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By Stuart
[h=2]Spring Forward[/h]A unit-by-unit preview of the 2014 Spring practices, with rosters and projected position battles.
Up first: Quarterbacks
Up next: Running backs (Sunday)
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[h=3]Quarterbacks[/h]Spring Roster (note: class designations are for this fall): Sefo Liufau (So.); Jordan Gehrke (So.); Trent Sessions (So. – walk-on)
Incoming this fall: Cade Apsay (Fr.), Jaleel Awini* (Jr. – will likely have to sit out a transfer year) … *may play other positions
–
What a difference a year makes.
Last February, the “Spring Forward” quarterback write-up had the following cast of characters:*Jordan Webb (Sr.); Nick Hirschman (Jr.); Connor Wood (Jr.); Stevie Joe Dorman (So.); John Schrock (So. – walk-on); and Shane Dillon (R-Fr.). New CU head coach Mike MacIntyre opened spring practices with*a six-way competition for starting quarterback.
A year later, all six – all six! – are gone.
This spring, the concern is not so much as to whether a starter will emerge as whether the Buffs can keep those who are available upright long enough to conduct a full camp.
Still, there are questions to be answered between now and the Spring Game on April 12th.
Can Sefo Liufau continue to improve?
Incoming true freshman Sefo Liufau was supposed to red-shirt last fall.*After all, true freshmen don’t normally*fare well at the quarterback position, and the Buffs were already (presumably) crowded at*quarterback. Instead, Liufau was in the lineup before mid-season, going on to start the final seven games of the 2013*campaign. Liufau completed 149-of-251 passes for 1,779 yards last season – all true freshman records at Colorado. Along the way, Liufau passed for 12 touchdowns with eight interceptions.
Liufau did not hit Boulder until last summer, so this will be his first set of spring practices. Can Liufau, who missed out on the extra 15 practices afforded teams who qualify for bowl games, be able to build upon was a promising freshman season? Or did the 2013 season represent Liufau’s ceiling?
Can Jordan Gehrke compete for the starting job?
Hearing Jordan Gehrke’s name mentioned last May was a cautionary tale for the Buff Nation. Colorado started spring ball with six quarterbacks, settled on two – Connor Wood and Nick Hirschman – with the latter backing out and transferring when he didn’t get the starting gig outright.
A full qualifier out of the Class of 2012, Gehrke*did not receive any significant*scholarship offers. Gehrke reported receiving attention from Boise State, Oregon State, and the Arizona schools … but no offers. Instead, Gehrke played for Scottsdale Community College in the fall of 2012, completing 52% of his passes for 2,388 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Fighting Artichokes. Gehrke then transferred to Ventura College in California in January of 2013, but was there only for the spring semester before the University of Colorado came calling with a scholarship offer.
“He has a very efficient release, he gets the ball out and he is a very accurate passer,” offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren told BuffStampede.com last August. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to get him reps in the spring so we’re just trying to bring him along. He has all the tools it is just a matter of him getting familiar with what we’re doing. He is athletic enough (6’2″, 190″, 4.75 in the 40) in*the pocket to make people miss and scramble and make some plays when things break down and that excites us about Jordan”.
And Trent Sessions is …
… Not Rudy. Sessions*is a former high school quarterback that was on the equipment staff last fall.*A 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore from
the San Diego area, Sessions completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,958 yards and 17 touchdowns with just four interceptions during his senior season at Rancho Bernardo.
“He’ll be able to help us get through practices”, coach Mike MacIntyre told the media of Sessions’ involvement this spring. “I don’t want to wear out the arms of the other two guys. I told*coach Brian Lindgren*when it happened that he better start warming his arm up because he’s going to be throwing more. But Trent is going to be able to do a good job at it. It’s exciting because it* rejuvenates some of the other guys and some of the walk-ons. That’s the exciting part of it and it’s always fun to see that with the kids.”
Translation: Sessions is an interesting human interest story, but just a*placeholder in the CU program*until Cade Apsay hits Boulder in June.
—
… Up next: Running backs (to be posted Sunday*morning) …
—
Originally posted by CU At the Game
Click here to vie
[h=2]Spring Forward[/h]A unit-by-unit preview of the 2014 Spring practices, with rosters and projected position battles.
Up first: Quarterbacks
Up next: Running backs (Sunday)
—
[h=3]Quarterbacks[/h]Spring Roster (note: class designations are for this fall): Sefo Liufau (So.); Jordan Gehrke (So.); Trent Sessions (So. – walk-on)
Incoming this fall: Cade Apsay (Fr.), Jaleel Awini* (Jr. – will likely have to sit out a transfer year) … *may play other positions
–
What a difference a year makes.
Last February, the “Spring Forward” quarterback write-up had the following cast of characters:*Jordan Webb (Sr.); Nick Hirschman (Jr.); Connor Wood (Jr.); Stevie Joe Dorman (So.); John Schrock (So. – walk-on); and Shane Dillon (R-Fr.). New CU head coach Mike MacIntyre opened spring practices with*a six-way competition for starting quarterback.
A year later, all six – all six! – are gone.
This spring, the concern is not so much as to whether a starter will emerge as whether the Buffs can keep those who are available upright long enough to conduct a full camp.
Still, there are questions to be answered between now and the Spring Game on April 12th.
Can Sefo Liufau continue to improve?
Incoming true freshman Sefo Liufau was supposed to red-shirt last fall.*After all, true freshmen don’t normally*fare well at the quarterback position, and the Buffs were already (presumably) crowded at*quarterback. Instead, Liufau was in the lineup before mid-season, going on to start the final seven games of the 2013*campaign. Liufau completed 149-of-251 passes for 1,779 yards last season – all true freshman records at Colorado. Along the way, Liufau passed for 12 touchdowns with eight interceptions.
Liufau did not hit Boulder until last summer, so this will be his first set of spring practices. Can Liufau, who missed out on the extra 15 practices afforded teams who qualify for bowl games, be able to build upon was a promising freshman season? Or did the 2013 season represent Liufau’s ceiling?
Can Jordan Gehrke compete for the starting job?
Hearing Jordan Gehrke’s name mentioned last May was a cautionary tale for the Buff Nation. Colorado started spring ball with six quarterbacks, settled on two – Connor Wood and Nick Hirschman – with the latter backing out and transferring when he didn’t get the starting gig outright.
A full qualifier out of the Class of 2012, Gehrke*did not receive any significant*scholarship offers. Gehrke reported receiving attention from Boise State, Oregon State, and the Arizona schools … but no offers. Instead, Gehrke played for Scottsdale Community College in the fall of 2012, completing 52% of his passes for 2,388 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Fighting Artichokes. Gehrke then transferred to Ventura College in California in January of 2013, but was there only for the spring semester before the University of Colorado came calling with a scholarship offer.
“He has a very efficient release, he gets the ball out and he is a very accurate passer,” offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren told BuffStampede.com last August. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to get him reps in the spring so we’re just trying to bring him along. He has all the tools it is just a matter of him getting familiar with what we’re doing. He is athletic enough (6’2″, 190″, 4.75 in the 40) in*the pocket to make people miss and scramble and make some plays when things break down and that excites us about Jordan”.
And Trent Sessions is …
… Not Rudy. Sessions*is a former high school quarterback that was on the equipment staff last fall.*A 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore from
the San Diego area, Sessions completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,958 yards and 17 touchdowns with just four interceptions during his senior season at Rancho Bernardo.
“He’ll be able to help us get through practices”, coach Mike MacIntyre told the media of Sessions’ involvement this spring. “I don’t want to wear out the arms of the other two guys. I told*coach Brian Lindgren*when it happened that he better start warming his arm up because he’s going to be throwing more. But Trent is going to be able to do a good job at it. It’s exciting because it* rejuvenates some of the other guys and some of the walk-ons. That’s the exciting part of it and it’s always fun to see that with the kids.”
Translation: Sessions is an interesting human interest story, but just a*placeholder in the CU program*until Cade Apsay hits Boulder in June.
—
… Up next: Running backs (to be posted Sunday*morning) …
—
Originally posted by CU At the Game
Click here to vie