Tucker Welcomes Buffs For Beginning Of Fall Camp
July 31, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado coach Mel Tucker officially welcomed his first CU team to campus Wednesday as the Buffaloes wrapped up final preparations for Thursday's fall camp practice opener.
The Buffaloes took care of administrative details Wednesday, and also heard from CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano and Athletic Director Rick George in a morning team meeting. They will hit the field Thursday morning with a 110-player roster that includes 83 scholarship players. By class, it includes three graduate transfers, 15 seniors (eight fifth-year seniors), 20 juniors, 29 sophomores and 43 freshmen (15 redshirt freshmen, three second-year freshmen and 25 true freshmen).
CU will have 25 practices in 29 days to prepare for the Aug. 30 season opener under the lights in Denver against in-state rival Colorado State (8 p.m., ESPN).Â
One of those practices, Saturday's workout at Folsom Field, will be open to the public. Gates at Folsom will open at 8 a.m. (admission is free) with practice starting at approximately 8:50 a.m. and lasting for about two-and-a-half hours. A post-practice autograph/meet-the-team session will take place as well.
The Buffaloes boast one of their most attractive home schedules in decades this season. CU opens its home schedule with former Big 8 and Big 12 rival Nebraska (Sept. 7), followed by a Sept. 14 home date with Air Force. The rest of the home slate includes Arizona (Oct. 5), USC (Oct. 25), Stanford (Nov. 9) and Washington.
BUFFS NOTES: The roster also includes four inactive players: walk-ons Dominick Cate, Dustin Johnson and Dante Sparaco, and scholarship player Jake Moretti. Moretti recently announced his medical retirement after experiencing repeated issues with a leg injury suffered in high school. Cate is currently listed as injured, Johnson will join the team after fall camp, and Sparaco, who originally signed with Colorado before transferring, has transferred back to CU. … This will be Colorado's 130th season of intercollegiate football. … The Buffaloes lead the series with the CSU by a 66-22-2 count, which includes a 12-6 edge in games played in Denver. All but three of the games dating back to 1998 have been played in Denver. This year's is the final contest in the Mile High City as next year's game will be played in Fort Collins. The series will resume in 2023-24, with Boulder hosting in '23 and back to Fort Collins for '24.
