Buffs' Dorrell Encouraged As CU Players Set To Return

BOULDER — As college football inches closer to resuming something resembling "normal" activity, Colorado Buffaloes head coach Karl Dorrell likes what his team has been able to accomplish so far during the Covid-19 shutdown.

Dorrell and his staff are preparing to welcome players back on June 15 — next Monday — for the beginning of in-person voluntary workouts. That's the date the Pac-12 will begin allowing student-athletes back for on-campus activities, and it will be the first CU athletic activities to take place since the mid-March nationwide NCAA shutdown.

Much has been made of the fact that Dorrell was hired relatively late — Feb. 23, to be exact — as well as the issue created by Colorado not being able to conduct spring drills because of the pandemic shutdown. The timing of those events meant that the very first "team" function that Dorrell was able to participate in with his team was last Friday's peaceful protest in Boulder.

But that doesn't mean the Buffs have been twiddling their thumbs over the last three months, waiting for the chance to return. Rather, Dorrell said, he believes his players will be as well prepared as they could possibly be under the circumstances.

In fact, Dorrell said, the conditions created by the pandemic shutdown in some ways may have helped level the playing field for the Buffaloes.

For starters, the vast majority of college programs did not have spring ball. Almost everyone is in the same boat in that regard.

But, instead of players having most of the month of May off, the Buffs were able to steadily engage in regular virtual meetings with CU coaches. That has allowed Dorrell and his mostly new staff to spend plenty of time teaching and installing their new schemes, allowing them to catch up with the competition in that regard.

In short, while nobody has been on the playing field, the Buffs have had plenty of time to learn a new system. That means they should be able to hit the ground running when they actually do begin workouts.

"I don't feel I'm behind at all," Dorrell said in a Monday virtual press conference. "I really don't. We tried to go through every scenario at the onset of this thing. How are we going to get the information, digest it, how are we going to present it. We've been through installs and things with our team going on two or three rounds of install. We've done a lot of that stuff, which is probably well ahead of where you would normally be."

Now, Dorrell said, the Buffs are very familiar with what the CU staff will be expecting of them. The next step will be executing that knowledge on the field.

"They've been saturated with the information," Dorrell said. "I know our players are going to know what to do. It's how we do it that is the important thing now. We're missing that time on the field to tune it up, to make it efficient, to make it where the information they're getting, they're able to recall it, execute it, digest it, get it performed. It's that type of stuff that we're at the point that we need right now … But because of this pandemic, everybody's in the same boat. So it actually puts us on a level playing field, in my opinion."

Dorrell said a "good majority" of the Buffs roster is already in Boulder. Most of those players have already submitted the necessary paperwork needed to return and have undergone physical exams. Those who are still in the process of returning will undergo physicals when they arrive, then self-quarantine for seven days.

Every student-athlete who returns will follow the same process, and each athlete will also undergo Covid-19 antibody testing, with that testing beginning this week.

"On the 15th, most will be done and ready to go," Dorrell said. "I'd say the bulk of the team is here and ready to go."

The initial workouts will be limited to strength and conditioning, with a CU strength coach allowed to be on hand to observe and offer advice and assistance. The time when the Buffs can hold actual football practices is still weeks away.

But reports on Monday said the NCAA is ready to approve a plan that would allow coaches to begin working with their teams as early as July 13 for programs that open the season on Labor Day weekend (CU is scheduled to open Sept. 5 at Colorado State). Under the legislation, those teams could then begin to use a football in drills starting July 24 for walkthroughs and meetings (20 hours per week total).

Finally, preseason practices could begin Aug. 7, 29 days before the first game.

Meanwhile, Dorrell said he will encourage players to continue holding voluntary 7-on-7 workouts, something they have been doing on their own.

"They're already doing that with their own initiative," Dorrell said. "Our throwing game people — quarterbacks, receivers, backs, tight ends — going against the linebackers and DBs, throwing passes and getting some work in. That is encouraged, there's no question. We know it's a voluntary time frame. But I think since we didn't have spring practice and I am new and the season's going to be here before you know it, I think there is a sense of urgency that our players have embraced … We (coaches) can't direct those things. We can't be present at those things. But they do have the (tools) that are needed. They're completely working on their own and I've been very pleased with their efforts in doing that."

And, Dorrell said, he and his staff will continue to utilize Zoom meetings with players to deliver information over the summer, a tool he said has been a "pleasant" surprise in terms of effectiveness.

"Our players have been able to get the information digested, able to ask questions, able to really dive into all aspects of what we've been doing for the last several months with our offense, defense, special teams," he said. "The only thing we haven't done is the reps physically to get the information worked on … At the beginning, there was some reluctance. But when we finally found the groove as to how it works and how we can make it a useful tool on a day-to-day basis, it's been actually very, very good."

SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARENESS: The idea behind last Friday's peaceful protest march in Boulder was spawned by CU football players. Dorrell helped them organize the event, and the march saw CU student-athletes, coaches and administrators joined by hundreds of local citizens.

"I've been very pleased with my players' reaction to the issue of social injustices and systemic discrimination," Dorrell said. "We've had a great discussion about all those things. We had a great team meeting (last week) for about two hours. I said some things that were very emotional, the players said some things that were very emotional. What came from that was we wanted to quickly put something into action to show a sign of support and unity and about wanting to make this change and them being a big factor in it, taking a step forward in the process."

Nationwide protests were spawned by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died while handcuffed with his hands behind his back and prone on a street in Minneapolis. One police officer, Derek Chauvin, had his knee on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder in the case and three other officers involved have also been charged.

That led to nationwide protests and rallies, and CU student-athletes felt compelled to make their voices heard.

"We did organize that rally last Friday and it went very well," Dorrell said. "We had a couple of our players speak at it and were well-received. I think it was a really positive step of us being proactive about the process."

It will also likely not be the last event organized by student-athletes.

"We talked as recently as this morning that we probably want to do something actively at least once a month," Dorrell said. "I'm not saying we're going to protest, but we want to make certain that this subject doesn't just wane as time goes by, which a lot of these things tend to do from time to time. It's definitely something that's going to be on our agenda throughout the year. I think it's important for our country to step up like this and empower our young people to be a big part of the process. Voting is going to be big this year with everything that's going on, in November. There's a lot of big dynamics that are about to come to the forefront here in a short period of time and I think our young people should be involved."

BIG MONTH AHEAD: Dorrell acknowledged that the coming month, with student-athletes returning and workouts beginning, will be critical in helping determine whether the football season can start on time, and whether fans will be allowed in the stands.

"I would say that's extremely important," he said. "That's really what the NCAA and these conferences are waiting on. The implementation of the policies that we've put on all of our campuses — how is it going to work? Is it going to create a bigger outbreak? Is it going to be sustainable? That's the testing mechanism that we're going to go through this summer."

CU coaches and student-athletes will be required to follow strict campus-wide protocol. Dorrell said Buffs coaches and players will embrace those guidelines.

"We just have to buy in and understand what we're trying to get done," he said. "We all want football to be here this fall and we have to do what's in our best interest, and as best we can adhere to the policies that I think are going to give us the best chance for that to happen."

How much success programs have this summer will no doubt have a major effect on future decisions about practices, games and crowds.

"This is a big testing moment," Dorrell said. "Things are starting to open up on campuses across the country. Can we keep this pandemic at a containable position? I'm not a doctor. I'm a football coach. I'm just told to do things a certain way and I'm trying to adhere to those things. That's what they're trying to see, is if these things can be controlled."

There's no doubt the nation will be watching closely as college football and the NFL begin to return.

"We do think there will be an outbreak or two that are going to be on campuses," Dorrell said. "How are we handling those things? That's the biggest thing. That's what we're going to go through and see."

BUFFS BITS: Dorrell said he has had ample opportunity to watch film from last year. While he did say he saw improvement down the stretch — the Buffs won two of their last three games — he said he also saw plenty of areas that needed improvement.

"I felt there were some definite core things that we need to get better at," he said. "Part of it was fundamentally, both sides of our front, offensively and defensively, we can play a lot better. We didn't play as well as we could." Dorrell mentioned run defense and blocking for the run game as areas he particularly wanted to improve …

The first depth chart of the Dorrell era was recently released and the "pencil" chart has veteran corner Chris Miller at safety. A talented defensive back, Miller has been plagued by injuries. But when healthy, he could be a standout player, and Dorrell said Miller will also get a look at the "star" position. "We feel he's a unique player that can do a lot of things," Dorrell said. "How much he'll be able to digest and do, that's to be found out shortly when we get on the field. We want him in multiple roles and he's embraced that challenge. It's just a matter of getting him in those positions and see if he can handle all that information. We do plan on him being a big factor on our back end." … The first depth chart also had Tyler Lytle listed No. 1 at quarterback, followed by Sam Noyer and Brendon Lewis.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu