Saturday, August 9, 2008

First Day of Pads!

Good news. I will be checking out the first practice in pads tonight. Hopefully they let me take some pictures and don't kick me out in due to taking an extreme interest in the practice!

-It would be hard to argue that, other than Darrell Scott, no other players are getting more attention than incoming freshmen Doug Rippy and Rodney "Speedy" Stewart. The Rocky Mountain News recaps a unique story that basically started with Nebraska firing Callahan and from there, the Buffs were able to sign these two impact players. How unbelievable would it be to have a "Darren Sproles like" player back returning kicks and on the outside to stretch the field. By the way, the Buffs need to make sure they lock up Darian Hagan right away. We had a post a couple months ago that showed Hagan was the lowest paid assistant coach on the Buffs staff. With all of the inroads he is making on the recruiting trail, especially out of state in places like Texas, California and Ohio, losing him would be a major loss to the future of this program.

-Also from the Rocky Mountain News article, they confirmed that two high profile recruits, WR Randall Carroll and DL Nosa Eguae, were in Boulder this week on a visit to the campus. Randall Carroll is an interesting recruit. The 5'11" 175lb 5 star receiver had already verbally committed to USC but in a strange twist, has not been in a lot of communication with the Trojans over the past couple of months. Instead, he is taking his official visits now after his verbal. Word has it that he is friends with Darrell Scott as well. Carroll must have been the 5 star WR that Scott was talking about in his interview with his Uncle Josh Smith. Eguae, a 6'3" 243lb explosive four star DE, currently has CU listed as his #1 choice. The Arlington, Texas player sounds like this will be his first of two visits to Boulder. He isn't trying to make a decision until after the conclusion of his high school season but it wouldn't surprise me if he committed after either one of his two visits. From rivals.com, he notes that CU got his picture off of rivals and put it on a Wheaties box with his new Buffs jersey on! It would be a surprise of Darrell Scott and the Buffs staff was able to lure Carroll away from USC but expect Eguae to be in a Buffs uniform this time next year.

-Daily Camera article on Lynn Katoa and his quest to prove he is not a "thug", Hawkins sentiments on the first day of pads (don't get people injured) and how freshmen LB Jon Major is holding his own at linebacker.

-Shaun Mohler is a "man on a mission." A pretty remarkable and inspirational story about the desire to play under Coach Brian Cabral and dawn the gold and black. You have to respect a guy who took 8 credits in the spring and summer just to come to Colorado.

-It looks like the Buffs are changing up the uniforms with Ray Polk wearing the new digs. Just keep the gold pants and I will be happy.

-Bloggin with the Buffs resumes on cubuffs.com this time with freshmen OL Max Tuito-Mariner. Check out what Max has to say since he has been in Boulder.

-Freshman RB Darrell Scott looks like a former RB who wore #19.

-Once TE Riar Geer was reinstated from his offseason issues, the Buffs coaching staff breathed a sigh of relief and now have the ability to experiment with the one of the three TE recruits. Will Pericak, the 6'4" 265lb TE from Boulder, has drawn the honor of going to the defensive side of the ball to play on the DL. It seems like Pericak is open to the position change which is the key to the whole transition being effective.

-Another article on WR Patrick Williams and how he is a new player this year. I applaud him for the hard work that he has put in this offseason...hopefully this will be the year that we see his true talent shine on the field as he has been a disappointment thus far in his career. A past post shows his lack of productivity compared to other active WR's in the Big 12. The good thing about four years of college is the ability to atone for the previous ones. A 75 - 80 catch year with 10 TD's while leading the Buffs to a winning season would go a long way in rewriting Williams legacy as a Buff.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Hawkins a Gary Busey Look-a-Like?

-I don't know about the Gary Busey look-a-like comment but the Coloradoan.com has put out a great article on Dan Hawkins and his recruiting success. It is still amazing to me that he was able to lure Ryan Miller, Gatorade Player of the Year, two years ago, Darrell Scott from Texas, Lynn Katoa from LSU and Jon Major from Oklahoma plus many others whom seemed unattainable after 2 - 10 and 6 - 7 seasons. This quote is awesome from WR Josh Smith during his recruiting process with Hawkins:

"When Hawkins first came through the door and blew the roof off when he first recruited me, Darrell knew what he was all about," Smith said. "He just came in screaming and yelling. The neighbors were like: 'what's going on?' I felt his energy when he came into my living room and sat down. I just knew that something about me and my game was going to explode as well.

"He's just cool, and that's the point. You want to play for a guy like that."


-Check out Josh Smith and Darrell Scott do a little on camera interview for 9news. "Uncle Josh" interviews "Nephew Darrell." A little comedy going on between the family members. Josh should keep his day job, though! Here is an article from sportingnews.com that looks at all the attention Mr. Scott is bring to Boulder on a national level.


-The Wizard of Odds, a great college football blog, is previewing the 25 worst college football teams and what do you know, Colorado State is on the list at #23. Buffs need to blow the top off in the first game and make a statement...35 - 10 sounds about right. Take care of business against Eastern Washington who will be coming off a game against Texas Tech (brutal back to back for EWU) and then have 11 days to prepare for the Thursday night showdown with West Virginia. Speaking of West Virginia, looks like they are trying to get the entire state to come out to Boulder for the Thursday night game. Buff fans, buy tickets and don't sell them to WV fans!

-Neil Woelk of the Daily Camera reports on something we have been saying since we say the Day 1 training camp pictures...the Buffs are big. They look bigger than past teams and the freshmen look like they are ready to play. Early big boy awards go to LB Doug Rippy, LB Shaun Mohler, OL Curtis Cunningham, RB Darrell Scott, LB Lynn Katoa and OT Nate Solder.

-No Mason Crosby, no Kevin Eberhart...kicker is something that the Buffs haven't had to worry about in the past few years. There might be a little worry this year as two unproven kickers are battling for the position.

-Check out some Daily Camera video feed from media day yesterday interviewing D.J. Dykes and Ray Polk.



-Sports Illustrated has ranked the Buffs #36 in the country, a similar ranking to what rivals.com gave the Buffs. At that standing, the Buffs would be the #6 team in the Big 12 which would be a great move up into the upper echelon of the Big 12. And we are ranked ahead of the Huskers so that is always a good thing.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

"Buffs Take on the Embodiment of these Ethos"

Ethos? Guess who said that? Well, keep reading and you will find out but make sure you click on the link and read the quotes...it is great. But for now, enjoy some of the great stuff from all over. And Mr. Rippy is pictured...now you can see why he is getting some attention.

The title of this article is “Buffs Struggle to Replace Dizon at Linebacker.” It should be called, “Obvious.” One of the most decorated linebackers ever to play at Colorado will obviously be harder to replace but I think the Buffs have more horses than last year at the linebacker position. You throw veterans like Jeff Smart, Marcus Burton, Brad Jones and Michael Sipili into the mix (Burton and Sipili did not play last year) with newcomers Jon Major, Doug Rippy and Shaun Mohler, I believe you have the ability to line four backers up and attack teams. Linebacker might not be as glaring of a weakness as some think. While this article might talk about the struggle, this Daily Camera article talks about the potential, with Cabral calling the incoming group of linebackers the most talented group to come through Boulder yet. I hope Marcus Burton keeps to his words in the article and stays eligible, shows his new found maturity and prepares like Matt Russell and Jordan Dizon.

-If you have a rivals.com membership, check out this interview with Jeff Pitman, the strength and conditioning coach for the Buffs. Pitman has one of the most important jobs in trying to prepare the young bucks to play right now. He says he likes the strength of the incoming players, especially OL Curtis Cunningham. He also commented on Nate Solder’s work ethic and how overall, the team has made great strides in increasing their strength.

-Cody Hawkins becoming like Michael Pittman…okay, maybe not but its good to hear that Cody is shedding some of that baby fat for straight up muscle. Not only will this help his arm strength but allow him not to wear down during the year. One of the most important parts of determining how successful a player’s career will be is how he trains between his freshman and start of sophomore year. It’s good to hear Solder and Hawkins are already showing that development.

-From Buffstv at cubuffs.com, check out some sweet footage of Buffs practice. Finally, some live footage of Darrell Scott punting. I think the number of punting references have outnumbered the rushing references for Darrell Scott in training camp. Also check out Coach Hawkins at media day in Dal Ward and post-practice conferences. Looks like Hawk got a little haircut, looks about 10 years younger. One of my favorite media day comments from Hawk:

On Leadership -“It’s huge. I joke with them when I say ‘every great team over comes their coaching’ and its true. At the end of the day a great leader is someone who you say ‘we don’t need that guy’ because you take on the embodiment of these ethos.”

Check out the dialogue from today…I think it was great from the coaches down to the players.

Morning News

Just watched the HBO series Hardknocks with the Dallas Cowboys and it got me even more excited for football season. Check it out...it’s amazingly done. Would be great to have that coverage for the Buffs. That being said, we would like to hear from you, the readers, about how we are doing, what you would like to see more of, whatever. So drop us an email - theralphiereport -at- gmail.com or a comment. We know you have been checking us out as we are getting great traffic on the site but our ultimate goal is to make this site very interactive and the leading source for CU sports and we need your help to do that.

-Things are really revving up to the first game versus Colorado State and we are already getting hints of players that are standing out. One of those players is Rodney Stewart, that little third RB that has been overshadowed by Scott and Polk. Kyle Ringo of the Daily Camera notes that Stewart has the ability to make defenders look bad with his speed and shiftiness. With his diminutive size he is getting compared to Darren Sproles from multiple outlets. In college football, a breakaway speed return man is a huge threat. Take a look at this video to see what we mean. It's about 20 minutes long!

-Get to know freshmen OL Bryce Givens and RB Ray Polk coming to you from training camp. I am glad Givens didn't end up with the Huskers! And Polk showing the TV show "Entourage" some love! Hopefully that love affair with the San Diego Chargers goes away, though.

-Nate Solder now weighs 305 lbs and is 6'9". I remember watching him as a tall, lanky tight end at Buena Vista High School. He has come a long way in solidifying the tackle spot for the Buffs. All news isn't good on the offensive line as redshirt guard Mike Iltis was lost for the year with an ACL injury. Also, senior guard Erick Faatagi was ruled ineligible but the JUCO transfer has been a disappointment since he arrived at Colorado. With these two departures, there is a little concern about experienced depth on the offensive line. Hopefully, freshmen Max Tuioti-Mariner, Ryan Dannewitz or Givens can step up if need be. At least the Buffs have book-end tackles and a potential All American center. Here is some more in regards to the injury and practice yesterday from the Longmont Times.

-Looking forward to the first game of the year versus Colorado State, it looks like Rams TE Kory Sperry will be back to normal after a torn ACL injury that he suffered last year. Sperry is probably the best athlete on CSU team that always plays the Buffs hard in the Showdown. More to come on the Rams this week before the first game of the year.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Briles and Sherman > Hawkins?

Now I don't like lists and rankings of arbitrary things because as my colleague Woodrow says, "Now you see why ESPN is having them do all of these lists. It pisses people off and leads people to talk/complain/drive traffic to their site. Its brilliant." I, for one, am one of those people who gets pissed off and Tim Griffin's Big 12 Coach's Ranking has got me a little perturbed. Let me preface this by saying Tim is doing a "good" job and has a lot material pumping out of the ESPN Big 12 blog, plus its one man's opinion. That being said, sometimes I find his lists lacking substantial evidence and reasoning for his conclusions. Maybe he has a perfectly good statistical backing that isn't noted.

Before you call me a homer for defending Dan Hawkins, I believe as a CU fan, that Bo Pelini should be moved up out of the cellar at least above Prince and Sherman, possibly Briles. Prince has not been able to carry the torch passed on from Bill Synder and except for a few major upsets of Texas, he probably doesn't have a job at Kansas State right now. I know Pelini hasn't had the head coaching experience, as Griffin notes, but the one coach on the hot seat in the Big 12 is Prince and it's for a reason. Kansas State might be decent this and next year with 19 JUCOs coming in but by year 3 or 4, if not sooner, he will be gone. Pelini should be successful at Nebraska because he has inherited talent and tradition. And while Pelini hasn't had too much head coaching experience at the college football level, he has more than Mike Sherman at A&M. Oh right, Mike Sherman had a 59 - 43 record (with Brett Farve) in the pros but ask Al Groh, Pete Carroll, Steve Spurrier, Dennis Erickson and Chan Gailey how much the pros and college football differ. So if we are going to base this list on experience then Sherman can't be a #7 coach when he has proven nothing at the college level. Which segues me to my next qualm.

Maybe Art Briles is the next Bill Walsh or Bill Belichek but until about one week ago, I didn't know who Art Briles was. In fact, I don't know who Baylor's last coach was because it usually didn't matter. And I live, eat and sleep football. Baylor isn't relevant so I don't waste the time on it. So my first thought is that the ranking is based on college experience but that doesn't really jive because of Mike Sherman being ahead of Dan Hawkins, Mike Gundy, Gene Chizik and Ron Prince.

Maybe he is basing this list off of past performance and potential. Follow me in the time machine on my adventure of facts. Let's do this list as if we were doing it two years ago and Dan Hawkins and Art Briles were entering the Big 12 at the same time. Dan Hawkins would be coming from Boise State with a 53 - 11 (83% win percentage) record and 2 - 2 in bowl games. Art Briles was 34 - 28 (54% win percentage) with an 0 - 2 record in bowl games with Houston, another non BCS school. Who would you take? Let me give you a hint. Yes, Houston is in Texas and Boise State is in Idaho. Who is a better recruiter and who do you think had the most talent to pick from? Two different answers to that question my friends. Did you see Boise State beat Oklahoma a couple of years ago - who's players were those?

Go back now two years to 2006 where, as an honest Buffs fan, the first year at CU for Hawkins was rough, losing to Montana State. But year two there was light and in his third offseason, there was a recruiting class that makes a return to dominance seem realistic. Now fast forward two years to Art Briles third year in 2010. Do you think that Art will win more than 2 games in his first year at Baylor? No. Do you think that he will go to a bowl game and beat the likes of Texas Tech and Oklahoma in his second year like Hawkins did? No. Do you think he will get a top 15 recruiting class? Maybe, he is in Texas. So the rankings cannot be ranked on potential because Briles has none in the foreseeable future. And past performance can't be the determining factor of who is the best coach in the Big 12 now because Dan Hawkins is 100 - 41 as a collegiate head coach and 2 -3 in bowl games while Art Briles is 34 - 28 with a 0 -2 bowl record.

Something tells me Mr. Griffin in two years will be putting Hawkins a lot higher. Briles is like the new girl in college who transferred from another school. You have heard great things and she is a supposed tomcat but as you look at her more closely, she isn't all that she is cracked up to be. Plus that girl came from a lower level group of girls and now she is in a class with models and sorority girls who all want one thing. Maybe that was a lame analogy but lets rub the shine off Briles before we anoint him at Baylor.

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.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

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


2008 SBNation Preseason All-Big 12 Team

Just over a month ago we announced the first ever SBNation Preseason All-Big 12 Team. We asked all of the SBNation Big 12 blogs to each select their picks for the team with one caveat, no writer was allowed to choose any player from his own. The votes are in and tallied and I am now proud to bring you the players that our network of writers think will shine at their respective positions and help shape the 2008 race to the Big 12 Championship.

Offense:
QB Chase Daniel Missouri
HB DeMarco Murray Oklahoma

Marlon Lucky Nebraska
WR Michael Crabtree Texas Tech

Jeremy Maclin Missouri

Juaquin Iglesias Oklahoma
TE Chase Coffman Missouri
OL Duke Robinson Oklahoma

Louis Vasquez Texas Tech

Phil Loadholt Oklahoma

Cedric Dockery Texas

Jon Cooper Oklahoma
K Jeff Wolfert Missouri

Defense:
DL Auston English Oklahoma

George Hypolite Colorado

Stryker Sulak Missouri

Ian Campbell Kansas State
LB Sean Weatherspoon Missouri

Joe Mortensen Kansas

Sergio Kindle Texas
DB William Moore Missouri

Nic Harris Oklahoma

Jordan Lake Baylor

Deon Beasley Texas

Perrish Cox Oklahoma State
P Justin Brantly Texas A&M

Here you can check out the full selections from every participating site as well the player totals by position. Our choices were relatively close to those from the media with a few notable spots, particularly on defense. Stryker Sulak from Mizzou made the SBNation team as opposed to Brian Orakpo, but Texas got Sergio Kindle in over Joe Pawelek from Baylor. Kindle is one of the most interesting selections on the team as he didn't receive the playing time that he deserved last year and this selection is based almost soley on potential. Don't agree with our selections? Let us know what you think and make sure and check out all of the blogs that participated with the links on the right.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

It's Darrell Scott's World...We're Just Living in it

Check out the great on camera interview by the Daily Camera...the first in depth one since the signing. Something tells me that Scott will have to wait about 12 - 16 years before becoming that high school principal.



The more and more I read about Darrell Scott, the better I feel about his ability to take the expectations of being a top 5 recruit on. I love his humility & humble nature and his desire to be just another one of the guys. He seems very mature for a freshman in college dealing with everything a normal freshman does not have to deal with. I also can't wait to see him in person. Everything you read has him sounding like a monster with size like Adrian Peterson. The first article from the Daily Camera talks about Scott's and Josh Smith's relationship and the prospects of being the #1 - #2 punch. I might be chastised for saying this but Josh Smith might be every bit as important to the success of this year's team as Scott is. The Buffs need the playmaker at the WR position that they have lacked for the past decade. Meanwhile, it looks like Josh Smith has take on the role of defacto spokesperson for the Buffs this year as it seems like he is quoted in every single article these days. I like his comments regarding the drive to become a team like Missouri. With maturity comes wisdom!

Something tells me that Scott likes the nickname "Five Star" better than "Fresh Meat."

'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!