first since 2013 (Addison Gillam).
• Will miss all of spring practices, as he continues his rehabilitation from the Achilles injury suffered on Nov. 4, 2017.
• 19 of his 28 receptions earned first downs last season, including eight that came on third or fourth downs.
• Of his 66 career receptions, 38 of those have earned first downs (57.6 percent), including 17 in there that came on third- or fourth-down plays.
• His 66 career receptions ranks 36th in school history and his 870 receiving yards is the 37th most.
• An honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection by the league coaches in 2017.
• In his first full season as Colorado's starting quarterback, he threw for 2,975 yards on 228-of-377 passing (.605). That ranks as the third-most passing yards in CU single-season history.
• He has set a new Colorado record for career games with over 400 yards of total offense with three, two of which occurred last fall.
• Posted four 300-yard passing games in 2017, including three straight against California, Arizona State and No. 15 USC, marking the first time in school history a quarterback had three consecutive 300-plus yard outings.
• Set a new Colorado record with his 172 consecutive pass attempts without being intercepted, doing so from Sept. 23 through Nov. 4 last season.
• Threw 18 touchdowns against nine interceptions in 2017, tying for the seventh-most TD passes in a single season in school history. In the 10 seasons where a Colorado quarterback threw at least 15 TDs, he had the best interception percentage among the group, at just 2.39.
• Led Colorado to three turnover-free games in 2017, and a streak of 16 consecutive quarters without a turnover (Sept. 23-Oct. 21), setting new school records in both categories.
• Named the winner of the John Mack Award given to the team's most outstanding offensive player.
ADDITIONAL STATISTICS—Receiving: 1-11, 11.0, 1 TD (2017). NCAA Rating: 142.1 (2016), 137.7 (2017).
Sacked/Yards Lost: 8/57 (2016), 35/225 (2017).
• Named a 2017 first-team Freshman All-American by ESPN.com.
• Was one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award last year, becoming the third Buffalo to be a semifinalist for the award, joining Will Oliver and Mason Crosby, who was the runner-up in 2005 and a semifinalist in 2006.
• 2017 recipient of the team's Lee Willard Award given to the most outstanding freshman.
• His 53-yard field goal at Arizona State was the second-longest by a freshman in CU history (behind the 54-yarder Davis Price made in 2016). It tied for the fourth-longest by a freshman in the NCAA in 2017 and tied for the 13th-longest overall.
• He had streaks of nine and six consecutive fields goals last season (the nine tied the second-most, but the most in one season; the others overlapped two years).
• His 17 field goals made tied for the sixth-most in a single season at Colorado and his 86 points were the sixth-most by kicking (both the most by a freshman, kicking and overall).
• He became just the third freshman to have a 1.000 percentage on multiple extra-point kicks, but by far and away made the most (35-of-35; Patrick Blottiaux was 7-of-7 in 1988 and Jason Lesley was 2-of-2 in 1995).
• Caught 21 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns in his first playing season with the Buffaloes. His 15.5 yards per catch average was the highest on the team for any player with 20 or more receptions, which there were six last year.
• Accounted for CU's longest play of the season (a 79-yard touchdown reception against No. 15 USC) and the most receiving yards in a game (163, also against the Trojans, ranking as the 20th-most in a single-game in Colorado history). His 32.6 yards per catch average against USC was the fifth-highest posted by any FBS player in 2017 (minimum of five receptions).
• His 79-yard TD grab is CU's longest play from scrimmage since the 2013 season opener when Paul Richardson caught an 82-yard TD pass from Connor Wood against Colorado State.
• Ended 2017 on a strong note, catching nine passes for 216 yards in the final two games. Those two contests accounted for 42.9 percent of his receptions on the year and 66.5 percent of his receiving yardage.
• Made his first career start on Sept. 23 against No. 7 Washington, a game where he caught five passes for 33 yards.
• Garnered honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors from the league coaches in 2017.
• Ranked third on the team with 86 tackles last season, but his 66 solo stops were a team-high.
• Led Colorado in 2017 with three interceptions that he returned for 44 yards (14.7 per) and 10 touchdown saves. His 10 TD saves were six more than any other Buffalo.
• Was credited with seven pass deflections, eight third down stops and five tackles for losses, which tied for the second most on the team.
• Posted 10 or more tackles in two games last season, both of which were 12-tackle games. His first occasion doing so was at Oregon State, a contest in which all 12 of his stops were solo efforts.
• Played in 24 games at Colorado with 14 starts, 11 of which occurred last season (nine at strong safety and two at the Buff backer position).
• His 1,077 snaps from scrimmage in his career are the second most of any CU defender.
ADDITIONAL STATISTICS—Interception Return Yards: 3-44, 14.7 avg., 43 long , 0 TD. Special Team Tackles: 2,0—2 (2014); 3,1—4 (2015).
In an early preview of spring ball and what to look for, here is a sample listing of some players to watch for (in alphabetical order). It by no means is an all-encompassing list, and is one mainly focused on more veteran players who have a little more meat on their resumes.
35 BEAU BISHARAT, TB
6-2, 220, Jr., 2L, Sacramento, Calif. (Jesuit)
• His 29 special teams points last season tied for the ninth-most since CU created the category in 1987.
• His 13 tackles on special teams last year, three of which were inside the opposing 20 yard-line, were the most by a player since 2010 (14 by Arthur Jaffee).
• In just two seasons he has already earned 41 points on special teams. He would need to get up to 51 points to crack into the top 18 all-time at Colorado.
• Has played in 27 games including the 2016 Alamo Bowl (number not reflected in career chart below), seeing the field in all 13 games his freshman season and all 12 games last year.
• He finished third on the team in 2017 with 61 yards on 21 attempts (second among running backs).
| Rushing | ||||||
| Season | G | Att. | Yds | Avg. | TD | Long |
| 2016 | 13 | 15 | 45 | 3.0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2017 | 12 | 21 | 63 | 3.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Totals | 38 | 36 | 108 | 3.0 | 0 | 11 |
17 KABION ENTO, WR
6-3, 190, R-Sr., 1L, Pine Bluff, Ark. (Dollarway/East Central [Miss.] Community College)
• He would have figured prominently in the mix last year, but with three senior starters back, coaches decided to redshirt him.• Was presented with the Fred Casotti Award for most improved offensive back during spring practices last year.
• Recorded a team-best 39½-inch vertical jump during the testing period at the end of the 2017 spring semester and had a standing broad jump of 10-8 (second best on the team).
• In his first season in Boulder (2016), he played in all 14 games and drew one start against No. 21 Utah.
• Posted eight catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 21.8 yards per reception with seven earning first downs in 2016.
• Against Idaho State two years ago he became the 14th known player in CU history to score on his first collegiate touch, with his 69-yard TD reception being the second-longest from scrimmage among those 14; it was also CU's third-longest play of the season.
| Season | G | Receptions | Yards | Average Per Reception | TDs | Long |
| 2016 | 13 | 8 | 174 | 21.8 | 2 | 69t |
32 RICK GAMBOA, ILB
6-0, 240, Sr., 3L, Sylmar, Calif. (Chaminade College Prep)
• His 292 career tackles are the most on the team and ranks 19th all-time at Colorado. There have been 15 Buffs in school history that have posted 300 or more career tackles.
• Recorded 10 or more tackles in 11 games (includes the 2016 Alamo Bowl) with a high of 17 that he posted in 2017 at Arizona State. The 17 tackles was the single-game high by a Buff last season.
• He has played in 2,065 snaps in his career, including a team-high of 847 in 2017. The next closest CU defender in terms of career plays from scrimmage is Evan Worthington with 1,077 (988 fewer snaps).
• Garnered 2017 honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors from the league coaches and was a third-team All-Pac-12 selection of Phil Steele's College Football.
• Was named the Dave Jones Award winner, given to the team's most outstanding defensive player last year.
| Total | ||||||||||||||
| Season | G | Plays | UT | AT | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | TZ | 3DS | Hurr | FR | FF | PBU | INT |
| 2015 | 13 | 719 | 58 | 38 | 96 | 1- 1 | 1- 0 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 13 | 499 | 42 | 37 | 79 | 3-10 | 0- 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 2017 | 12 | 847 | 45 | 72 | 117 | 2-7 | ½- 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Totals | 38 | 2065 | 145 | 147 | 292 | 6-18 | 1½- 5 | 12 | 24 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
89 Alex Kinney, P
6-1, 205, Sr., 3L, Fort Collins, Colo. (Rocky Mountain)
• Named to the inaugural Food City All-America honorable mention team in 2017. Selections are chosen from the top GPR Punt Ratings and from the top five 'punting for distance' averages and top five 'coffin corner' averages. 'Punting for distance' and 'coffin corner' averages are all new stats from the New GPR Punt Rating system.
• Selected to the third-team All-Pac-12 by Phil Steele's College Football in 2017.
• Had an under-the-radar year as a junior, but he enjoyed his best season in gross (43.8) and net averages (41.7).
• Set school records for the most punts (28) inside-the-20 as well as the highest percentage of kicks doing so (50.0 percent).
| PUNTING | Inside | Had | Ret | Net | Net | |||||||
| Season | G | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | 20 | 50+ | TB | Blk | Yds | Yds | Avg |
| 2015 | 13 | 66 | 2648 | 40.1 | 58 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 112 | 2516 | 38.1 |
| 2016 | 13 | 66 | 2723 | 41.3 | 59 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 308 | 2335 | 35.4 |
| 2017 | 12 | 56 | 2451 | 43.8 | 70 | 28 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 57 | 2334 | 41.7 |
| Totals | 38 | 188 | 7822 | 41.6 | 70 | 66 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 477 | 7185 | 38.2 |
20 Drew Lewis, ILB
6-2, 230, Sr., 2L, Sammamish, Wash. (Eastlake/Washington/Coffeyville)
• Became the first known Buff since Greg Biekert in 1990 to record 10 or more tackles in the first three starts of a career; he had 12 tackles against Colorado State, 13 versus Texas State and 10 against Northern Colorado.
• Finished last season with a team-high seven games posting 10 or more tackles. That tied with Kenneth Olugbode's (2016 and 2017 seasons) for the most double-digit tackles games in a year since Jordan Dizon did so in 11-of-12 games in 2007.
•Playing in 821 snaps from scrimmage, the second most on the team, he was second on the team with eight quarterback pressures and led CU with three quarterback chasedowns.
| Total | ||||||||||||||
| Season | G | Plays | UT | AT | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | TZ | 3DS | Hurr | FR | FF | PBU | INT |
| 2016 | 4 | 46 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1- 6 | 1- 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 12 | 821 | 49 | 70 | 119 | 2- 9 | 2- 20 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Totals | 16 | 867 | 56 | 71 | 127 | 3-15 | 3-26 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
56 TIM LYNOTT, Jr., OL
6-3, 295, Jr., 2L, Parker, Colo. (Regis)
• In his career he has been credited with 17 knockdown blocks, 30 touchdown blocks (direct), 29 perfect plays on passing touchdowns, allowed 6½ sacks and 13 pressures while being flagged for six penalties.
• Through the first nine games last season, he had been on the field for 680 of the team's 683 plays from scrimmage. Although he missed the last two games of 2017 after suffering an Achilles injury in week 10 at Arizona State, his 709 total snaps from scrimmage still tied for the third most by any Buffalo offensive lineman last season.
• He was named a 2016 USA Today First-Team Freshman All-American, CU's first since 2013 (Addison Gillam).
• Will miss all of spring practices, as he continues his rehabilitation from the Achilles injury suffered on Nov. 4, 2017.
14 JAY MacINTYRE, WR
5-10, 185, Sr., 3L, Boulder, Colo. (Monarch)
• Of his 66 career receptions, 38 of those have earned first downs (57.6 percent), including 17 in there that came on third- or fourth-down plays.
• His 66 career receptions ranks 36th in school history and his 870 receiving yards is the 37th most.
| Season | G | Receptions | Yards | Average Per Reception | TDs | Long |
| 2015 | 12 | 8 | 84 | 10.5 | 1 | 38t |
| 2016 | 13 | 30 | 390 | 13.0 | 1 | 40t |
| 2017 | 11 | 28 | 396 | 14.1 | 2 | 39 |
| Totals | 36 | 66 | 870 | 13.2 | 4 | 40t |
12 STEVEN MONTEZ, QB
6-5, 225, Jr., 2L, El Paso, Texas (Del Valle)
• In his first full season as Colorado's starting quarterback, he threw for 2,975 yards on 228-of-377 passing (.605). That ranks as the third-most passing yards in CU single-season history.
• He has set a new Colorado record for career games with over 400 yards of total offense with three, two of which occurred last fall.
• Posted four 300-yard passing games in 2017, including three straight against California, Arizona State and No. 15 USC, marking the first time in school history a quarterback had three consecutive 300-plus yard outings.
• Set a new Colorado record with his 172 consecutive pass attempts without being intercepted, doing so from Sept. 23 through Nov. 4 last season.
• Threw 18 touchdowns against nine interceptions in 2017, tying for the seventh-most TD passes in a single season in school history. In the 10 seasons where a Colorado quarterback threw at least 15 TDs, he had the best interception percentage among the group, at just 2.39.
• Led Colorado to three turnover-free games in 2017, and a streak of 16 consecutive quarters without a turnover (Sept. 23-Oct. 21), setting new school records in both categories.
• Named the winner of the John Mack Award given to the team's most outstanding offensive player.
| PASSING | RUSHING | ||||||||||
| Season | G | Att-Com-Int | Pct. | Yds | TD | Long | Rush | Yds | Avg. | TD | Long |
| 2016 | 10 | 131-79-4 | 60.3 | 1017 | 9 | 69t | 51 | 231 | 4.5 | 1 | 32 |
| 2017 | 12 | 377-228-9 | 60.5 | 2975 | 18 | 79t | 132 | 338 | 2.6 | 3 | 37 |
| Totals | 22 | 508-307-13 | 60.4 | 3992 | 27 | 79t | 183 | 569 | 3.1 | 4 | 37 |
Sacked/Yards Lost: 8/57 (2016), 35/225 (2017).
48 JAMES STEFANOU, PK
6-1, 195, Fr., HS, Melbourne, Australia (Rose Hill Secondary College)
• Was one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award last year, becoming the third Buffalo to be a semifinalist for the award, joining Will Oliver and Mason Crosby, who was the runner-up in 2005 and a semifinalist in 2006.
• 2017 recipient of the team's Lee Willard Award given to the most outstanding freshman.
• His 53-yard field goal at Arizona State was the second-longest by a freshman in CU history (behind the 54-yarder Davis Price made in 2016). It tied for the fourth-longest by a freshman in the NCAA in 2017 and tied for the 13th-longest overall.
• He had streaks of nine and six consecutive fields goals last season (the nine tied the second-most, but the most in one season; the others overlapped two years).
• His 17 field goals made tied for the sixth-most in a single season at Colorado and his 86 points were the sixth-most by kicking (both the most by a freshman, kicking and overall).
• He became just the third freshman to have a 1.000 percentage on multiple extra-point kicks, but by far and away made the most (35-of-35; Patrick Blottiaux was 7-of-7 in 1988 and Jason Lesley was 2-of-2 in 1995).
| SCORING | FG BREAKDOWN | ||||||||||
| Season | G | EP-EPA | FG-FGA | 10-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60+ | Long | PTS |
| 2017 | 11 | 35-35 | 17-22 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 12-14 | 2-3 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 53 | 86 |
9 JUWANN WINFREE, WR
6-3, 210, Sr., 1L, Englewood, N.J. (Dwight Morrow/Maryland/Coffeyville)
• Accounted for CU's longest play of the season (a 79-yard touchdown reception against No. 15 USC) and the most receiving yards in a game (163, also against the Trojans, ranking as the 20th-most in a single-game in Colorado history). His 32.6 yards per catch average against USC was the fifth-highest posted by any FBS player in 2017 (minimum of five receptions).
• His 79-yard TD grab is CU's longest play from scrimmage since the 2013 season opener when Paul Richardson caught an 82-yard TD pass from Connor Wood against Colorado State.
• Ended 2017 on a strong note, catching nine passes for 216 yards in the final two games. Those two contests accounted for 42.9 percent of his receptions on the year and 66.5 percent of his receiving yardage.
• Made his first career start on Sept. 23 against No. 7 Washington, a game where he caught five passes for 33 yards.
| Season | G | Receptions | Yards | Average Per Reception | TDs | Long |
| 2017 | 12 | 21 | 325 | 15.5 | 2 | 79t |
6 Evan Worthington, DB
6-2, 200, Sr., 3L, Aurora, Colo. (Cherokee Trail)
• Ranked third on the team with 86 tackles last season, but his 66 solo stops were a team-high.
• Led Colorado in 2017 with three interceptions that he returned for 44 yards (14.7 per) and 10 touchdown saves. His 10 TD saves were six more than any other Buffalo.
• Was credited with seven pass deflections, eight third down stops and five tackles for losses, which tied for the second most on the team.
• Posted 10 or more tackles in two games last season, both of which were 12-tackle games. His first occasion doing so was at Oregon State, a contest in which all 12 of his stops were solo efforts.
• Played in 24 games at Colorado with 14 starts, 11 of which occurred last season (nine at strong safety and two at the Buff backer position).
• His 1,077 snaps from scrimmage in his career are the second most of any CU defender.
| Total | ||||||||||||||
| Season | G | Plays | UT | AT | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | TZ | 3DS | Hurr | FR | FF | PBU | INT |
| 2014 | 9 | 232 | 24 | 7 | 31 | 0- 0 | 0- 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0- 0 | 0- 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 12 | 800 | 66 | 20 | 86 | 6-19 | 1-9 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| Totals | 24 | 1077 | 91 | 28 | 119 | 6-19 | 1-9 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
Players Mentioned
ILB
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OL
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P
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ILB
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ILB
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PK
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DB
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