(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)
While the remaining able-bodied Colorado football players go through their practice routine, the wheels of the fitness bike on the far side of the field keep revolving.
On the bike sits Brian Lockridge, CU’s backup running back with a knee problem. He plays catch with one of the coaches’ sons, while being forced to cheer on his offense from a hundred yards away.
Lockridge, who is still questionable to play in Saturday’s annual spring game, said he couldn’t remember a time when the offense had so many injuries – or at least, “Not at the skill positions, not at all.”
Among the “skill” players he referred to are, wide receiver Scotty McKnight and tailback Rodney Stewart, who are also sidelined with injuries and are not expected to play in the game.
Lockridge said he knows that feeling all too well and hopes to be able to contribute during the spring game. The fragility of the human knee is the only thing keeping him back.
“I hate sitting out,” Lockridge said. “But to be honest with you, it’s a knee. You can’t just rush that.”
Since a portion of CU’s playmakers will be held out of action, the players to watch are the linemen. Yes, the linemen, the Rodney Dangerfields of football, will provide one of Saturday’s more intriguing position match-ups.
All five offensive and all four defensive line starters return. The wall of flesh on offense includes the experience of Nate Solder, Ethan Adkins, Keenan Stevens and Mike Itis. Stevens was chosen as a captain for the white team and Itis as one of the captains for the black team.
Gargantuan left tackle Nate Solder acquired 850 snaps last season, and only allowed three sacks in that span. The 6-foot-9 senior said the competition between both lines has been intense all spring.
“Oh there’s a huge rivalry,” he said. “We get after it. There’s fights and people are chippy, it’s a lot of fun.”
That may explain why some of his fellow hog mollys won’t be able to play in the concluding scrimmage of the spring. Guards Ryan Miller and Matt Bahr are out with injuries, while Bryce Givens and Max Tuioti-Mariner will be held out until they get their grades up.
One may wonder: who’s actually left to play, then? Is head coach Dan Hawkins going to have to pick up people off the streets and give them helmets?
Fortunately, the defensive line is practically whole, with the exception of the injured Nate Bonsu. Last year’s D-line starters tallied 20 tackles for a loss and will make it hard for either team to run the ball.
Earlier this spring, defensive end Marquez Herrod, who got 10 of those tackles for a loss by himself, explained how his line stops the run.
“Just focusing on those little details and being in the right gap,” he said. “Everyone’s got to know what everyone else is doing and where your help is.”
Even with the four casualties on the offensive line, the position remains deep enough to fight respectably with the defensive line. The offense saw 15 scholarship linemen enter this spring.
No matter what color jersey Solder is wearing at the game, he said he knows what his linemen have to do to be victorious.
“To be successful, first we’re going to have to communicate and do what we know how to do, stop making little mistakes and trust in each other,” Solder said.
That will be necessary, especially if Solder is put on the same team as freshman quarterback, Nick Hirschman. For his first spring game, the rookie from Los Gatos, Calif. will need all the protection he can get. Though Hirschman is expected to redshirt, he said enrolling at Colorado early this spring has been essential to his growth.
“I knew it was the only way I was going to be able to figure things out,” Hirschman said. “I wanted to have a little more command of the offense before the summer.”
As the third wheel in the quarterback rotation, Hirschman doesn’t have to think of the spring game as a job interview. The never-ending contest between Tyler Hansen and Cody Hawkins has given Hirschman time and space to develop this spring.
He’ll play some on Saturday, but may spend most of the time watching the quarterback battle from the sidelines, sidelines that will be littered with injured and healthy players alike. Each of them will share the same view, seeing the spring’s most important position battles unravel.
Both players and coaches will scrutinize everything from the quarterback play to the kicking competition.
Any fan going to the game can see the intra-team contests just as well. If attending, make sure to look even closer at the men in the trenches. There, giant men will collide with one another, engaging in the crux of football. Linemen are the engines of a team; just as soon as they make everything go it can all suddenly stop.
When looking for how to turn around a 3-9 team, look no further than the play of its lines.
Lockridge will be looking. The 5-foot-7 junior has too much invested into his behemoths to not be watching. After all, if they don’t block for him next fall, he could be spending more time than he wants to on that bike.
Which is why it’s no surprise that he gave the edge to the offensive line in the battle at the line of scrimmage.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in them – first through third string,” Lockridge said. “I expect them to do well regardless of how the defensive line is playing. I’m going with my linemen every time.”
Spring Game Notes:
-The game is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start at Folsom Field. Admission is free.
-Both the white and the black teams were given four captains each, who drafted teams for Saturday. White team captains are quarterback Tyler Hansen, center Keenan Stevens, linebacker B.J. Beatty and cornerback Jalil Brown. Black team captains are quarterback Cody Hawkins, offensive lineman Mike Itis, linebacker Michael Sipili and cornerback Jimmy Smith.
-Coaching the white team will be the running backs coach Darian Hagan. Coaching the black team will be the offensive line coach Denver Johnson.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Michael Krumholtz at Michael.krumholtz@colorado.edu
