Colorado University Athletics
Competition Still Fierce In Several Buffs Position Battles
October 21, 2020 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — As the Colorado Buffaloes hit what is roughly the halfway point of training camp, head coach Karl Dorrell and his staff are wrapping up the "install" portion of camp.
Now, Dorrell and his staff will focus more and more on fine-tuning the details and sharpening the edges as they prepare their team for the Nov. 7 opener against UCLA at Folsom Field.
Tuesday was the 10th practice of camp, which leaves the Buffs 10 more to go before they hit game week and the four practices leading up to the season opener. The Buffs are now doing more and more situational work — third downs, red zone, two-minute drills — and Dorrell remains pleased with what he's seen from his first Buffs team, both from a physical and mental standpoint.
"We had probably our longest practice of the fall," Dorrell said of Tuesday's workout. "It was a great practice. We did a lot of situational things .. It was good to be at the volume of work we had today. Our guys did a nice job of performing it. We have a few details to clean up but I've been impressed with how hard this group works and how conscientious they've been. It was a good 10th practice. We're heading strongly in the right direction. I feel really good about that."
Given the constraints presented this season by the coronavirus pandemic — no spring ball, limited summer work and a delayed start to training camp — Dorrell and his staff had to revise how much information they presented to their team in a shortened camp.
But now, Dorrell said, they may be able to feed a little more of the playbook to the Buffs because they have picked it up quickly over the first 10 practices.
"We did have in mind not putting too much on them," Dorrell said. "We had to make an educated guess as to how much offense and defense we can digest between these 25 practices to make sure it's well executed, that they digested it and they're ready to utilize it on Nov. 7. There was that thought in mind of not having too much in our packages. But we didn't know how far we could take them. Given what we did today, there's some really smart kids on our team that we think can handle more. We might start to feed them a little more."
One constant thus far has been competition at a number of positions, battles that Dorrell said are "fierce." With one scrimmage under their belts and another scheduled Saturday, Dorrell said the competition at several spots is still too close to call.
"They understand, particularly in some of the close battles, that every rep counts," he said. "They don't want to make a mistake, they want to make a play. They want to execute the technique and the assignment properly. They don't take any plays off. There's a level of urgency that a lot of these guys that are competing for jobs are really heightening their awareness."
Among the positions still up for grabs are running back, wide receiver, several spots in the secondary and — of course — quarterback.
"I thought all three (quarterbacks) did some really good things today," Dorrell said. "They all had two-minute drives and I thought they performed well within the plays that were given to them. I was really pleased with that."
As for the other spots, he said, "Those things are all going to sort themselves out. Those are the areas that have really good depth. I know when it's all said and done, there's going to be a collective number of guys that are going to contribute to help us be successful. It's not like whoever loses the job is going to be just sitting down and not getting any time — except for maybe at the quarterback position. I think everything else will be a rotational basis, almost at every other position."
Dorrell and his staff have indeed rotated plenty of players at those positions throughout camp, including running back.
But, he said, that probably won't mean a pure "running back by committee" scenario.
"In our situation, Alex Fontenot is obviously our veteran player," Dorrell said of the junior who rushed for 874 yards last season. "He's done a really nice job. If anybody has the biggest piece of the pie, he may have the biggest piece. But I think the other guys that are having really good camps as well, they're going to get some smaller slivers of the pie, too."
That group has several candidates, including sophomores Jaren Mangham, Jarek Broussard and Joe Davis, as well as freshman Ashaad Clayton.
"I think we have a guy we think is the guy and then we have a few guys that can be a hot hand for us," Dorrell said. "That's kind of how I've done it (in the past). That second guy that comes off the bench, if he has a hot hand, you give him more plays and more chances. But it's definitely a great luxury to have the depth we have right now."
OFFSEASON WORK: When student-athletes were sent home last March for a couple of months, they all had to find creative ways to stay in shape.
Buffs center Colby Pursell built his own weight room in his garage.
CU outside linebacker Carson Wells, though, simply went home and worked on his family's farm.
"Country strong," Wells said.
The Wells family runs a large farm in Florida. When Carson returned home, his dad, Larry Wells, found plenty for him to do. His duties ranged from fixing fence and replacing old posts to trimming trees to working cattle.
"Just moving big things," Wells said.
When student-athletes were finally allowed to return to campus in mid-June, Wells also got plenty of work with strength and conditioning coordinator Drew Wilson.
The result, Dorrell said, is a bigger, stronger and faster Wells.
"We're really fortunate to have a guy like Carson," Dorrell said. "He's a leader of that group. He has the most experience and starts. We're really excited about where he's at. He's actually a veteran player but has improved his skill set. He's a little bigger, he's stronger, he runs a little bit better. All those things, we're excited about him."
After Wells, the experience at outside linebacker is slim. Transfer Guy Thomas has had a solid camp, as has returnee Jamar Montgomery, who saw some playing time last year. The Buffs also liked what they were seeing from redshirt freshman Joshka Gustav, but he's now nursing a sprained ankle and will miss some time.
"We've been very pleased," Dorrell said. "We have some young guys that have been in that position, are learning and getting better each and every day."
D-LINE DEVELOPMENT: When Dorrell arrived, he knew he had three returning starters on the defensive line in Mustafa Johnson, Terrance Lang and Jalen Sami.
But since the beginning of camp, he has been pleased with the development of the depth up front, players who could see some significant time this fall.
"There are some guys that are quietly making a name for themselves in camp with their consistency," he said. "Lloyd Murray is doing a nice job. Na'im Rodman is really understanding his role and doing a nice job. Justin Jackson is doing his role. Janaz Jordan and Austin Williams — all those guys are all young players and they're all doing their roles pretty well."
One key to the development, Dorrell said, is defensive line coach Chris Wilson's creation of packages with different players for specific situations.
"They've taken ownership," Dorrell said. "They're saying, 'OK, I'm in this package, this is what I do,' and they do it with a lot of pride and effort. I think that's what you're seeing with our defensive line — we have some depth behind those starters and I think we have some good quality depth that will help us play well and sustain through games."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
