Woelk: Competition Intense At Plenty of Positions In Buffs' First Scrimmage
August 11, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — One thing became obvious after Saturday's first major scrimmage of Colorado's fall camp: competition at a number of spots is still intense, and the depth at those positions means some good players will emerge.
Here are some notes, quotes and tidbits concerning those spots:
O-LINE SHUFFLE: After going through much of the first week of fall camp with the same lineup on the No. 1 offensive line, offensive co-coordinator/line coach Klayton Adams shook up the rotation on Saturday.
The "regular" bunch of Aaron Haigler (right tackle), Tim Lynott Jr. (right guard), Colby Pursell (center), Brett Tonz (left guard) and Josh Kaiser (left tackle) got their share of snaps at those positions.
But Adams also worked a variety of combinations with the No. 1 offense. By the end of the scrimmage, redshirt freshman Jake Moretti saw time at left tackle, redshirt freshman William Sherman played some guard and tackle, Tonz saw time at center as well as guard, Kaiser took some snaps at guard and Lynott got a few repetitions at center — all with the No. 1 offense.
"I think it's unfair to judge somebody who's only repping with the second or third group," Adams said of the shuffling. "Sometimes you have to pop somebody in there with the first group and see how they react when they're playing next to a little more seasoned player. That's what we wanted to see today — how do you react when you play with a guy who's played at lot, or is maybe a little better technically or stronger."
But most of all, Adams said, the goal Saturday was to begin to narrow down the group to seven or eight players who will take the majority of snaps up front.
"I wanted to see guys compete and I wanted to see guys being able to understand the entire thing rather than just understanding the assignment of one position," Adams said. "We'll have to watch the film to see what things we did well and didn't do well, but I think we competed. Now we have to figure out who the six or seven or eight guys are going to be. … Everybody knew this was kind of a midterm and now we have to make some decisions based on this scrimmage. We'll go in and look at it in detail and start making some of those decisions."
Moretti, who is coming back from a serious knee/leg injury suffered his senior year in high school, continues to progress. Adams said they will keep him on a "pitch count," limiting the number of reps he gets as he continues to come back.
"The goal is to get him to the point where we find out the right number of plays for him to play and figure out where he fits into the group," Adams said. "He has the ability to make you look like a real smart coach at times."
That could mean that Moretti shares time with Kaiser at left tackle. Kaiser, a team captain, can also play guard, giving the Buffs some flexibility in that regard.
"When you're dealing with a relatively inexperienced group, there's nothing wrong with having two guys play one position and have both of them playing in a game," Adams said.
LINEBACKER MIX AND MATCH: Heading into fall camp, CU coaches knew they had a wealth of talent at inside linebacker. Along with senior returnees Rick Gamboa and Drew Lewis — CU's leaders in total tackles and defensive snaps played last year — they also had promising youngsters Nate Landman, Akil Jones and Jonathan Van Diest.
That led to an experiment last week that could end up being a way for the Buffs to get Landman in the starting lineup and still have Gamboa and Lewis on the field at the same time. Along with playing inside, Lewis has been getting snaps on the outside as well, a place where he can utilize his speed and athleticism rushing the quarterback.
Saturday, Lewis played both spots and finished with five tackles. Landman, meanwhile, had eight stops while Van Diest finished with six, as well as a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry.
"He did a good job last year as an inside pass rusher and outside, he has a lot of talent and lot of ability," defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot said of Lewis. "We're working with him to try to get him to where he needs to be. He has great speed and great hips. Those are two of the most important things in a great pass rusher. … We're just moving guys around, trying to get guys reps. We're trying guys at different spots and we're trying to find a way to get the best 11 on the field."
Moving Lewis to the outside also makes the competition there even tougher as well. The Buffs have experienced players there in Jacob Callier and Nu'umoto Falo, as well as talented redshirt freshman Carson Wells and junior college transfer Alex Tchangam (who had a sack Saturday).
ANTWINE MAKES HIS MARK: It's not often a true freshman has an impact on the defensive line, but Israel Antwine could no doubt be an exception to the rule this year.
Antwine is a big — 6-foot-4, 315 pounds — powerful player who has made an impression since the day he stepped on campus. He's moved up to regular repetitions with the No. 2 defense, and Saturday, he earned some time with the No. 1 group when injuries kept starters Mustafa Johnson and Chris Mulumba on the sidelines.
Antwine finished the day credited with four tackles as well as a quarterback hurry.
"Israel is doing some really good things," Eliot said. "He's physical, he's fast, he has a great work ethic. He's a guy that's going to do some really good things for us."
Eliot said it is rare for a true freshman to come in ready to play on the defensive line. But Antwine, a powerlifting champion in Oklahoma, is proving he could contribute right away.
"Usually those guys have to develop physically," Eliot said. "But Israel is one of the strongest guys on our team coming in. He's ready to go right now."
Also playing well Saturday up front was redshirt freshman Terrance Lang, another young player who should give the Buffs some depth in the trenches, as well as sophomore Terriek Roberts.
DEEP BALL BEAUTY: Even with starter Juwann Winfree not participating because of a minor injury Saturday, the Buffs' wide receivers corps still had plenty of highlights. Three different players — K.D. Nixon, Kabion Ento and Maurice Bell — all had catches of 50 yards or longer, and running back Travon McMillian added a 39-yard reception.
"It was a blessing being back on Folsom, getting the chance to share competition with your brothers and have some fun," Nixon said. "We put in a lot of time over the summer working on our timing and you can see it paying off. We've got more work to do, but we're getting there."
NOYER TAKES STEP FORWARD: Sophomore quarterback Sam Noyer has had a solid camp, and put up some nice numbers Saturday. He had back-to-back 50-yard touchdown passes — one to Bell and one to Ento — and finished 6-for-12 for 140 yards. The only downside to his day was an interception, a mistake he chalked up to being "a little greedy."
Currently listed as a co-No. 2 on the depth chart with redshirt freshman Tyler Lytle, Noyer is clearly a more confident and more comfortable player than he was even last spring.
"I'm definitely more comfortable than last spring," Noyer said. "They've tweaked the offense a little to help all the quarterbacks, and I think you could see everyone getting into a rhythm today. It definitely felt good to get going early and get the ball into the end zone."
While junior Steven Montez, who had an excellent day Saturday, is clearly the incumbent No. 1, Noyer said the competition at the position remains strong.
"I think every day is a competition between all four guys," Noyer said. "Blake (Stenstrom) has done a good job, Tyler's doing a great job and obviously Steven is doing great. I think every day we're fighting for a job, and I think that's the mindset for all of us. But for me, it's also just a competition with myself — what can I do every day to get better?"
RUNNING BACK COMPETITION: What was considered to be one of the most wide-open spots heading into camp is still up for grabs.
Saturday, five different running backs got at least four carries. Beau Bisharat led all backs with 43 yards on 16 carries, followed by Alex Fontenot (7-27), Donovan Lee (8-26), Travon McMillian (6-16) and Kyle Evans (4-15). Bisharat and Lee also scored touchdowns.
"I thought they all played pretty well," said running backs coach Darian Hagan. "I thought we did a really good job of hitting the hole. Competition was at a high level. I thought Kyle and Travon did some really good things. Donovan stood out today, except for his fumble. Â Alex Fontenot did some things and Beau Bisharat played well. If Beau runs behind his pads like he can, he could be really special. He just has to keep working."
While Hagan isn't completely averse to a "committee" approach, he said he would rather identify a feature back before the Aug. 31 season opener. That, though, won't be resolved anytime soon.
"All of them bring a different skill set to the offense," Hagan said. "All of them know what they're doing and we're not afraid to put any of them out there. But you would like one guy to separate himself from the group, and that will happen. It's starting to shake out and I think we'll see that develop over the next couple weeks."
BUFFS BITS: A host of young players and newcomers made plays Saturday. With starter Evan Worthington not participating, true freshman Hasaan Hypolite got some time with the No. 1 defense and came up with a tackle, a third-down stop and a nice pass breakup … Redshirt freshman linebacker Chase Newman had an interception. … Redshirt freshman receiver Maurice Bell had two catches, including a 50-yard touchdown. … Transfer Tony Brown had four catches for 42 yards, including a 4-yard score from Steven Montez. … Freshman linebacker Colby Keiter had five tackles.
SCHEDULE: The Buffs will head back to the practice field Monday, with their next major scrimmage of camp scheduled for Friday evening under the lights in Folsom.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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