Defense dominates in opening scrimmage

(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)

When CU’s first football scrimmage of the spring began, Folsom Field was covered in a warm blanket of light. As the sun dipped below the Flatirons the air became frigid enough for the remaining spectators to wrap themselves in layers.

Boulder’s spring weather can sometimes be just as hard to figure out as its football team. As expected from a preseason scrimmage, there were plenty of turnovers, dropped passes, missed tackles and broken plays.

“We just need to clean a lot of things up,” said head coach Dan Hawkins. “We have to get a lot cleaner with penalties, turnovers, not dropping the ball.”

The scrimmage lasted nearly two and a half hours and to the head ball coach it was clear which side performed better.

“At this point you’d give the upper hand to the defense if you look at the scrimmage from top to bottom,” Hawkins said.

Offensively, the white shirts scored six touchdowns, five of them through the air. Though that number sounds high, it should be noted that spring scrimmages are situational. The coaches will yell out downs or scenarios for the team to simulate.

Six touchdowns are impressive, but they’re also deceiving. When compared to the eight penalties, seven sacks, and four turnovers given up, they don’t seem as great. Two of those turnovers were interceptions, one each thrown by the now veteran quarterbacks Cody Hawkins and Tyler Hansen.

Hansen’s pass was picked off by inside linebacker Jon Major, who is expected to fill in one of the spots vacated by three graduating seniors at that position. Linebackers Jeff Smart, Marcus Burton, and Shaun Mohler may be gone, but Major insists they’ve left a legacy behind.

“I miss them, but there was a huge advantage in coming up under their wings,” Major said. “I got an idea of what the program expects at this position. I’m just trying to carry over what they left.”

Major, who acknowledged CU’s great tradition at the linebacker spot, looked more like a fullback when running his interception back for a big gain. Though it was only the first of three scrimmages (including the spring game on April 10), Major thinks the defense is ahead of schedule.

“We’re already starting off a lot better than where we have in the past,” Major said. “I think that’s [due to] our pre-spring preparation.”

All spring the team has had to overcome losing key contributors to the linebacker and secondary positions. The one constant maintained from last season is that of the defensive line. Every starter returns, including defensive end Marquez Herrod who led the Buffs in sacks last season with six.

“It starts with us up front,” Herrod said. “If we’re messing up, if we’re not in the right gaps, that sets the whole defense off.”

Throughout the practices, the coaches have stressed the importance of creating turnovers to their defense. It showed Thursday when they forced two fumbles and two interceptions. Herrod said that this intra-team struggle between the offense and defense is nothing new.

“Every single day is a competition against the offense,” Herrod said. “If we get three turnovers, then we don’t have to run. If we don’t get three turnovers, we run.”

The motivation seems simple enough. CU did a fairly good job in that department last season, tallying 25 turnovers from the opposing offense. That number ranked in the top third of FBS teams and there’s no reason it can’t be any bigger next year.

Even the hard to impress head coach has noticed how much more aggressive his defense has become.

“I think they’re a little more confident,” Hawkins said. “They know what they’re doing; they’ve been in the saddle a little bit, so there’s not as many new things.”

Hawkins also conceded that the defense was a “little bit” ahead of the offense at this point. When he was done with his interviews the coach turned and walked  inside to the locker room to get back to his team.

Soon after, the sun had completely set and Folsom Field was filled with darkness. It won’t be used by the Buffs again until their next scrimmage on April 2.

Additional Notes from the Scrimmage:
-Quarterback Cody Hawkins played in nine drives, compared to Tyler Hansen’s seven. Hawkins was 26 of 44 with four touchdowns and one interception. Hansen was 16 of 29 with one touchdown and one interception.
-Wide Receiver Will Jefferson led all receivers with six catches for 81 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown reception from Hawkins.
-Kicker Zack Grossnickle was perfect on the day by making four out of four field goals (32, 34, 38, and 32 yards).
-Wide Receiver Scotty McKnight left the scrimmage after suffering an apparent leg injury. No details have been released at this time.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Michael Krumholtz at [email protected].