And the Reviews are Flowing...

Well after a lull of information coming out of camp the past couple of days (other than injury news), the conclusion of the second scrimmage has us feeling like Christmas has come with great write-ups coming from all the major news sources. Some shocking, some not so shocking but all good stuff.

- In the first big declaration of camp, Darian Hagan has named Demetrius Sumler the starting runningback for the 2008 Colorado Buffaloes. Not all that surprising seeing how the Buffs coaches probably want to ease Scott into his college career and not make the same mistake as one Gary Barnett did with Marcus Houston. What is surprising is that we are starting to read a few quotes about Scott that we weren't hearing previously that cause us to worry a little bit. All of a sudden this groin injury is becoming a lingering problem and frankly too convenient of an excuse. Now Hagan is quoted as saying that Scott isn't running like he wants him to and that Rodney Stewart is now ahead of Scott. Hopefully Scott won't just be a short yardage back this year as Sumler seems to be more fit for that as well.

Interesting news out of Boulder to say the least. Like I said, the Sumler starting news isn't shocking but the other items go completely against what I have heard and seen thus far in practice. It could also be a pressure reliever for the freshman. Let Sumler take the load the first couple of games and then spring Scott on after the train gets rolling. I see Eastern Washington being the game the transition begins and West Virginia getting the best of what Scott has to offer.

-Tons of good info in this article by the Longmont Times. I am in agreement with Cody Hawkins on the guard situation. I think that they have six capable guys who will be good fits. My guess would be Devin Head and Max Tuioti-Mariner get the nod. I think Tuioti-Mariner is a special talent and will probably emerge as the Buffs most consistent freshman this year. Also, it sounds like the special teams performance was electric yesterday.

-Another good write up, this time by the Daily Camera. It has about a paragraph or two from each coach talking about the current status of their positions and what they still need to accomplish after yesterday's scrimmage. The two biggest position battle still going on in my eyes is for the one remaining defensive end spot and the emergence of anyone to play corner. Jalil Brown's two picks and a big tackle on a swing pass to negate a first down have him in the running. With Jimmy Smith having back spasms and missing a lot of time, look for Anthony Wright to emerge as he has been getting a lot of pub lately.

-Here are the summary of stats out of yesterdays scrimmage from the Longmont Times:

Passing:

Cody Hawkins: 17-27, 1 Int., 2 Tds, 225 yards, Tyler Hansen: 3-4, 2 Tds, 54 yards, Matt Ballenger: 12-22, 1 int. 142 yards

Receiving:

Scotty McKnight 5-73, 1 TD; Ryan Deehan 5-71; Cody Crawford 4-47; Kevin Celestine: 3-65, 2 TD; Patrick Williams 3-45; Riar Geer 3-18; Ryan Wallace 2-38, 1 TD; Rodney Stewart 2-9; Steve Melton 1-26; Josh Smith 1-22; Devin Shanahan 1-7; Patrick Devenny 1-1; Maurice Cantrell 1-(minus 1).

Rushing:

Tyler Hansen 6-72; Corey Nabors 4-53, Darrell Scott 6-36, 1 TD; Kevin Moyd 10-31, 1 TD; Demetrius Sumler 9-27; Matt Ballenger 5-26; Rodney Stewart 4-25, 1 TD; Arthur Jaffee 4-25; Cody Hawkins 5-18, 1 TD; Ray Polk 5-13; Josh Smith 1-(minus 6).

Defensive leaders: Shaun Mohler, Michael Sipili, Patrick Mahnke, Marcus Burton made 7 tackles each Jalil Brown made two intercpetions.

-Looking at the stats, freshman Tyler Hansen put up some great numbers yesterday and there is our boy Shaun Mohler rocking the stats with seven tackles. And somewhat of a surprise is that Ryan Deehan had a great day out-stating Riar Geer. From the articles I have read to day, most say it is now going to be hard to keep Deehan off the field. A different tune to what I saw two weekends ago. Here is a good account from cubuffs.com about the second scrimmage and the overall improvement on both sides of the ball.

-In other good news, WR Kendrick Celestine was ruled eligible for this year. With Simas becoming academically ineligible last month, it was important for the Buffs to have Celestine as the fourth option behind Josh Smith, Patrick Williams and Scotty McKnight.

The Greatest 39 Yard Run of All-Time

-More scrimmage notes from other sources. Nothing really ground breaking that wasn't already reported yesterday. I was a little surprised that G Max Tuioti-Mariner was already in the starting lineup next to Matt Bahr. I thought Devin Head would have the nod in the first scrimmage but that just shows you that the recruiting sites got it right when they ranked Max a top lineman even though he didn't play his senior year of high school. I am also glad they are stressing the turnover issue as that is something that the Buffs cannot continue from last year. The Boulder Daily Camera also chimes in with another very similar review to all other pubs. They reiterated the point we made Saturday...it's Cody Hawkins and then there is nobody even close to him in talent at the quarterback position.

-Woody Paige is crazy. I had to read this article twice to try and understand what he meant by a few of his sayings? S-Troop? Woody likes Scott and Speedy a lot, thats all I took from the article.

-The 39 yard run heard around the world. Its going to be the play that everyone refers to as the day they knew Scott would be great and every publication is really really hyping it up for that reason. Soon the story will drop the fact that he got caught from behind and people will add in that it was a broken play and he eluded 3 would be tacklers.

-The word that you hear now more than you have in the last three years is "competition". The Colorado Buffaloes have not had the players for a deep competition race but now depth, although it might be full of youth, is breeding competition at key positions like offensive guard, linebacker, running back and at corner, that .

-Relive the biggest win in the Hawkins-era courtesy of FSN who will be showing a 1 hour cut of the OU game last year.

-Amen Ryan Thorburn, Amen. It is Jimmy Smith's time to shine. He brings up a very good point that if the Buffs hope to contend in the pass happy Big 12, the Buffs will need 4 to 5 cornerbacks to really excel. Pat White, Colt McCoy, Todd Reesing, Josh Freeman, Chase Daniel and Joey Ganz will all be knocking on the defense's door.

-Nate Solder will be the left tackle and Ryan Miller will be the right tackle. I thought for sure they would have put Miller on the left side to protect Hawkins' blind side. Plus, Miller is the more experienced of the two and you could possibly hide Solder on the right side away from the more skilled defensive end pass rushers.

My Day at Practice Round 2 - Defense

After my review of the offense last night, I couldn't wait to get to the defense because they really showed well from coverage to pressure. There was multiple times that Cody or the other QB's had to hold onto the ball for a long time. I was also amazed at how much they brought the linebackers on blitzes. We all know the offense is behind the defense at this point in any camp so I temper my feelings about the offense now showing well and the defense coming out and playing extremely well.

The injury to DL George Hypolite's knee was very concerning as he was down for a couple of minutes. He was able to get back and practice pretty quick but he is a guy that we cannot lose. I was relatively surprised at how hard they were letting the hitting go on. There were some pads popping out there. No big injuries as a result of it but there was a good amount of aggression. LB B.J. Beatty leveled Cody Hawkins on a backside sack. He was quickly yelled at and removed for the series by the coaching staff. I hope after yesterday they get red on the QB's.

I was really impressed with the linebackers. The first 11 -11 drill, the starting front 4 was DE Marcus Herrod, DL George Hypolite, DL Brandon Nicolas and DE Maurice Lucas. The linebackers consisted of B.J. Beatty, Jeff Smart and Brad Jones. Marcus Burton was also right in the thick of things, subbing in frequently. The front four didn't make a lot of noise. The defensive ends didn't beat Miller or Solder from my vantage point. Hypolite got some good push here and there and stuffed a lot of runs up the middle with the help of Nicolas.

The linebackers showed well and is the strength of the defense. Yes, Dizon might be gone but this group was active and made plays left and right. Other than the cheap sack, B.J. Beatty looks like a wild man out there and very aggressive. I thought it was going to be Mohler's OLB job but Beatty did everything necessary to hold onto that spot. Jeff Smart is a potential stud at the middle linebacker position. A few people I was with commented on how is a true football player. He made a lot of plays in the middle and on the edge. He had his hand in everything Brad Jones made the least noise of the starters but all three had good size and definitely were the most active group on the field. Mohler replaced Beatty a few times so he was playing with the other two starters. He looked very athletic but you can tell he is still trying to learn the defense. He had a few tackles in the middle for limited gains and definitely stuck his nose in there. Marcus Burton also subbed in and out with Brad Jones. Freshman Jon Major played mostly with the second and third team at linebacker and showed well. Doug Rippy was flexing between DL and LB. He surely does pass the eye test and 15 more pounds on him and he will be an animal. Once again, the freshman look great and fit in extremely well. They don't slow down practice and they look skilled.

The starting cornerbacks were Garder McKay and Cha'pelle Brown. Jimmy Smith also rotated in with the starting group. All I have to say is that it is extremely important that Jimmy Smith steps up and takes the position. When you look on the defensive side of the ball, Jimmy Smith looks like he should control his side of the field. He has great size. I thought the starting cornerbacks did pretty well. With the offense running a lot of base vanilla offense, the corners where not vertically tested and the tight end was used more prevalently. McKay and Brown never awed but never disappointed. It looks like these three are going to be all the Buffs have for the entire season as the depth seems to be non-existent. S Daniel Dykes had a few good hits and took on a very vocal role in today's practice. He returned Scott's fumble for a TD as well. Ryan Walters didn't have to make a lot of plays as the front 7 contained a lot up front.

Hit of the day went to red shirt freshman S Travis Sandersfeld on RB Corey Nabors. Nabors had about of seven yard run before Sandersfeld filled the hole and jarred the ball from Nabors. It received some good cheers from the older defensive players. DL Conrad Obi also got a sack for the second teams. He looked pretty active all day.

That sums up my Saturday at practice. Let me know if you want to know anything else about the practice.

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.

It's Good to Have Football Back

Training camp is officially upon us and the "newcomers" definitely have received most of the media attention thus far. Hopefully this is the last time we need to read about Darrell Scott punting. Other talk has been about the size of the Buffs incoming players from Mohler to Scott to Doug Rippy (pictured to the right), a 6'2" 230 lb three star recruit from Ohio, who has fallen under the radar a little from the other major LB recruits but as the coaches say, "He passes the eye test."

-The Daily Camera has done a great job following the Buffs the past two days for training camp. Here is a little debrief on the position battles and a few details around the first day of work.


-Tight End has always been a staple of the Colorado Buffaloes for as long as I can remember, whether it was Daniel Graham, Quinn Sypniewski or Joe Klopfenstein. Riar Geer, fresh off reinstatement after his run-in with the law, hopes to join the elite group of TE's for the Buffs this year. With two better than average TE's in Geer and Patrick Devenny, the Buffs will continue to use the TE with frequency. Also look for incoming freshman, Ryan Deehan and Ryan Wallace, to challenge for playing time. Ryan Deehan now weighs 246lbs, about 15 pounds above where he was listed his senior year in high school. At 6'5", thats a big boy!

-Here is 1 minute of maybe the most worthless video feed ever but it still shows Hawkins, Polk and Scott so it works. Once again, compliments of the Daily Camera.



-The talk of the town on Day 1 - the RB trio of Scott, Polk and Stewart. All you need to know from the Rocky Mountain News article is this:

Once immersed in the individual periods, Scott's conditioning was overshadowed by something else - an innate talent that had veteran players curious to watch during some seven-on-seven work before camp.

"You put the ball in his hands . . . all that training and stuff goes out the window and he's a special athlete," Hagan said. "He gets the ball in his hands, he turns it on."

-Freshman Max Tuioti-Mariner will get his chance to start especially with the underachieving Senior OG Faatagi being ruled ineligible this year. The interesting thing about Tuioti-Mariner is that he didn't play a down his senior year due to a torn ACL and he was still the #7 ranked offensive guard in the country last year coming out of Corona, CA.

-While the Buffs feel solid at the OT position, they are still deciding what side to put freshman All American Ryan Miller and converted big man TE Nate Solder on. If it was my choice and Cody Hawkins choice, put Mr. Miller on the left side of the line. The Buffs may have depth at the RB position but they don't have too much quality depth at the QB position.

-This is a pretty interesting injury rehab workout -

"Players with minor injuries continued a rehabilitation initiative begun last year - shoveling sand into a wheelbarrow and moving it from one end of the field to the other"

-Here are some more pictures from Day 1 action taken by the Camera. Josh Smith pictured to left making a good catch.

Day 1 Morning Pictures

Well, your day should get a little better. We finally have visual evidence that players like Darrell Scott, Lynn Katoa, Ray Polk and Shaun Mohler are really going to be suited up for the Buffs...well maybe not Katoa due to his offseason troubles but out of the 6 or so pictures that the Daily Camera posted on the site, his size along with Mohler's stick out the most. Its definitely great to see Darrell in the gold & black and definitely makes me want to see them practice right away. Hopefully within the next 6 days I will be able to sneak out and view the 2008 Buffs. If you have a subscription to rivals.com, you can view some other great photos. Enjoy

Freshman Ray Polk gets a hand-off from QB Nick Nelson. Polk, a prized four star recruit himself, looks to provide the stiffest competition to fellow newcomer Darrell Scott. Teammates have been raving about Polk's speed in early spring practices.


Although suspended and forced to redshirt this year, freshman LB Lynn Katoa looks like an impressive athlete and one the Buffs will hope to solidify the defense with next year. He doesn't look like your typical freshman.

And then there was Darrell Scott.


Transfer LB Shaun Mohler. Mark it down. He will be someone we look back on at the end of this year or next as a difference maker

'Twas the Night Before Camp

Sorry for the silence over the past couple of days, I have been in Vegas and Woodrow in Chicago and I am pretty sure no one was in condition to write coherently. That being said, there is a bunch of great reads out there regarding the Big 12 and the Buffs starting with the surprise when I checked my iphone and saw that the Buffs got a vote for the Coaches Preseason Top 25. It looks like whoever voted for the Buffs did not look at their schedule...going to be hard for a 6 or 7 win team to crack the top 25. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. The preseason 2008 consensus, a conglomeration of all the major preseason information outlets, did not have the Buffs in the top 25 or even being considered for a spot while slating them at third in the Big 12 North. About every casino that I went to this weekend had the Buffs coming in at either 5 or 5 1/2 wins and about 100/1 odds to win the National Championship. I of course took the over on the wins but Vegas isn't usually off by a couple of games and a couple of games is what the Buffs need to finish in the top 25.

If the coaches are right, the Buffs play 3 top ten teams (Missouri #7, West Virginia #8 and Texas #10). They also play the #13 team in Kansas, #29 in Florida State, #36 in Nebraska and #49 in Texas A&M. Oklahoma has the nod as the top Big 12 team coming in at #4 behind Georgia, USC and Ohio State. The Big 12 has a total of 5 teams in the top 14 spots. A Missouri-Oklahoma showdown could be special in the Big 12 Championship

-The Big 12 continues to get press about its depth at the quarterback position. Every time you see the list, you are amazed at the talent and wonder about the kinds of numbers you could see this year out of the offenses in the Big 12. All the records could go to unattainable levels this year. Prediction - Cody Hawkins will be seen as the #5 or #6 QB in the Big 12 after this year, not #9. Certainly better than the #12 ranking his dad gave him at media day!

- Word to your mother, Nebraska. Mark Knudson from the Coloradoan.com makes some good points about Nebraska getting over the "our rival is OU" talk. You shouldn't usually take too much sports insight from the Coloradoan but the comment by a said Nebraska fan at the bottom of the article is priceless. I am pretty sure Oklahoma has moved on since the new Big 12 formed and doesn't consider Nebraska anything but a nice game every other year. Something tells me OU has Texas circled and not Nebraska. The comment by the Nebraska fan is the reason I thought the Cornhuskers should have been put in the top 5 of Tim Griffin's Most Hated Big 12 Teams on ESPN.com. The Bleacher Report put the Huskers in their top 10 most hated programs regardless of conference affiliation. Thats seems a little more like it.

- CU players report for the official start of the season tomorrow. It's finally here!

Here is some training camp tidbits from the Daily Camera:

-Overview and Schedule - Key battle/revelation of hope will be at the cornerback spot. The Buffs need Gardner McKay, Cha'pelle Brown and Jimmy Smith to step and provide stability. I would love to see Smith emerge due to his size but his speed is a concern.

-Don't forget your rosters and depth charts especially with the new faces coming in. Darrell Scott will be dawning the #2. Other newcomers of interest are #15 WR Chance Blackmon, #26 RB Ray Polk, #31 LB Jon Major, #34 TE Ryan Deehan, #47 LB Shaun Mohler, #55 OL Maxwell Tuioti-Mariner and#77 OL Bryce Givens. The player I will be watching closely, other than Scott, is Shaun Mohler. If he is anything like the highlight films we have been seeing, I think he could be the Buffs' defensive MVP in the next two years.

Once again, we will be at some of the practices giving you some first hand color commentary so stay tuned and go Buffs!