Practices are now closed to the media and public and while it has only been 9 days we’ve had a great sneak peak at the Buffs for the upcoming season. However the next several weeks is the key to making this a successful camp. The foremost item on the list is the much-needed identity that Kiseau wants to bring to the offense, something we haven’t had for quite a while, but we won’t see what that looks like for a bit. For now let’s take a look at what we’ve seen from the team during the first few practices and the scrimmage, and what we can expect come kickoff:
QB’s – Still up in the air as to who will emerge as the man for the job. But one thing is sure; the competition between Hawkins and Hansen will only make them better. In Thursdays scrimmage both of them had a good showing, so we still are left with an even battle. If I had to choose though I would say Cody had the slight edge.
RB’s – D. Scott is healthy, Stewart is healthy, Lockridge is healthy, Sumler is ready. Need I say more? Our backs are looking mighty impressive. These men will need to carry our offense and prove to be a legitimate threat so defenses will have to keep another man in the box. If they perform as expected it will not only be exciting to watch but will also help boost the less confident passing game.
O-Line – I’m excited about the potential these guys have. After being extremely thin last year due to injuries, we come into this year with depth and experience. Oh yeah, not to mention two of the biggest linemen in the country (Solder and Miller). Look for these guys to push a lot of opposing defenses around and clear the way for our kick ass backfield.
WR’s – Definitely the weak point in our offense. We’re relying on some inexperienced and young players to step up. But, don’t forget that Hawkins himself is coaching the receiving core this year and he knows better than most the task at hand. If we can get some contribution from a few young guys and get them going early on it will help big time. At least we finally have some size this year.
D-Line – Where to start… We haven’t seen much of anything from these guys so it’s hard to say how they’ll turn out. We have some guys who’ve been with the team for a bit but as Coach Hawk says, we’ll need them to “grow up” fast and get in the swing of things. The new recruits are looking good (Kasa, Nuckols), but hopefully they’ll be ready come Sept. 6, if the coaches decide to play them. We definitely have talent lining up, but no experience. It’s a waiting game at this point.
LB’s – There hasn’t been much talk about these guys but we need them to perform on a consistent basis, and I feel confident that they’ll deliver. We’ve got some important players coming back (Smart and Mohler), and the debut of redshirted Jon Major. Look for this group to be the safety net for our brand new d-line.
CB’s – After leading the Big XII in pass defense last year, and some key returnees, I’m expecting the backfield to be strong again this year. Look for Jimmy Smith to be our lockdown corner, and a possible appearance of freshman Deji Olatoye who’s been impressive so far during camp. If they perform like last year we’ll be in good shape.
Safety’s – With the injury to D.J. Dykes and Ryan Walters toward the end of last season Anthony Perkins and Patrick Mahnke had to step in but it gave them some good experience, but they still need to develop. Ray Polk (switched from RB) has caught the eye of many this year with his speed in the backfield and hitting power, but is still making some mistakes. We should be fine here, but there is still some room for improvement.
I’m glad to report that we’ve seen a lot of good things during the opening days of camp. There are still a lot of things that need to be worked on, but overall not to bad. This is definitely the best we’ve seen from the team during fall practices since The Hawk arrived. Now it’s simply a waiting game until we host CSU on September 6th to see how everything turns out. I’ve got a good feeling about this season though and I hope you share that feeling with me. Look for a quick rundown of the schedule to come out soon (we’ll see if those 10 wins are achievable), and some more analysis on the team. Get ready; college football is about to begin so get your Colorado jerseys and flags out cause the seasons is fast approaching. GO BUFFS!!

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