Colorado University Athletics
CU STRONG IN FIRST MAJOR SCRIMMAGE
BOULDER – The University of Colorado football team conducted its first major scrimmage of the spring Wednesday afternoon on the north fields, as the Buffs squeezed in 102 plays in the final hour and 20 minutes of the their fifth practice.
“We got a lot of work done today,” interim head coach Brian Cabral stated after the session. “It was a typical first scrimmage and we need to learn from this.”
In what was only the second day of full tackling for CU since beginning spring ball last Friday, the Buffs were happy to finally jump into live action and strut their stuff. With the respective depth units working against each other, players and coaches finally got a taste of game-like situations so they could evaluate their progress thus far.
“The positives were that this team came out here and they worked hard,” said junior quarterback Joel Klatt, who completed 7-of-13 passes for 79 yards with one touchdown and one interception. “The offensive line is really getting off the ball well. The defense is playing just plain out fast. We are making mistakes, but that is okay when you are playing fast.”
While Klatt had a solid day through the air, it was the performances of the running backs and linebackers that really stood out. Led by sophomore Daniel Jolly, junior Brian Calhoun and redshirt freshman Isaiah Crawford, the offense racked up four rushing touchdowns to complement its eight field goals and Klatt’s 16-yard strike to sophomore Blake Mackey.
Jolly, who switched to fullback over the winter but still netted 11 carries on mostly goal line situations during the scrum, rushed for 45 yards and two scores. On both of his touchdowns and long gain (13 yards), the 6-foot, 220-pounder busted through several defenders before finally hitting the ground.
Calhoun, CU’s leading rusher from 2003, totaled 47 yards on eight carries, while Crawford finished with nine attempts for 37 yards and one touchdown. Calhoun’s longest run came on a 17-yard scamper, and Crawford earned 15 yards for his best.
Though the tailbacks garnered much of the scrimmage’s attention, it was the defense that Cabral said played most consistently and harmoniously. Leading the charge for the newly revamped 4-3 scheme was junior “Buff” linebacker Brian Iwuh, who had a small career day with 11 tackles (six solo), two stuffs for loss, three third down stops and one pass breakup. Along with Iwuh, Chris Hollis complied nine tackles (three solo), as fellow ‘backer Akarika Dawn totaled five stops, one sack, and one interception.
On the front four, end James Garee’s efforts easily stood out, as the junior had six total tackles, with one for loss and one interception. On his pick, Garee rushed through the line and batted Klatt’s attempt high in the air. Keeping his balance, he managed to reel the pigskin in and just before falling to the ground.
“I think both sides of the ball showed some good stuff today,” Garee said afterwards. “It really was a battle out there and the guys were playing with fire. We got some good learning in, and I think we all felt good about our first day (of scrimmaging)."
“Overall, the defense was good; the defense was sound,” Cabral added. “The offense had to move the ball down (to the end zone). It (the yardage) did not come in big chunks. They are grasping the defense and grasping the positions.”
Happy to see his squad continue its development during another outing, Cabral also emphasized that the Buffs have plenty of work to do. Knowing that spring ball is still young, the Buffs look forward to the challenge of building on the foundation that they’ve set over the past week.
“Now we need to make some big strides between this scrimmage and the next,” Cabral said. “We did some good things today, but it was give and take.”
SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS Scoring Summary Drive 5—-Crosby 34 FG
Drive 8—-Eberly 30 FG Drive 9—-Mackey 16 pass from Klatt (Crosby kick) Drive 11—-Crosby 32 FG Drive 12—-Eberhart 31 FG Drive 13—-Crawford 5 run (Eberly kick) Drive 16—-Crosby 30 FG Drive 17—-Schaub 1 run (Eberhart kick) Drive 19—-Crosby 35 FG Drive 20—-Eberly 23 FG Drive 21—-Jolly 6 run (no PAT try) Drive 22—-Jolly 4 run (no PAT try) Drive 23—-Crosby 26 FG Time—1:25
Brian Calhoun 8 47 5.9 0 17 Daniel Jolly 11 45 4.1 2 13 Isaiah Crawford 9 37 4.1 1 15 Brandon Caesar 8 27 3.4 0 12 Bernard Jackson 3 18 6.0 0 7 Lawrence Vickers 5 11 2.2 0 8 Brian White 1 7 7.0 0 7 James Cox 2 7 3.5 0 5 Erik Greenberg 1 1 1.0 0 1 Brendan Schaub 1 1 1.0 1 1t Totals 49 201 4.1 4 17 (Quarterback Sacks 5 -30) Passing Att-Com-Int Pct. Yards TD Long Sacked Joel Klatt 13- 7- 1 53.8 79 1 32 1/ 7 Brian White 7- 4- 0 63.6 45 0 30 1/ 6 James Cox 8- 5- 0 62.5 33 0 11 2/ 5 Bernard Jackson 8- 4- 0 50.0 27 0 12 0/ 0 Erik Greenberg 1- 0- 1 0.0 0 0 0 1/12 Receiving No. Yds Avg. TD Long Joe Klopfenstein 3 37 12.3 0 28 Marcus Gonzales 3 33 11.0 0 30 Mike Duren 3 25 8.3 0 12 Dusty Sprague 2 11 5.5 0 6 Ron Monteilh 1 32 32.0 0 32 Blake Mackey 1 16 16.0 1 16t Daniel Jolly 1 12 12.0 0 12 Brandon Caesar 1 11 11.0 0 11 Tyler Littlehales 1 6 6.0 0 6 Dan Goettsch 1 5 5.0 0 5 Isaiah Crawford 1 2 2.0 0 2 Jesse Wallace 1 1 1.0 0 1 Brian Calhoun 1 -7 -7.0 0 -7 Punt Returns None Kickoff Returns None Interception Returns No. Yds Avg. TD Long Akarika Dawn 1 7 7.0 0 7 James Garee 1 1 1.0 0 1 Placekicking PAT FG-FGA Pct. (distances) Mason Crosby 1- 1 5- 5 1.000 34,32,30,35,26 J.T. Eberly 1- 1 2- 2 1.000 30,23 Kevin Eberhart 1- 1 1- 1 1.000 31 (l—wide left; r—wide right; s—short; b—blocked) Punting Tackles UT AT—TOT TFL QBS 3DS Brian Iwuh 5 5— 10 2- 8 3 Lorenzo Sims 4 5— 9 2- 5 Chris Hollis 3 6— 9 Gerett Burl 5 2— 7 1 Akarika Dawn 2 4— 6 1-12 1-12 James Garee 2 4— 6 1- 1 Jason Ackermann 4 1— 5 1- 3 1- 3 1 Vaka Manupuna 1 4— 5 1- 2 Tyrone Henderson 3 1— 4 Thaddaeus Washington 2 2— 4 Chadd Evans 3 0— 3 1- 1 Matt McChesney 1 2— 3 1- 7 1- 7 1 Chris Russell 1 2— 3 Vance Washington 2 0— 2 1- 6 1- 6 1 Tom Hubbard 2 0— 2 McKenzie Tilmon 2 0— 2 2- 3 1- 2 Dominique Brooks 1 1— 2 Marcus Jones 1 1— 2 Abraham Wright 1 1— 2 Ben Carpenter 0 2— 2 Alonzo Barrett 1 0— 1 1 Nick Clement 1 0— 1 Sammy Joseph 1 0— 1 Chad Cusworth 0 1— 1 Lionel Harris 0 1— 1 Alex Ligon 0 1— 1 FUMBLE RECOVERIES (1)—Ackermann. FORCED FUMBLES (1)—T.Washington. PASSES BROKEN UP (6)—Henderson 2, Carpenter, Evans, Iwuh, V. Washington. HURRIES (3)—Wright 2, Dawn 1.Rushing Att. Yds Avg. TD Long
Totals 37-20- 2 54.1 184 1 32 5/30
Totals 20 184 9.2 1 32