Spring game is fast approaching
The Buffs are one step closer to the Spring Game after they wrapped up their second scrimmage Saturday.
The April 19 game is drawing nearer as the team is coming together in hopes of the making it interesting.
In the last scrimmage of the year last Saturday, the team ran 124 scrimmage plays in just under two hours in order to focus on real-time conditions and game-like scenarios.
With a number of notable players graduating, younger players are beginning to make names for themselves.
Tight end Patrick Devenny and wide receiver Jason Espinoza had notable performances at the practice.
After seeing only one touch last season, Devenny led the receiving team Saturday with six catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman Espinoza recorded four catches for 66 yards as well as 95 yards in seven punt returns.
The battle for quarterback continued.
Cody Hawkins connected on 17-of-30 passes for 170 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Matt Ballenger threw 8-of-16 totaling 106 yards and one touchdown. Nick Nelson remained on target for the second week in a row, landing 12-of-17 for 140 yards, throwing two touchdowns and running in one of his own.
Hawkins said he always feels confident as quarterback.
“We had a couple mishaps today as far as protection because the defenses put in so many blitzes,” Hawkins said. “Sometimes you have just got to throw the ball away, and so it doesn’t look to good for the stats, but not taking sacks is very important.”
The first-team offense was feeling the pressure as they squared off against first-team defense. The defense walked away with seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two blocked punts.
Outside linebacker Brad Jones said the practice was very successful for the defensive line and a big improvement over the first scrimmage.
“(This week’s) defense was a lot better,” Jones said. “Other than the few little mistakes that we are still making, I think we are definitely looking like we are going to be pretty good. We are definitely improving.”
Tailback Demetrius Sumler agreed with Jones, saying the team had made a big improvement in the last week.
“We made some mistakes on the offensive side of the ball, but we definitely did better than last scrimmage,” Sumler said. “We’re feeling really strong heading into the game.”
The team is also starting to adjust to its new hurry-up offense.
Hawkins said it gives the more athletic players a chance to showcase their talent.
“If we can get up here and use this altitude to our advantage, we’ll definitely have an edge over the people we play here,” Hawkins said. “The rest of the offense has adapted well, and the defense has done a great job catching up to our tempo after the first couple of days.”
Jones said that while the hurry-up offense is an adjustment, the defense is as comfortable with the strategy as it is with the offense.
“The no-huddle is rough,” Jones said. “You don’t know what personnel is coming in so you got to look to the coaches, the coaches don’t know what personnel is coming in, calls come in late. It’s just confusing on so many levels, but it’s going to definitely be effective during the season.”
The team will square off against a number of teams that already use this offense next season.
Head coach Dan Hawkins said the practice was an improvement over the previous scrimmage because of better tempo.
He added that Devenny’s and Spinoza’s strong performances weren’t a surprise, and the offense looked promising as well.
“We’re doing okay,” Hawkins said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get a little bit of continuity because you’re playing a lot of guys in a lot of different spots and rolling people through there. So sometime you’re up, and sometimes you’re down a little bit. I think when everybody’s on the same page, it’s got some merit.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Kyle L. Haas at kyle.l.haas@colorado.edu.
