Colorado Buffaloes Fall Camp Update
The Colorado Buffaloes are starting week two of their 2012 fall camp and there are some notable story lines brewing in Boulder. A large freshmen class arrived on campus this summer and plenty of the young guys are vying for starting roles, especially on defense. Obviously the quarterback competition is still the biggest story in fall camp and will continue to be until a starter is decided.
Here are some of the other story lines forming:
-The secondary should be greatly improved.
One of the main problems the Buffs had last season was their overall lack of team speed, especially in the secondary. They were not able to keep up with the high octane passing attack that Pac 12 teams utilized last season giving up an average of 237 yards through the air a game and 21 touchdowns while only intercepting seven passes in 13 games. That should change this year with an improved crop of defensive backs. Size, strength and speed will no longer be a glaring weakness that opposing teams can take advantage of. Head coach Jon Embree feels like he plugged some of those holes with the five incoming freshmen defensive backs including the two headliners of the group Kenneth Crawley and Yuri Wright. From the first week of practice both corners have been impressive and are favorites to win the open corner position opposite Greg Henderson. Crawley is really turning heads during fall camp and he might find his way into the starting lineup as a corner and a punt returner. The other starters are expected to be Henderson at corner, Ray Polk at free safety and Parker Orms at strong safety. Wright and Crawley may split time at corner and then be on the field at the same time in nickel formations. At one point in order to decide who took first team reps in practice CU’s secondary coach Greg Brown had the two play rock, paper, scissors. Crawley won by the way as his rock smashed Wright’s scissors.
-The three-way quarterback competition should be narrowed down to two by Saturday.
Embree is losing sleep over this quarterback competition and he hopes to start sleeping better Saturday night. The Buffs will hold their first scrimmage on Saturday and he hopes that things will start to clear up and fall into place. Embree evaluated each quarterback after practice the other day and this is what he had to say:
On Connor Wood: “He’s got a big arm, can make all the throws. He’s got a good grasp of the offense although needs to be more consistent in his decision making. He also needs to continue to work on his accuracy.”
On Jordan Webb: “A big attribute is his 19 games at this level. He does a good job of working the pocket, he reminds me of Koy (Detmer) in getting the ball out in unique ways.”
On Nick Hirschman: “His teammates really like him, they gravitate to him. He also has a big arm, but sometimes believes he can throw through his mistakes, he needs a better grasp of the offense.”
Three’s a company when it comes to quarterbacks and with a crowded backfield, reps are hard to come by. That’s why narrowing down the competition is important so once September 1 rolls around the starter or starter’s will be comfortable with the first team offense. Hopefully, after Saturday’s scrimmage, a clearer picture will start to form and a true starter will begin to form.
-CU will have two scrimmages before they open the 2012 season.
They will scrimmage for the first time this Saturday and it will give the younger players a chance to show off on a slightly bigger stage. Embree has noted some of the freshmen making big plays in practice and now he wants to see them perform in an actual scrimmage.
“A lot of them have done well in the situational stuff, but I want to see when everybody is off the field when we scrimmage this weekend how we do,” Embree said. “Because there are some guys that have consistently shown up, but I want to see them in a scrimmage before we keep moving forward with them.”
The Buffs will also have a “mock game” on August 25 in order to have a final tuneup before they square off against Colorado State in the Rocky Mountain Showdown September 1.
