Buffs Defense Continues To Produce Key Takeaways
September 20, 2018 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — After a season in which Colorado's defense struggled to consistently produce momentum-shifting takeaways, defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot's group seems to have recovered its mojo in in 2018.
A year ago, Colorado recorded just 14 takeaways — eight interceptions and six fumble recoveries, and one of those fumble recoveries was produced by the Buffs' punt coverage team.Â
This year, Eliot's bunch has been on the attack. In their first three games, the Buffs have produced seven defensive takeaways — already half of last year's total. If the Buffs can continue their current pace, they will finish the year with 28 takeaways. That would double last year's production and be the most by a CU team since Gary Barnett's 1999 Buffs recorded 30.
They will get their next chance to continue that trend Friday, Sept. 28, when UCLA pays a visit to Folsom Field for the 7 p.m. Pac-12 opener for both teams in a nationally televised game (FS1).
The improvement, according to head coach Mike MacIntyre, is the result of Colorado's defensive players being in position to make those momentum-changing plays. That includes getting sophomore linebacker Nate Landman on the field as a full-time starter, putting junior Davion Taylor — one of the Buffs' fastest players — at Buff back, and using sophomore defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson at several spots on the defensive line.
"D.J. and all our staff has done a good job with putting people in different places, utilizing our talent the way we need to utilize it and all our guys have gotten a little better each week," MacIntyre said. "(Now) we need to make a big jump in this off week."
While CU's offense is grabbing headlines with its playmakers, CU's defense has its  share of game-changers. Thus far, Landman has a pair of interceptions while fellow linebacker Rick Gamboa has added one. Meanwhile, Taylor has two fumble recoveries — one of which he converted into a touchdown — and Johnson and defensive back Daniel Talley each have one recovery. Johnson also had a tipped ball that led to one of Landman's interceptions, while Landman and Gamboa have also forced fumbles.
"Those guys have kept improving every game," MacIntyre said. "Even Nate has improved every game. His recognition on some things — sometimes you don't see live in the game but you see on film. He's able to see things better each week. Mustafa has played well, Davion keeps making leaps and bounds. Mustafa, about the third day of practice he was already ready-ready."
But those defensive takeaways are only half the equation. The second part is what the offense does with those extra possessions — and again, the 2018 Buffs are doing a good job in that regard.
A year ago, CU's offense produced three touchdowns and a pair of field goals off of turnovers in 12 games.
This season, the Buffs' offense has already surpassed the 2017 total, with four touchdowns following takeaways, and Taylor converting another into a score. At the same time, the timing has been outstanding. CU's first two touchdowns at Nebraska were set up by fumble recoveries, and the Buffs' first score against New Hampshire was set up by an interception.
Part of that success this year can be attributed to where the defense has forced the turnovers. Three of the four scoring drives that started with a CU defensive takeaway came on the opponent's side of the field, with the Buffs needing to go just 48, 24 and 28 yards for those three scores.
It is also interesting to note that last year's leader in interceptions, safety Evan Worthington, has barely had a chance to get his hand on a ball this year.
"We have explosive players everywhere and it's exciting," Worthington said. "We're going to see a lot of people doing a lot of good things. This is just kind of the tip of the iceberg so far — there's a lot of talent on this team and a lot of people who are going to make plays. I think you'll see a lot of us making more and more of them in the conference."
FULL PADS THURSDAY: The Buffs hit the lower practice field for their second of three bye week practices Thursday in full pads. While they did not go full-speed live contact, they did have plenty of full-speed "thud" work with the No. 1 offense going against the No. 1 defense.
"I felt like we got a lot accomplished," MacIntyre said. "You have to do that to keep the speed of the game going. I thought they competed well on that."
The Buffs also continue to give the younger players who aren't on the "travel" squad some extra work each week. MacIntyre has made that a priority since arriving, as it gives coaches more chances to work with players they don't get to coach as often in a regular workout. And, it keeps young players sharp in the event that they are needed this year.
"We've got some good young players we're excited about it," MacIntyre said.
JACKSON PRACTICING: Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jaylon Jackson has been back on the field practicing this week after missing the first three weeks of the season with an injury.
Jackson was having an outstanding camp before being sidelined by a minor foot ailment. The Buffs shut him down to give him time to heal before the injury became worse, and he's been back on the field going full speed this week.
"I've been pleased with Jaylon yesterday and today and we'll see how he does tomorrow," MacIntyre said. "He was having a really good fall camp. He's a guy we definitely think can play in the Pac-12 and make plays. The way football is, people are going to get dinged up … we have a lot of games left. He'll be ready to play and we won't have a dropoff when Jaylon steps on the field."
EARLY LOOK AT BRUINS: CU coaches have spent the week studying UCLA film as they prepare for their conference opener next Friday.
While the Bruins are 0-3 in Chip Kelly's first year at the helm, MacIntyre said UCLA is an athletic, talented squad.
"They're the best 0-3 team I've seen," MacIntyre said. "They're athletic, they've made plays, they have big receivers, a tight end that's phenomenal down the middle. Their quarterbacks can throw it and are athletic. I believe No. 3 (Wilton Speight) is going to be coming back from what I'm hearing. He beat us when he was at Michigan. They have some really good players."
The Buffs could indeed have the opportunity to face the same quarterback playing for two different teams. Speight was Michigan's starting quarterback in 2016 when he led the Wolverines to a 45-28 win in Ann Arbor and he transferred to UCLA this year as a graduate transfer. He was hurt in the Bruins' opener, a 26-17 loss to Cincinnati, and since then UCLA has been led by freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
In a conference call earlier this week, Kelly refused to speculate on whether Speight would be ready for the Colorado game.
Either way, MacIntyre said, he's expecting an improved Bruins team.
"They'll be a much better team than they have been when they play us," he said. "They're definitely the most athletic team we've played this year so far. I've been impressed with their athleticism."
SCHEDULE: The Buffs will have another practice on the lower fields Friday and have the weekend off before returning to their Franklin Field facility on Monday to begin preparation for UCLA.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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