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By Stuart
[h=2]Fall Camp – Roster Battles[/h]Spring practice in the first year of the Mike MacIntyre era was divided into two parts. In the first segment (before Spring break), basics were stressed; every player given the chance to make a first impression. The second half of Spring practices were devoted to installing some of the playbook, and sorting out some of the roster.
Fall Camp is all about rounding the team into a cohesive unit, and installing a game plan which can be competitive in the Pac-12.
Below is a look at the CU roster, position-by-position, as September 1st approaches …
[h=3]Quarterbacks[/h]Roster – Jordan Webb, Sr. (injured); Connor Wood, Jr.; Jordan Gehrke, So. Stevie Joe Dorman, R-Fr; Sefo Liufau, Fr.
Remember when Colorado had waaaay too many quarterbacks on the roster? Remember when there were questions as to why yet another quarterback, Jordan Gehrke, was brought in after Spring practices were concluded?
That was so two months ago.
What was shaping up to be a seven-way battle for the starting position has been hit by severe attrition. First, senior Jordan Webb went down with a torn ACL in a non-contact injury*this spring. Webb is recovering, and may be available to play this fall, but will not be ready by the opener.
Then … Nick Hirschman left the team. Announcing his decision, the co-starter coming out of spring practices (along with Connor Wood), Hirschman stated that he had set a goal as being the starter after the Spring game, and, when that didn’t happen, it was time for him to move on. Hirschman later landed at Akron, where he will play for the Zips.
Then … Shane Dillon left the team. Dillon came to Boulder as a football star, but left in search of a basketball future. “I always kind of felt my decision that I had to play football was forced upon me a little bit,” Dillon said in his press release. “People told me I had to make a decision by the end of my junior year between football and basketball because quarterbacks all seemed to commit pretty early. Basketball has always been my passion, and even though I really enjoyed my year here, I felt the time is now for me to make the change.”
Then … John Schrock left the team. The walk-on sophomore was well down the depth chart after spring practices, Schrock left in order to concentrate on academics. “It was a tough decision for John as he does love football, but we talked and he is serious about becoming a doctor,” CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said.* “He decided it was in his best interests to leave the team to concentrate on his academics.* He is a fine young man and I think he will be successful in his pursuits.”
So – who’s left?
It looks very much like the job is Connor Wood’s to lose. *Wood was named as one of CU’s six captains for the fall, and has a leg up on the remaining competition. Wood is well into learning his fourth offense, counting his time at Texas and his two seasons at CU. He says MacIntyre’s and offensive coordinator’s Brian Lindgren’s offense – the pistol – is the most accommodating of the four because it is “much simpler. I’ve been in the West Coast offense, the Texas/Boise State offense . . . I think this is the most simple and streamlined.
“The way they call plays and the verbiage used, it flows well with the run game and pass game,” Wood told cubuffs.com. “I like it; it’s less thinking for me. When a quarterback can think less, he can concentrate on the coverage instead of the wording of the play and what to call … His approach to coaching us is much more . . . I don’t want to say relaxed because he’s a detail guy and he wants things done a certain way,*but the way he approaches us, it’s the relationship – not just with me, but the other quarterbacks. We don’t feel pressure to perform from him. He just says go out and play. He instills a belief in us.
“And that’s what coach MacIntyre does with the team. Coach Lindgren has done a good job of showing us that he believes in us. It makes things more fun that way. It’s a game. You work so hard in the summer, so hard in the weight room during the early spring, you spend so much watching film. If you’re on the field and not having fun, then what are you doing? You’ve wasted a ton of time.”
Wood must be considered to be the favorite, but Sefo Liufau and Jordan Gehrke will both be given a fair shot. Both arrived on campus June 2nd, three weeks before the rest of the incoming Class of players, just to try and absorb as much of the offense as possible before the start of Fall Camp August 5th.
“I’m a competitor,” Gehrke told cubuffs.com. “Every quarterback comes in to compete for the starting job. Only one gets it. I’m excited to be in this situation, coming from a junior college and getting a chance to play in the Pac-12. Every day that starting spot is on my mind. I wake up and know I’m blessed to have a chance to compete for that job.”
Gehrke believes he will be up to speed in MacIntyre’s offense and able to compete as he envisions. “I’m starting to learn the offense and feel really comfortable,” he said. “The routes and everything are pretty similar to what I’ve been in . . . I’ve gotten really familiar with this one in a couple of weeks.
“I’ve been studying the playbook every day, watching film every day . . . even when other the other quarterbacks are getting reps, I’m taking mental reps. I’m sitting back thinking what would I do in this situation? I’m reading the defense and understanding the plays, the protections. I’m getting myself prepared because come August I know it’s going to be a short window to really show yourself.”
From their time together in player-organized summer practices and passing drills, junior receiver Tyler McCulloch said Gehrke “seems to have picked up the offense really well. He gets the ball out fast (and) he’s got a very good throwing motion. He’s just a cool kid.”
Connor Wood is also impressed with his competition.*”For as young as Sefo is, he’s really picking up the offense, and so is Jordan,” Wood said. “They’ve just kind of been thrown into it, but it does help them how the offense is structured. With this staff it’s much more shortened and condensed; it’s not very wordy. It’s easier for a guy like Jordan who’s been in junior college and out of high school for a while to pick up something like that. And for Sefo, too. There’s simplicity within complexity in it.”
Head coach Mike MacIntyre has indicated that he may not make a decision on the starting quarterback until the week before the Colorado State game. The announcement may in fact not come in the next few weeks. Hopefully, though, any delays will be attributable to an effort to keep the Rams guessing.
The reality -*If Connor Wood hasn’t demonstrated that he is the clear choice as the starting quarterback by mid-August, then … it could be a very long season.
–
Originally posted by CU At the Game
Click here to vie
[h=2]Fall Camp – Roster Battles[/h]Spring practice in the first year of the Mike MacIntyre era was divided into two parts. In the first segment (before Spring break), basics were stressed; every player given the chance to make a first impression. The second half of Spring practices were devoted to installing some of the playbook, and sorting out some of the roster.
Fall Camp is all about rounding the team into a cohesive unit, and installing a game plan which can be competitive in the Pac-12.
Below is a look at the CU roster, position-by-position, as September 1st approaches …
[h=3]Quarterbacks[/h]Roster – Jordan Webb, Sr. (injured); Connor Wood, Jr.; Jordan Gehrke, So. Stevie Joe Dorman, R-Fr; Sefo Liufau, Fr.
Remember when Colorado had waaaay too many quarterbacks on the roster? Remember when there were questions as to why yet another quarterback, Jordan Gehrke, was brought in after Spring practices were concluded?
That was so two months ago.
What was shaping up to be a seven-way battle for the starting position has been hit by severe attrition. First, senior Jordan Webb went down with a torn ACL in a non-contact injury*this spring. Webb is recovering, and may be available to play this fall, but will not be ready by the opener.
Then … Nick Hirschman left the team. Announcing his decision, the co-starter coming out of spring practices (along with Connor Wood), Hirschman stated that he had set a goal as being the starter after the Spring game, and, when that didn’t happen, it was time for him to move on. Hirschman later landed at Akron, where he will play for the Zips.
Then … Shane Dillon left the team. Dillon came to Boulder as a football star, but left in search of a basketball future. “I always kind of felt my decision that I had to play football was forced upon me a little bit,” Dillon said in his press release. “People told me I had to make a decision by the end of my junior year between football and basketball because quarterbacks all seemed to commit pretty early. Basketball has always been my passion, and even though I really enjoyed my year here, I felt the time is now for me to make the change.”
Then … John Schrock left the team. The walk-on sophomore was well down the depth chart after spring practices, Schrock left in order to concentrate on academics. “It was a tough decision for John as he does love football, but we talked and he is serious about becoming a doctor,” CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said.* “He decided it was in his best interests to leave the team to concentrate on his academics.* He is a fine young man and I think he will be successful in his pursuits.”
So – who’s left?
It looks very much like the job is Connor Wood’s to lose. *Wood was named as one of CU’s six captains for the fall, and has a leg up on the remaining competition. Wood is well into learning his fourth offense, counting his time at Texas and his two seasons at CU. He says MacIntyre’s and offensive coordinator’s Brian Lindgren’s offense – the pistol – is the most accommodating of the four because it is “much simpler. I’ve been in the West Coast offense, the Texas/Boise State offense . . . I think this is the most simple and streamlined.
“The way they call plays and the verbiage used, it flows well with the run game and pass game,” Wood told cubuffs.com. “I like it; it’s less thinking for me. When a quarterback can think less, he can concentrate on the coverage instead of the wording of the play and what to call … His approach to coaching us is much more . . . I don’t want to say relaxed because he’s a detail guy and he wants things done a certain way,*but the way he approaches us, it’s the relationship – not just with me, but the other quarterbacks. We don’t feel pressure to perform from him. He just says go out and play. He instills a belief in us.
“And that’s what coach MacIntyre does with the team. Coach Lindgren has done a good job of showing us that he believes in us. It makes things more fun that way. It’s a game. You work so hard in the summer, so hard in the weight room during the early spring, you spend so much watching film. If you’re on the field and not having fun, then what are you doing? You’ve wasted a ton of time.”
Wood must be considered to be the favorite, but Sefo Liufau and Jordan Gehrke will both be given a fair shot. Both arrived on campus June 2nd, three weeks before the rest of the incoming Class of players, just to try and absorb as much of the offense as possible before the start of Fall Camp August 5th.
“I’m a competitor,” Gehrke told cubuffs.com. “Every quarterback comes in to compete for the starting job. Only one gets it. I’m excited to be in this situation, coming from a junior college and getting a chance to play in the Pac-12. Every day that starting spot is on my mind. I wake up and know I’m blessed to have a chance to compete for that job.”
Gehrke believes he will be up to speed in MacIntyre’s offense and able to compete as he envisions. “I’m starting to learn the offense and feel really comfortable,” he said. “The routes and everything are pretty similar to what I’ve been in . . . I’ve gotten really familiar with this one in a couple of weeks.
“I’ve been studying the playbook every day, watching film every day . . . even when other the other quarterbacks are getting reps, I’m taking mental reps. I’m sitting back thinking what would I do in this situation? I’m reading the defense and understanding the plays, the protections. I’m getting myself prepared because come August I know it’s going to be a short window to really show yourself.”
From their time together in player-organized summer practices and passing drills, junior receiver Tyler McCulloch said Gehrke “seems to have picked up the offense really well. He gets the ball out fast (and) he’s got a very good throwing motion. He’s just a cool kid.”
Connor Wood is also impressed with his competition.*”For as young as Sefo is, he’s really picking up the offense, and so is Jordan,” Wood said. “They’ve just kind of been thrown into it, but it does help them how the offense is structured. With this staff it’s much more shortened and condensed; it’s not very wordy. It’s easier for a guy like Jordan who’s been in junior college and out of high school for a while to pick up something like that. And for Sefo, too. There’s simplicity within complexity in it.”
Head coach Mike MacIntyre has indicated that he may not make a decision on the starting quarterback until the week before the Colorado State game. The announcement may in fact not come in the next few weeks. Hopefully, though, any delays will be attributable to an effort to keep the Rams guessing.
The reality -*If Connor Wood hasn’t demonstrated that he is the clear choice as the starting quarterback by mid-August, then … it could be a very long season.
–
Originally posted by CU At the Game
Click here to vie
