Colorado Buffaloes head coach Jon
Embree survived his second media on Saturday as the team begins practicing for
the fall and their date with the Colorado State Rams with the Rocky Mountain
Showdown. There were plenty of questions
that were asked, but the feeling of the media day was focused more on the
offense. The Buffs lose starting
quarterback Tyler Hansen and tailback Rodney “Speedy” Stewart due to graduation
and heading for the NFL. This past
offseason, the team also lost wideout Paul Richardson. Richardson was going to be the guy to help
move this program that was lead by the seniors Hansen and Stewart. Richardson suffered a torn ACL in March but
is apparently making a marvelous comeback in his rehab and he has hopes of
playing this upcoming season.
The biggest question going into
practice is “who’s going to be the starting quarterback?” Last season was the first time in a handful
of seasons that this wasn’t a reoccurring question with the position. Unfortunately for the program, having a new
coaching staff and entirely new system in place, it proved to be a daunting
task at times of the 2011 offense.
This season, the fields of
quarterbacks include one recruit from the Dan Hawkins era (Nick Hirschman) and
two transfers, one from Texas (Connor Wood) and one from Kansas (Jordan
Webb). The early favorite to win the
position was Hirschman, but that has changed during the spring, spring game and
going into the fall practices. Hirschman
seems to be fighting now for playing time while Webb now seems to have become
the darling of the CU coaching staff.
CUBuffs.com reports that head coach
Jon Embree has had a chance to evaluate each quarterback in practice and has
made mention of what he sees in each QB.
On Hirschman “His teammates really
like him, gravitate to him...also has a big arm, but sometimes believes he can
throw through his mistakes...needs a better grasp of the offense.”
On Wood “Big
arm...can make all the throws...good grasp of the offense...needs to be more
consistent in his decision making...needs to continue to work on his accuracy.”
On Webb “A big attribute is his 19 games at this level... does a good
job of working the pocket...reminds me of Koy (Detmer) in getting the ball out
in unique ways.”
Breaking down what Embree was
saying, it seems as though that Hirschman is being put down as the 3rd
quarterback. He has a good chemistry with the players on offense but tends to
make too many mental errors that Embree would like to see from a starter. Wood appears to flash ability to have the
ability to lead this offense on the field, he has the “IT” factor, but it comes
and goes from play to play. Webb appears
to be the front runner, he has good presence of awareness, and something that
is a necessity for the QB position this season as the QB will be playing behind
a very young offensive line. Of all the
QB’s on the roster, Webb appears to be the one that has significant playing
time over all the other QB’s. Embree
does not have a time table for when he will announce a starter, but don’t be
surprised if he names Webb going into Labor Day weekend against the Rams.
The running back situation now has
some clarity. With Stewart leaving, that left the door open for any back
to grab the starting spot. The backfield features Tony Jones, Josh Ford,
D.D. Goodson and Josh Gorman. There is some depth at the position, but
given his work ethic and dedication to grab the starter role, Tony Jones expects
to be the starter this upcoming season.
The Denver Post spoke with Nick Hirschman who has had
a chance to watch Jones out on the field says he has seen a difference in
Jones.
"Tony has worked his tail off
to get ready for the season," Hirschman said, "and it really shows
from last year to this year. Tony is coming into this season with a lot
of confidence, a lot of swagger. That’s something we need."
He went into last season listed as
180, but he has worked out this offseason to be a "feature back", he
has had 12 pounds to his frame putting him at 192 coming into camp as he looks
to take the reins from Stewart. Although he hasn't been named starter
yet, he can sleep easier knowing that Embree said this about the battle at running back
"Now that we’re in pads we’ll get a better feel for that. We’ll get a
chance to see who that guy is that will be behind Tony [Jones]".
This offense still has plenty to
figure out, but being able to establish a QB and RB that will be important
going forward. This will be a building block for this coaching staff as
this should help this program build continuity as they look re-establish the
west coast offense with a relatively new group of players.
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