Practice Report: Tucker Pleased With Buffs' Run Game Progress
August 06, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Since the day he arrived as Colorado's new head coach, Mel Tucker has made it clear his offense will do one thing above all others.
"We will run the ball on our terms," Tucker vowed in his first press conference, and it is a promise he has repeated time and again in his nine months in Boulder.Â
Tuesday morning, in the Buffs' first fall camp day in full pads, Tucker saw some signs that his team is taking a step in that direction. The Buffs pounded the ball with success, especially in red zone and goal line situations, and after practice, he told his offense he was pleased with their efforts.
"We're building that identity running the football," Tucker told the Buffs. "We're going to run it when we want to and how we want to."
He reiterated that message to the media in his post-practice press conference.
"It was our first full padded practice and it was our best practice so far," Tucker said. "The thing that stands out really the most, I see our offense starting to have an identity running the football. Really a push with the offensive line and backs running the ball hard. In our team run period and throughout the entire practice, getting a strong, consistent surge on the offensive line, running backs falling forward, and finishing runs. That's great for our football team."
Tuesday's effort was a solid confidence boost for the offensive line, which had struggled in Monday's workout.Â
"Coach Kap (Chris Kapilovic) is one of the best in the business," Tucker said. "He had those guys going today. They responded. This is a very coachable group. They're willing, they want to do it right. They want to do what the coaches are asking them to do and they give effort. They're willing to make the sacrifices. It takes mental toughness, it takes focus, determination, it takes leadership, and they're responding. Great job with the offensive line today."
Tucker has made it clear he might depend on a "stable" of backs and nothing so far in camp has dispelled that notion. Tuesday was a solid day for the running backs, as the Buffs continue a rotation with their No. 1 and No. 2 units. Alex Fontenot broke open a long run up the middle to the end zone early in Tuesday's workout and redshirt freshman Jarek Broussard had maybe his best day of camp thus far. Fontenot, Broussard, Jaren Mangham and Deion Smith all had solid days in short-yardage situations.
Tucker has made it clear he might depend on a "stable" of backs and nothing so far in camp has dispelled that notion.
"Broussard stepped up today," Tucker said. "Fontenot (and) Deion are running the ball well; obviously Mangham is hitting the hole pretty good. That's what we want to have. We want to have guys that can compete and run the ball hard, and first and foremost take care of the football. I saw that today."
Picking up tough yards in short-yardage situations wasn't exactly a Buffs specialty last season, as Colorado was just 19-for-32 on conversion attempts of third-and-3 or less in 2018, and just 9-for-23 on fourth-down tries.
Those are numbers Tucker obviously wants to improve.
Of course, as is always the case in practice, when one side of the ball succeeds the other side struggles. After praising the offense, Tucker then told the Buffs he expected the defense to respond when they return to the field Wednesday morning.
"It's a wakeup call for our defensive front," he said. "I told them that. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I expect them to be very physical in the trenches. Offensively we want to be able to run the ball on our terms and defensively the first thing we have to do is be able to stop the run. It was a good day's work."
PRACTICE REPORT: Guard Kary Kutsch and tackle Arlington Hambright were running with the No. 1 offense on the left side Tuesday. … Tight ends Darrion Jones and Jalen Harris have both hauled in some nice catches over the last few practices and both are showing the ability to pick up yards after the catch … WR Daniel Arias continues to get open and make tough catches … Outside linebacker Carson Wells got some good pressure on the quarterback early in team drills … CB Delrick Abrams Jr. continues to show up with good coverage against CU's outstanding fleet of wideouts … QB Sam Noyer took some reps with the No. 1 offense … Mekhi Blackmon had a nice knockdown of a long ball intended for K.D. Nixon in team drills … QB Steven Montez has been sharp this camp with short, intermediate and long throws.
SCHEDULE: The Buffs will be back in shells (shorts, shoulder pads and helmets) on Wednesday, then return to full pads on Thursday. Their first major scrimmage of camp (closed to the public) is set for Saturday at Folsom Field.
The Buffs have 20 practices remaining before the Aug. 30 season opener against Colorado State in Denver (8 p.m., ESPN).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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