My Day at Practice Round 1 - Offense

Well how much do you want to hear about? I arrived at practice today, my first visit of the year, not knowing what to expect. You hear rumors and thoughts about who is doing what and who is shining but you always temper your thoughts until you see for yourself. I saw for myself and I have a lot to talk about. I took a ton of pictures that I will post (most later since my iphone is cooperating - pictures aren't the best quality but they should do). Today will be the offensive run down, next I will talk about the defense.

I guess I will start from the top. First of all, the setting for a fan to watch practice is amazing. Right outside Folsom Field, you really get pumped up to watch football again. At times, I was four feet away from the players and could easily see my knees getting crushed by players flying into the sideline. That being said, try and get up to see them practice before August 17th comes and goes because for any true football fan, you can't get much closer unless your playing or coaching.

I would have bet money that the first thing I would have looked for was Darrell Scott but right in front of me was recruit Jarrod Darden (pictured in white t-shirt). A very easy target to spot with the fro and 6'5" frame, Darden looks to be a instant player at WR. The Buffs, other than Patrick Williams, don't have a lot of size at wide receiver. Darden instantly brings a redzone presence to the Buffs next year. Also recruit Nosa Eguae was in attendance. I didn't get a good look at him as he was on the opposite side of the field but compared to the other CU defensive lineman, he looked undersized but no doubt from his game film that he looks like a very active player.

Before I get into the position breakdown, there are a few overall observations. The Buffs look like a Big 12 team. They are very big up front. You will be amazed when you see the tackles. They are also spirited, especially on defense. The overall athleticism seems up as well. I have been to practices the last few years and this was by far the team with the most ability.

Drum Roll......let's start with Running Backs. FYI Darrell Scott (pictured #2 with Sumler #8) looks like a football player. He is thick and he hits the hole. One of my favorite things about his running style from the limited times I saw him today was that he is a north - south runner. The one time I saw him get into traffic, he hit the defender with full force and did not shy away from contact. He caught the ball extremely well out of the backfield and has great body control and balance. Among the group of running backs he looks the part. He is well portioned with a strong lower body and height. Sumler got what seemed to be the starting nod at the start of every 11 - 11 but Scott quickly followed in the repetitions. The one negative note was Scott fumbled and S Daniel Dykes proceeded to take it to the house for a defensive touchdown after a 10 yard Scott run. It wasn't a jarring hit, just seemed like a opportunistic hit. Sumler is extremely well built as well in the lower body but is a little shorter than Scott. He looked impressive hitting the hole and getting up in there. Not as shifty as Scott but looks to have more power. I see Sumler being a more of short yardage player when it is all said and done. Scott's athleticism is too powerful to keep off the field.. He is a physical specimen. Speaking of a physical specimen, the hype about Rodney Stewart has been spot on (pictured #43). He is extremely thick, more so than I expected. He definitely impressed me more than Polk who still seems to be trying to figure things out a little bit. Stewart had runs where no one ever brought him down because he couldn't be touched. They got him on the edge a lot and put him into space effectively. He should be very fun to watch on Saturdays wherever they decide to line him up.

It isn't even close at the quarterback position in terms of competition so I won't even spend that much time on it. I was actually pleasantly surprised in the freshman Tyler Hansen's arm strength. He looks like a deer in the headlights in 11 - 11 (who wouldn't be) but in passing drills he was pushing Nelson for the second best ball in practice. Ballenger is huge but he doesn't seem mobile. Cameron Wright was struggling getting a spiral on any ball and seemed to really be hurting the flow of the practice in passing drills. Cody Hawkins (pictured to the left) is far and away the starter no ifs ands or buts about it. He has a great presence and is a strong leader. He got on Celestine for drops and praised those who made great plays. You can tell his offseason workouts really helped with his ball strength as well. They almost worked exclusively out of the shotgun in all drills and 11 - 11. A few bad snaps here and there need to get worked out as that could be a quick deterrent to the no huddle speed offense.

I went with a purpose to watch the offensive guards but found myself not being able to take my focus off the tackles. When they are over 6'7" 300 lbs, its hard to see around them or not be amazed. Ryan Miller (pictured to the left of #88 Devin Shanahan TE) is going to be a first round draft pick in a couple of years. He has the look, size, agility to make it at the next level. He has really filled out his body and controlled the line of scrimmage. The one time the coaches got on him, Miller replied to his question and the coach told him "stop admitting to things Ryan, its not good for you." Nate Solder (pictured #78) is also enormous, more so than Miller. He looked very strong and looks to be making the transition smoothly. There will be growing pains but both men are athletic which cures a lot of inexperience. Daniel Sanders took care of business like a highly touted center does. I thought Blake Behrens and Shawn Daniels did very well at the guard spot. Daniels received the most compliments after a couple of pancake blocks. To my disappointment, Max Tuioti-Mariner sat out practice with his left knee wrapped with ice. I am not sure if it is related to his knee injury in high school. Hopefully details become available and it isn't a serious injury. I would say that the offensive line depth is not there. I think we have 7-8 offensive lineman whom I would feel comfortable with while the others look a little undersized. Sione Tau is not undersized at all but the roster lists him as ineligible. I don't have any details behind that.

Riar Geer really impressed me today. He has the makings to keep the great TE tradition at Colorado going. I know there is a lot of talk about the youthful depth at TE and the excitement that they are drawing but like the quarterback position, the TE position belongs to one man and that is Geer. He was another one of the players that you looked at and couldn't believe his size. He has great hands. I didn't see him drop one ball and he caught everything with his hands, not his body. He is definitely a favorite target of Hawkins. Patrick Devenny was a disappointment today. He drop a lot of balls and really didn't get in the flow at all. There was hope that he would be able to cover for Geer if he was ruled out for the year and he just didn't seem to have it today. The freshmen TE's looked okay, nothing special yet but their is potential there. Big kids but need to fill out like Geer has which will come overtime. Geer is definitely the guy this year.

Last but not least is the wide receivers. With Jarrod Darden standing on the sidelines, I could start to see a solid corp group forming before my eyes. Coach Kiesau had to stop drills once to refocus the squad after multiple drops. None of the key guys were dropping balls, mostly the young guys and second and third teamers. It pains me to say this but Patrick Williams looked good in practice again. He always gets my hopes up. Hopefully this year his production will skyrocket. He is so amazingly gifted from size and strength to foot speed that if he ever brought it all together (he has got one more chance), he could be a top 5 WR in the Big 12. Probably my favorite player to watch play football is Scotty McKnight. He isn't flashy like Josh Smith and doesn't have the size that Williams has but he is the ideal consistent WR that Hawkins needs. He works the middle extremely well and takes a lot of pride in everything he does. Josh Smith looked great as well. He made a great catch between two defenders about 25 - 30 yards down the sideline showing strength and the ability to get the ball at the highest point. It was probably the best completion of the day. Smith is very gifted. We should expect big things this year from him especially after a great yards per catch season last year. Markques Simas looked really good too. Too bad he is ineligible. He definitely has talent. Celestine looked pretty good as well. A few mental lapses and dropped passes but he was bigger than I remember him being. Chance Blackmon has good height but will definitely be a red shirt to get another year in the weight room. He caught the ball decent. Strength will do wonders for him.

The defensive review will be tomorrow as well as more pictures. The linebackers looked great today so make sure you check back tomorrow to hear about all things defense. Hope you enjoyed.